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Property Acquisition
Purchasing Property in St.
Lucia
Development in St. Lucia is a
planned process, thus all
development plans for the island
has to be submitted in
application form to The
Development Control Authority (DCA),
which is the sole authority
granting approval for
development on the island.
All applications are responded
to within a three month period.
Purchasing Property
In St. Lucia, ownership of
property changes by conveyance
of title recorded in the Land
Registry together with a
certified survey plan issued by
the Survey Office. The deed of
sale must be executed before a
notary Royal who is also a legal
practitioner in St. Lucia.
Land Title may be held in the
name of a legal entity; person
or locally registered corporate
body.
Non Nationals (individuals)
An Alien landholding license is
a prerequisite mandated by law
for non nationals desirous of
acquiring property on the
island. The following documents
must accompany the Alien
landholding licence application
form:
-
Police record
-
3 passport size pictures
-
Birth certificate
-
Certificate of character
-
Finger prints
-
Statutory Declaration
-
Bank reference
The costs associated with the
application and award of an
Alien Landholding licence are as
follows:
-
Non refundable licence
application fee – US$552.00
or XCD$1,500.
-
Legal fees for processing of
application fee
approximately US$1000 or
XCD$2,700.
-
Acquisitions for properties
of the varying sizes and
their corresponding costs
are tabulated below:
|
Parcel size in Acres |
Up to 1
|
1 to 10 |
>10 to 20 |
>20 to 50 |
>50 to 100 |
>100 |
|
Licence fee - US$
equivalent |
1,840 |
3,681 |
7,361 |
11,042 |
14,723 |
18,403 |
|
Licence fee in XCD $ |
$5000 |
$10,000 |
$20,000 |
$30,000 |
$40,000 |
$50,000 |
Non Nationals (Corporate)
In addition to the alien land
holding licence application form
and the documents listed above,
the following documents must
support the application:
-
Memorandum and articles of
incorporation
-
List of all directors and
proof of their citizenship
-
Bank references for each
director
-
Certificate of character and
finger prints for each
director
Purchasing Costs
The following are closing costs
involved in the purchase of
property:
-
Government stamp duty ... 2%
of purchase price
-
Registration, copies and
stamps ... EC$140.00
-
Valuation … approx. 0.5% of
value
Legal fees for deed of
sale
-
2.5% of value up to
$50,000
-
1.5% from $51,000 to
$150,000
-
1% from $151,000 to
$1,000,000
-
.5%
from $1,000,000 and
above
Vendor's Costs
In addition to the legal fees
the following breakdown of costs
should be factored in the
selling of property:
Vendor's tax (Aliens) … 10% of
sale price
Vendor's Tax (Citizens) …
Exempted from the 1st1
$50,000.00 of sale price
-
Next $25,000.00 … 2.5% of
sale price
-
Next $75,000.00 … 3.5% of
sale price
-
Any balance … 5% of sale
price
-
Radiation … if applicable
Documents required in the sale
and Purchase of property
Purchaser:
-
Vendor's letter confirming
agreed purchase price of
property
-
A survey plan of the land
-
A copy of the location plan
-
A copy of the land register
-
A copy of the Vendor's Deed
of sale
-
A letter of compliance from
the National Insurance
Corporation
-
A letter of compliance from
the Inland Revenue
Department
Vendor:
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