Stay up to date with everything happening at Registers of Scotland (RoS) with our monthly update.

Key messages:

• Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) launched by Companies House
• ROE and RCI
• Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI)
• New performance section of the website
• Digital Registration Proof of Concept
• Moveable Transactions Bill consultation

Register of Overseas Entities launched by Companies House

The Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022 requires overseas entities that own or acquire property in the UK to register with Companies House.

The UK Government has announced on 1 August that the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) is now live. The register will be delivered by Companies House. The land registration elements of the Act will come into force on 5 September 2022.

To support the introduction of ROE, Registers of Scotland will introduce new questions on the land register application form that will assist parties transacting with property in meeting any additional duties they have arising from the scheme.

Read our latest blog to find links to the register and its guidance. You can also find out more about how it will impact land registration in Scotland.

ROE and Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI)

A registration of an overseas entity in ROE will not remove any duty on the overseas entity should they be required to register in the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI).

When RCI and ROE were initially in policy development the view of both the Scottish Government and the UK Government was that double reporting should be avoided where possible. Our current understanding is that this has not changed and that the Scottish Government will consider the extent of duplication once the new ROE is operational and then decide whether it is appropriate to amend the RCI regulations.

It’s important to note that in the meantime overseas entities that are in scope of RCI must register irrespective of ROE and make arrangements to comply with RCI legislation ahead of the transition period ending and criminal offences coming into force in April 2023.

RCI – open for submissions

RCI will increase public transparency over decision making concerning land. It will ensure there can no longer be categories of owner or tenant where, intentionally, or otherwise, control of decision making is obscured.

There is a 1-year grace period to 1 April 2023 before offence provisions for non-compliance in RCI come into force.

Find out more about whether you need to register and how to go about it.

New performance section of the website

The new performance section of our website is now live. It contains information on open casework, turnaround times, land register completion and our KPIs.

RoS is committed to being an effective and efficient delivery organisation and we have developed the pages to respond to customer needs.

We are keen for your feedback. You can use the ‘Was this page helpful?’ buttons which sit at the bottom of each page to share any comments.

To find out more about the pages and why we made the update you can view my latest blog.

Read blog and visit the performance pages.

Digital Registration Proof of Concept

On 16 June, with the support of legal firm CMS Cameron McKenna, RoS completed the next phase of our Digital Registration Proof of Concept activity.

Following the ‘wet signature’ transaction which was successfully completed in April, we have now taken our work to the next stage with the completion of a Qualified Electronic Signature.

Read our latest blog to find out more.

Moveable Transactions Bill consultation

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has launched a consultation on the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill.

The consultation seeks views on six questions relating to the Bill, including the proposals for setting up new registers. Submissions can be made online and the consultation closes on Tuesday 6 September.

For more information visit the Scottish Parliament website.

Contact us

RoS now provides the majority of our services digitally.  We have established hybrid working for colleagues and visitors can attend our offices by invitation.

For general enquiries or specific questions about an application contact:

Email: customerservices@ros.gov.uk Phone: 0800 169 9391

If there is anything else you would like to bring to my attention, please email FAO Jennifer Henderson: rossecretariat@ros.gov.uk