Letter to overseas entities who own or lease property or land in the UK

On January 9, 2023, the Companies House, a government agency responsible for the maintenance of business registers, published an open letter addressed at „overseas entities who own or lease property or land in the UK“ or have owned or leased such property or land in the past. The letter is targeted at entities that are included in the property and land register of the House, but have not yet reported their beneficial owners of such property and land as required by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
Specifically, in this letter the Companies House requests that such entities check to see if they have disposed property or land prior to February 28, 2022. In such case, they do not have to report the beneficial owners of the once possessed property or land. Otherwise, that is for disposals after that date or in the case they still own the property or land, they MUST report the beneficial owners to the House. The deadline for reporting (registration of beneficial owners) is January 31, 2023.
The letter also outlines how firms may go about such registration which – for simplicity reasons – should be made via licensed agents which are accountants and legal professionals. A list of qualified agents may be found here. The letter also describes the information that needs to be furnished either by the entity itself or the agent, even in case the entity is NOT the beneficial owner.
Finally, the Companies House notes that beneficial owners that are trusts or trustees must also register with the agency. Their submitted information, however, will not be publicly available.