Foreign Buyer Registration Rules Effective Jan. 4

The Florida. Dept. of Commerce finalized its rules and their effective date pertaining to certain foreign principals who must register property ownership under a 2023 law.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Department of Commerce Foreign finalized its rules for certain foreign principals to register certain land they directly or indirectly own in the state.

The registration process was already outlined in a Florida Realtors News article – Deadlines Loom for Some Fla. Foreign Landowners. The rules are final and will be effective Jan. 4.

Of note is Rule 73C-60.003 (5). It is a provision entitled Registration for Real Estate Contracts and applies to foreign principals with equitable title, as follow:

A foreign principal who obtains equitable title by executing a real estate contract with the obligation of closing to obtain legal title within 90 days shall register the real property that is the subject of the contract within 30 days of acquiring legal title.
A foreign principal who obtains equitable title by executing a real estate contract without the obligation of closing to obtain legal title within 90 days shall register the real property that is the subject of the contract within 120 days of acquiring equitable title.

Realtors are not part of the registration process, and, due to the complexity of the new law, should advise customers to speak to counsel about their legal responsibilities.

Rule Chapter 73C-60, including the seven updates, can be found on the Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register website. They include:

Chapter Title: Community Planning; Purchase of Real Property on or Around Military Installations or Critical Infrastructure Facilities by Foreign Principals

73C-60.001 – Definitions

73C-60.002 – Real Estate Transactions Prior to July 1, 2023
73C-60.003 – Registration
73C-60.004 – Computation of Time
73C-60.005 – Fines
73C-60.006 – Liens
73C-60.007 – Rebuttable Presumption

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