Social Security repossessed flats: how they work and where to find them

The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS, the Social Security General Treasury) has the power to seize and auction the assets of debtors with unpaid social security contributions. Its auctions are less well known than the court auctions on the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette), attract fewer bidders and sometimes offer the chance to buy at even more competitive prices.

How a flat ends up at a TGSS auction

When a company or a self-employed person builds up Social Security debts, the TGSS can seize their property and put it up for administrative auction to recover the debt. The process is out of court (it doesn't go through the courts), which makes it faster but with less publicity and scrutiny.

Where to find TGSS auctions

TGSS auctions are announced on the notice board of the Social Security's online office (sede electrónica) and gathered together on its website, in the "Subastas de bienes embargados" (auctions of seized assets) section. They don't appear on the BOE auction portal, which is where the tax authority's (Hacienda's) auctions are.

Differences from BOE court auctions

At TGSS auctions, the auction value can be lower (the legal minimum is lower than at court auctions), the information about the property may be scarcer, and the risk of additional charges (mortgages that survive the process) may be greater. Prior due diligence is, if anything, even more important here than at ordinary court auctions.

Further reading: how Social Security auctions work, what to check before buying repossessed flats and the rules of court auctions. RadarPro aggregates and analyses auctions from multiple bodies, including the TGSS, with information on charges and market valuation.