Are you an overseas entity holding UK real property?

Are you an overseas entity holding UK real property?

What does the Registration Regime mean for you?

If so, you should be aware of the implications of the proposed new UK registration regime.

It is anticipated that the draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill issued in 2018 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be updated within the next twelve months with a view to implementation in 2021.

If this Bill is passed, it is anticipated that overseas entities wanting to sell or acquire a freehold property or a long lease of more than seven years in the UK (“property”) will need to:

• be registered in the overseas register held at Companies House;
• obtain an overseas entity ID;
• identify their “registrable beneficial owner(s)”; and
• update such information annually.

The main consequences of non-compliance with the proposed new regime could be that:

• an overseas entity wishing to acquire a property in the UK would not be able to register as the legal owner of the property at the Land Registry;
• an overseas entity that is already registered as the legal owner of a property at the Land Registry and that has not, by the end of a transitional period of 18 months, complied with the new registration regime, would not be able to register a disposal of the property;
• criminal sanctions could be imposed for non-compliance and delivering misleading, false or deceptive information.

Contact our Property Solicitors today

If these are issues which might affect you, you can get in touch with our experienced property law solicitors, based in London, by telephone on 0207 486 5131 or make an online enquiry here.

This blog was prepared on 12 March 2020. It is not intended to be advice and should not be relied upon as such.