ANGUILLA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nina Rodriguez, Webster Legal
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law The main sources of real estate law are the Reg - istered Land Act and the Stamp Duty Act. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals In an attempt to stimulate the market, since 2017 the government has implemented a reduction of stamp duties on real estate sales. Over the past 12 months, motivated sellers, coupled with the stamp duty incentive, which was extended to 31 December 2024, resulted in increased sales of properties between locals and also of investment properties for foreign direct investment. Recent significant deals include: • the sale of several villas and condominium units (priced between USD500,000 and USD5 million) in the resort managed and operated by Four Seasons Anguilla; • the acquisition of Cuisinart Resort (now known as Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club) and the transport of the resort’s passengers and others by Aurora Airlines; and • the sale of several properties with values ranging between USD300,000 and USD3 mil - lion. 1.3 Proposals for Reform There are currently no proposals for reform that would significantly impact real estate investment or development. In relation to ownership, there is a proposal to digitise the Land Registry, which would allow persons to conduct online searches to confirm ownership of land.
2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights Property rights are divided into four categories: • absolute title; • concurrent (or co-ownership), whether as joint tenants or tenants in common; • leasehold interest; and • a lender is able to register a charge to secure the payment of money or its value or to secure the fulfilment of a condition – this does not give a proprietary right over the property. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title The applicable legislation is the Registered Land Act RSA c R30, which applies to all types of real estate. 2.3 Effecting Lawful and Proper Transfer of Title A lawful transfer is effected on execution of an instrument (Form RL 1 – Transfer of Land) by the proprietor/transferor to a transferee, on payment of the relevant stamp duties and registration fees and submission of the instrument for recording to the government. Anguilla maintains a registered system of title registration. Title insurance is common in transactions involv - ing substantial overseas (usually US) loans to Due diligence is carried out by requesting Land Registry searches to establish the legal proprie - tor and that the land is free from encumbrances that would affect the interest intended to be transferred. A Court Registry search is usually conducted as well to establish if there are any acquire and/or develop a property. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence
40
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook