The Register of Overseas Entities is part of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 implemented in in order to further limit the impact of money laundering in the property sector.
From the implementation date:
• Overseas entities which currently own land in the UK will be given 6 months to register their beneficial owners or managing officers at Companies House; and
• Overseas entities looking to buy, sell, transfer or lease land, or create a charge against land in the UK will need to register with Companies House, otherwise the disposition cannot be registered at the Land Registry.
The new regulations will also apply retrospectively to overseas entities who transacted on or after 1 January 1999 in England and Wales and 8 December 2014 in Scotland; the deadline for registration for retrospective transactions is 31 January 2023. The Republic of Ireland is an overseas jurisdiction for the Register of Overseas Entities.
The registration process involves the overseas entity providing evidence of beneficial ownership via an “agent” who must subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 such as solicitors, accountants, banks and estate agents.
Failure to comply is potentially a criminal offence both for the entity and its officers, punishable by a fine and/or possible imprisonment.
The impact of the register will clearly have to be taken into account when considering transaction timescales as it is not currently known how long Companies House will take when issuing an “assurance code” following the verification procedure.
Should you have any questions regarding purchasing property as a foreign entity or as a UK company purchasing property from a foreign entity, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Bill Dhariwal, Solicitor and Director, DDI: 01489 864 117 or E: bill.dhariwal@lawcomm.co.uk
The contents of this article does not constitute legal advice.
