Buying
Property in St Lucia
Last
updated: October 2007
Non Nationals
If you are interested
in buying property in St Lucia, once an Agreement for Sale has been
entered
into between a non-national intended
purchaser
in
his or her personal capacity and a vendor/developer
of land in St Lucia and a deposit (usually about 10% of the purchase
price) has been paid, the following process commences which once
followed through will result in legal ownership of the property.
Non citizens require an Alien’s Land Holding Licence to purchase
real estate in St Lucia. It is a long drawn out process which involves
4 government departments, being the Planning Department (where it
is submitted), the Attorney Generals’ Office, the Prime Minister’s
Office (or Cabinet for properties larger than 1 acre in size) and
the Governor General’s Office.
| • |
A local lawyer must register the licence |
| • |
It is a permanent licence which does not require
renewal |
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The licence is granted for a specific property or
plot of land and is not transferable |
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The cost of the licence upon grant is EC$5,000.00,
increasing for properties larger than I acre in extent
|
| Below are the fees for the license according to
the size of the land: |
| Up to 1 acre of land |
US$1,859.00 |
ECD $5,000.00 |
| Over 1 acre and up to 10 acres |
US$3,718.00 |
ECD $10,000.00 |
| Over 10 acres and up to 20 acres |
US$7,435.00 |
ECD $20,000.00 |
| Over 20 acres and up to 50 acres |
US$11,153.00 |
ECD $30,000.00 |
| Over 50 acres and up to 100 acres |
US$14,870.00 |
ECD $40,000.00 |
| 100 acres and over |
US$18,588.00 |
ECD $50,000.00 |
| |
| • |
There is a non-refundable licence application fee
of EC$1,500.00 |
| • |
Applications can take as quick as 6 weeks and as
long as 6 months to process and are usually applied for immediately
after an Agreement for Sale has been entered into and a deposit
has been paid by the intended purchaser. |
| • |
The intended purchaser can secure his or her interest
by lodging a “caution” against the property. |
| • |
Supporting information to be provided by the intended
purchaser includes:
1. Four (4) Passport sized photos
2. Certified copy of data pages of passport
3. Bank Reference
4. Short form CV
5. Police Certificate of Good Character (PCGC) or Police Report
6. Full set of certified Fingerprints from a Police Station |
Once granted the Licence is registered at the Land Registry of St
Lucia where it is given an Instrument No. This number and the details
of the Licence are then entered on the Deed of Sale being the Instrument
drawn up and executed by the parties to give effect to the actual
Conveyance.
Upon registration of the Deed of Sale, Stamp Duty of 2% of the purchase
price is payable by the Purchaser. Incidental registration charges
amount to approximately EC$150.00. The Vendor is subject to the
payment of Vendor’s Tax being up to 5% of the agreed sales
price for a local purchaser and a flat rate of 10% for a non-national.
Legal Fees range between 3% - 5% of the purchase price, and is usual
payable by the purchaser in two (2) installments. With many of the
current Developments underway, a panel of lawyers are selected who
for an agreed set fee offer their services to purchasers of units
at the development. These fees depend upon the cost of the units
at the development and the number of potential purchasers each panel
lawyer will receive, and have thus far ranged from US$5,000 to US$8,000
for the various developments currently under construction.
Some purchasers opt to purchase the property through the vehicle
of a Company due to the tax savings upon sale of 9.5%. Costs inclusive
of Legal fees to form a local Company are approximately EC$4,250.00.
If the ownership/directorship of the company is such that 50% or
more are non-national, then the Company will require an Aliens Licence
in the above manner.
Alien
Land Licence
DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION FOR AN ALIENS LICENCE
| • |
Non-refundable application fee of EC$1,500.00 |
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Profile of applicant/Directors of Company – |
Passport and Citizenship details (Copy Data pages of Passport)
|
Profession or employment status (short form CV/Resume)
|
Bankers’ reference
|
| • |
Police Certificate of good Character (PCGC) or Police Report
from country of origin or current residence. |
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The Statutory Declaration (to be provided by us for your signature),
may be provided as an interim measure, but the PCGC must be provided
within 6 months of the date of the application. |
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Four (4) passport sized colour photographs of the applicant/directors. |
| • |
Full set of Finger-prints of applicant/directors |
| • |
Purchase Price of the Property |
All other supporting documents required
are available to us herein St Lucia and will be procured and presented
along with the application on your behalf.
---------------
Much
of the above information provided
by Glitzenhirn
Augustin & Co.
Nationals Government Stamp Duty
There
is a stamp duty of 2% of the purchase price of the property to register
the Deed of Sale.
Mortgage
If a mortgage is taken there is
a government stamp duty of 1-1.2% of the purchase price to register
the mortgage.
Legal Fees
The legal fees are set at 1-1.2% of the purchase price of the property
for the legal work. If a loan is required, the lawyer will charge
an additional 1 to 1.2%.
Registration, Copies and Stamps
The fees for these services are EC$150.00.
The local Buyer has to provide the following documents:
• a letter from Inland Revenue for Property Tax Clearance
and Income Tax Clearance
• a letter from National Insurance for Clearance.
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