Overseas Owners of UK Properties

The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022 through the new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.

Overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK, must register with Companies House and state who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are by 31 January 2023. Note that 25% share of ownership is the threshold.

This will apply to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after:

• 1 January 1999 in England and Wales
• 8 December 2014 in Scotland
• 01 August 2022 in Northern Ireland

Entities that disposed of property or land after 28 February 2022 will also need to register and give details of that disposal.

After registering, the overseas entity will get a unique Overseas Entity ID to give to the land registry when it buys, sells, transfers, leases or charges UK property or land.

If you do not comply with the Act, you could be fined up to £2,500 per day or get a prison sentence of up to 5 years. You’ll also face restrictions when buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging property or land in the UK.