31.08.2022

Heads up for clients owning UK real estate via a foreign entity.

Do you own a UK property held through a foreign (non-UK) structure? Then the update below is relevant to you.

On 1 August 2022, the UK Overseas Entities Register was established. Along with the establishment of this register, a requirement was introduced for overseas entities holding property in the UK to notify and register the entity's beneficial owners and managing officers in the aforementioned register.

The legislation applies retroactively to overseas entities that purchased property in England or Wales on or after 1 January 1999 or in Scotland after 8 December 2014. (For Northern Ireland, the requirement only applies to property purchased on or after 1 August 2022.) The company must own the relevant property or have entered into a lease agreement in relation to a UK property for a period of at least seven years.

Companies failing to comply with this reporting requirement will face sanctions which may include restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or taxing the property in the UK.

The deadline for the notification of beneficial owners and managing officers is 31 January 2023.

Please find more information on the website of the Sovereign Group.

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