The recent enactment of Germany's Sanctions Enforcement Act II means that foreign companies that already hold property in Germany must now report their beneficial ownership to the transparency register.

Previously, foreign companies were obliged to register only when they acquired property, either through an asset or share deal. The new Act's measures extend this to existing property, introduced because the government realised that only a few real-estate holding companies are registered in the transparency register. In Berlin, the figure is less than 30 per cent. Moreover, searches in German land registries (Grundbücher) regularly lead to dead ends as company-related changes such as change of name, mergers and acquisitions are often not reported to the land registry offices.

The deadline for registration of pre-existing property interests on the transparency register is 31 June 2023. Foreign associations already registered in a transparency register of another EU Member State are exempt...