What Property Investors Need to Know
📅 Update published: 6 August 2025
From 18 November 2025, a major change is coming that will affect all company directors and anyone listed as a Person of Significant Control (PSC). Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), you’ll now be legally required to verify your identity with Companies House — whether you're forming a new company or already listed as a director or PSC.
What This Means for You
New directors: Must verify their ID before they’re officially appointed.
Existing directors: Must confirm identity verification as part of their next confirmation statement – you’ll have a 12-month transition period.
Existing PSCs: Also have 12 months (from 18 November 2025) to complete verification.
You’ll be able to check your deadline on the Companies House register once implementation begins.
👀 This is particularly relevant if you own a property company or act as a director for one. We’ll keep you informed of when and how to complete your checks – or we can handle it for you if you're a CoSec client.
Timeline: What’s Already Happened and What’s Coming Next
We first wrote about the ECCTA back in January. Since then, parts of the law have already gone live (from March 2024), with more changes coming in phased stages until the end of 2026.
Below is a breakdown of what to expect and when:
🧊 Winter 2024 into early 2025
Companies House aims to:
Strike off companies faster if they appear false or fraudulent.
Flag concerns on the register (e.g. if a disqualified director hasn’t been removed).
Add public notes to company records when information is missing or under investigation.
🌱 Spring 2025
ACSPs (Authorised Corporate Service Providers) will be formally checked and authorised — we will be registered to carry out identity checks for our clients.
Voluntary ID verification will open to all.
Individuals can apply to hide their residential address from public view, in limited circumstances.
☀️ Summer 2025
Trust data on the Register of Overseas Entities may become accessible on request.
🍂 Autumn 2025
ID checks become mandatory for anyone incorporating a company or being appointed as a director/PSC.
Start of the 12-month transition for all existing directors and PSCs to verify ID (done via the annual confirmation statement).
🌸 Spring 2026
ID checks for anyone submitting filings (like documents or returns) will become compulsory.
Third-party agents (like accountants or formation agents) must be registered ACSPs to file on your behalf.
Disqualified directors will be blocked from submitting documents - unless via a permitted agent.
🎯 End of 2026
Limited partnerships must provide more detailed information.
Deadline for ID verification for all relevant individuals – enforcement action will follow for those who haven’t complied.
Expect greater sharing of data between Companies House, HMRC and other bodies.
What You Should Do Now
If we handle your Company Secretarial (CoSec) service, Georgia (our Head of CoSec) will manage and monitor these changes on your behalf - including identity checks and filings. If you're unsure whether you're covered, just ask.
In the meantime:
Ensure your email address on the Companies House register is correct.
Watch for updates - we’ll post reminders and news across our socials and website.
Bookmark Changes to UK company law for official updates.
We’ll continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted.
📞 01249 816 810
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