The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022. The new regulations mean that any overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK must register with Companies House and tell them who the registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.
The regulations also apply retrospectively to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after:
- 1 January 1999 in England and Wales
- 8 December 2014 in Scotland
- 1 August 2022 in Northern Ireland
If you own UK real estate via a non-UK entity, you must register it with Companies House on the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) by 31 January 2023.
If you don’t register, you could get a fine, prison sentence or both. You’ll also face restrictions when buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging property or land in the UK.
The changes have been introduced to make it more difficult for foreign criminals to launder money through UK property.
What is an Overseas Entity?
An overseas entity is a legal entity such as a company or other organisation that is governed by the law of a country or territory outside the UK.
How to register
To register before the deadline, you will need:
- to sign in to or create a Companies House account
- provide the name and email address of someone who can be contacted about the application
- provide details of the overseas entity and its beneficial owners or managing officers
- provide details of the UK-regulated agent that completed verification checks
- to give information about trusts (if relevant)
- a credit or debit card to pay the £100 registration fee - for now, you cannot pay with a Companies House payment account
You can register by clicking
here.
You can find out more information on the gov.uk website
here.
If you have any questions, please contact your local Moore advisor.