Regulations

The property purchasing procedure in St Lucia is similar to that in the UK, with the exception of the Alien’s Landholding License. Foreigners wishing to purchase land in St Lucia must first acquire an Alien's Landholding License. Laws were recently changed in St Lucia to make this process quicker and more flexible.

Please note the following:

• Local lawyer must register the license.
• It is a permanent license, which does not require renewal.
• The license is granted for a specific property or plot of land and is not transferable.
• There is a non-refundable license application fee of EC$1,500.00.
• The license fee is EC$5,000.00 for properties measuring less than one acre.
• There is a future tax liability of 10% of the cost of the property or plot of land, when eventually sold. Note that the payment of the 10% tax can be avoided by making the purchase through a company, which can be formed at the time of purchase. Company formation takes approximately 6 weeks and cost EC$3,200.00.
• License applications take 6 to 8 weeks to process and is normally done during the early part of property purchasing process.

The application is vetted by the Physical Planning Office of the Ministry of Physical Development, Environment & Housing, before being sent to the Prime Minister's Office for approval. After the application has been granted the draft license is sent to the Office of the Attorney General for approval.

Stamp duty on property is 2% of the purchase price.

The normal deposit for purchase is 10% of the purchase price. To prevent gazumping, a forfeiture clause is introduced into all purchasing contracts as follows:

• If the buyer pulls out the deposit is forfeited.
• If the vendor pulls out then a sum equal to the deposit must be paid to the buyer. The buyer would receive their original deposit plus the 10% forfeited by the vendor.
• If the buyer is unable to proceed due to non-granting of the Alien's Landholding License, then the 10% deposit is refunded. Note that this is a rare occurrence.

Local solicitor fees range from 3% to 5% of the purchase price.

The start-up cost for property purchase is approximately 15% of the property price, made up of, 10% deposit + 2% stamp duty + 3% solicitor fees.

Normally, when purchasing properties forming part of a new development, the developing company would put in place an escrow account for owners to make their deposits into, so that the money is totally safe. The development stage payments is typically as follows:

• 10% deposit
• 20% On completion of foundations
• 30% On completion of structure
• 20% On completion of roof and exterior
• 20% On completion of building

When selling property vendor's tax need to be paid at a rate of 5% for St Lucian citizens and 10% for non-citizens.

You can avoid the Alien's Landholding License by becoming a citizen of St Lucia. If you are not resident in St Lucia you can qualify for citizenship if you fit into one of the following categories:

• You or your parents were born in St Lucia.
• You are married to a St Lucian citizen.

If you don't fit into one of the above categories, owning property on the Island is one of the main qualifications when applying for citizenship.

For further details on investing in St. Lucia, please see: The St. Lucia (NDC) National Development Corporation's Guide to investing in St. Lucia, (.pdf Format).