Spanish banks seized nearly 50000 homes in 2013, 11.1% more than those in 2012, as indebted owners were forced to surrender the keys of their homes in order to repay their debts, according to data released today by the Bank of Spain.

The country which was doubly-hurt in 2008 by the financial crisis and the bursting of its real estate market bubble, the central bank began publishing statistics on foreclosures based initially on its own research among banks, before it compelled them to regularly communicate this data.

The banks, which received European aid in 2012, of over 40 billion euros, seized 49694 homes in 2013. A large majority (38961) were primary homes, as opposed to secondary homes or those intended for renting out.

In some cases, namely by 43.3%  (21521), the keys were voluntarily surrendered, mainly through the process that allows an individual to concede your home to the bank to pay one’s debts.

But the banks had to go to court to recover 28173 homes (+18.5% compared to 2012), the vast majority of cases (26113) having been evacuated by their tenants.

The evictions of indebted owners or renters have caused resentment in recent years, in Spain, which has intensified since many suicides of people being thrown out of their homes have increased dramatically.

The Association of Victims of Mortgage Credit (PAH), which mobilizes members regularly throughout Spain in front of homes whose owners are being threatened with eviction, states that since its creation in 2009 it has stopped more than 1000 evictions and has helped a thousand more people rebuild their homes.

The numbers of the Bank of Spain which were released today, show that the completed evictions of residents are a limited phenomenon: during 2013, only 2060 homes were seized through court proceedings and 147 cases had to include police or official intervention (compared to 346 cases in 2012).