Madrid ( CNN ) -- Spaniards who are in `` circumstances of extreme necessity '' and are unable to pay their mortgages will not be evicted from their homes over the next two years , the main industry group for Spanish banks said Monday . The pledge comes just three days after a 53-year-old woman committed suicide as authorities were preparing to foreclose on her home . It was the second such incident since late October . The move will not halt all home evictions during the ongoing economic crisis , but the Spanish Banking Association issued a statement saying that `` due to social alarm generated by the home evictions , '' it agreed with a government proposal made last Thursday to halt foreclosures `` during the next two years , in those cases where there are circumstances of extreme necessity . '' In the incident last Friday , the woman jumped to her death from her home in northern Spain as authorities were climbing the steps to evict her . The victim was a former Socialist town councilor . Her death followed the suicide last October 25 by a 53-year-old man who hanged himself at a home in southern Spain shortly before the eviction team -- judicial and bank representatives , backed by police -- showed up . There have been protests for months in Spain over evictions as the nation suffers a recession and an unemployment rate just over 25 percent . But the two suicides sharply increased pressure on Spanish authorities to take action . Spain 's central judicial authority has reported than 150,000 evictions of Spaniards and immigrants from their homes since 2008 , when the crisis started , for falling behind on their mortgage payments . Spain 's El Pais newspaper reports the figure could be closer to 400,000 . On Monday , a spokesman for the deputy prime minister told CNN it was not immediately clear how many evictions would be stopped under the banking industry 's standard of `` circumstances of extreme necessity '' but he said it could be `` some thousands . '' Housing advocates say hundreds of evictions are scheduled every business day . The banking association says 97 % of homeowners are still paying their mortgages on time . Just hours after the second suicide last Friday , Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told a regional election rally that the government `` will protect the most vulnerable families affected by evictions . '' Leading judges -- the judiciary is charged with carrying out the evictions -- have in recent days called on lawmakers to urgently address the problem . And a main police union , known by its letters SUP , offered to pay legal fees and lost wages for officers who decline to participate in evictions . The conservative government and the main opposition Socialist Party -- after months of being unable to agree on almost anything -- have suddenly pledged to work together to ease the foreclosures . A senior Economy Ministry official and his counterpart from the Socialist Party were to meet later Monday to discuss other measures to ease the eviction crisis . Credit was cheap in Spain during the boom years , when hundreds of thousands of new homes were built and it seemed that everyone could become a homeowner . The boom went bust in 2008 , and banks incurred huge debts from bad real estate loans while the economy slowed , the jobless rate increased , and consumer spending stalled . There have been widespread protests against the evictions and especially against the Spanish law that lets banks seize not only the property but also go after debtors ' future income until everything has been paid back . At numerous evictions , authorities have been met by dozens of protesters who have organized to provide support for families facing evictions across the country .
The main industry group for Spanish banks announces a moratorium on some evictions . The pledge follows two suicides of homeowners about to be evicted . People have been protesting evictions during the recession as unemployment hit 25 % . The banking association says 97 % of homeowners are paying their mortgages on time .