The process of buying property in St Lucia

Laws & Regulations
The Process of Buying Property in St. Lucia
Last updated: March 2007

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
•	The licence is granted for a specific property or plot of land and is not transferable
•	The cost of the licence upon grant is EC$5,000.00, increasing for properties larger than I acre in extent
•	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
•	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.
•	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.
•	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.

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Provided by Glitzenhirn Augustin & Co.

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