Q39. Does a person who acts as provider, administrator, arranger or adviser in relation to home reversion plans, home purchase plans or regulated sale and rent back agreements from overseas and without maintaining an office in the UK need to be an authorised or exempt person?
The position on territorial application is complex. Detailed guidance on this aspect is provided in relation to regulated mortgage activities in PERG 4.11 and that guidance may generally be applied to home finance activities.
But, briefly, there are two issues to be considered by such a person:
- am I carrying on a home finance activity in the United Kingdom? and
- if so, does the exclusion for overseas persons in article 72 of the Regulated Activities Order apply to me?
Whether you are carrying on the activity in the UK depends on a combination of factors. In very broad terms, however, as an overseas person, you are more likely than not to be carrying on a home finance activity in the UK if the home occupier, reversion occupier or agreement selleris normally resident in the UK at the time that he enters into the plan. The table that follows applies this broad principle to the various permutations taking account of the conditions applying to the exclusions for home finance activities under article 72.
Table indicating whether authorisation or exemption is likely to be needed by a person who is carrying on home finance activities from overseas.
| Activity carried on by overseas person | Where the reversion occupier, home purchaser or agreement seller is or was normally resident in the UK at the time he enters or entered into the plan | Where the reversion occupier, home purchaser or agreement seller is or was not normally resident in the UK at the time he enters or entered into the plan | ||||
| Home reversion plan | Home purchase plan | Regulated sale and rent back agreement | Home reversion plan | Home purchase plan | Regulated sale and rent back agreement | |
| Entering into or administering | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Arranging for persons to enter into plans. | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, provided the reversion purchaser or the reversion transferee, as the case may be, is or was also not normally resident in the UK. | No | No, provided the agreement provider or agreement transferee, as the case may be, is or was also not normally resident in the UK. |
| Arranging variations | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Advising | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, unless the reversion occupier, reversion provider or reversion transferee is located in the UK at the time the advice is given to him. | No, unless the home purchaser is located in the UK at the time the advice is given. | No, unless the regulated sale and rent back agreement adviser is located in the UK at the time the advice is given. |