Buying UK Property from Germany: Tax, Currency and Process

Yes — a German resident can still buy UK property, and Brexit changed almost nothing about that. The right of an overseas person to own UK property was never tied to EU membership; what Brexit altered was freedom of movement for people, not freedom to invest in bricks and mortar. A German or EU buyer can purchase London property freely, remotely, through a UK solicitor. This guide covers the post-Brexit reality in plain terms, the buying process, the non-resident Stamp Duty surcharges as they stand in 2026, GBP/EUR currency risk, why an evidence-led method suits a German diligence mindset, and what an overseas-focused sourcer actually does.

This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice — seek independent professional advice before committing capital.

The post-Brexit reality for EU and German buyers

The single most common misconception we hear from German investors is that Brexit closed the door. It did not.

• Ownership rights are unchanged. There has never been a nationality or residency bar on owning UK property. A German citizen has the same registered title rights as a British one.
• What changed was movement of people. Brexit ended free movement for living and working — it did not introduce any restriction on foreign investment in UK real estate.
• Tax treatment is non-resident, not "EU". A German buyer is taxed under the general non-resident rules (see SDLT below), the same framework that applies to a buyer from anywhere outside the UK. There is no special EU penalty and no special EU exemption.
• The legal infrastructure is the same as it always was. UK conveyancing, HM Land Registry title, RICS surveyors and double-taxation treaties all continue to apply exactly as before.

The buying process from Germany

The steps are close to those a UK resident follows; the differences are the identity and source-of-funds checks, and that you sign remotely.

1. Define your brief. Borough, property type, budget, and whether it is for personal use or held to let — this sets the tax and finance route.
2. Instruct a UK solicitor. A conveyancer used to non-resident buyers handles identity, anti-money-laundering (AML) and source-of-funds checks from Germany, typically electronically or via a German notary.
3. Verify value independently. Recent comparable sales and a RICS-standard valuation establish what the property is worth, separate from the asking price — the substitute for inspecting the street in person.
4. Commission a survey. A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey identifies condition issues. Skipping it is the costliest remote-buyer mistake.
5. Plan the currency conversion. Decide how and when euros become sterling (see below) rather than converting at the spot rate on completion day.
6. Exchange and complete. Contracts are signed and returned electronically or by courier, funds move by international transfer, and the solicitor registers your title at HM Land Registry.

Stamp Duty for a German non-resident buyer in 2026

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is where a German buyer's costs differ from a UK resident's. Two surcharges can sit on top of the standard banded rates.

• Non-resident surcharge — 2%. As of 2026, a buyer who fails the UK-residency test pays an extra 2% across the standard SDLT bands.
• Additional-property surcharge — 5%. Where the property is not replacing a main home — most buy-to-let and second-home purchases — a further additional-property surcharge applies on top.
• Standard banded SDLT applies underneath both surcharges.

As of 2026, verify current rates with HMRC and your conveyancer before budgeting — bands and surcharge percentages change at fiscal events. The table below shows how the components stack; it is illustrative, not a quote.

On the wider tax picture: UK property income and gains are generally taxable in the UK first and may also be reportable in Germany. The UK–Germany double-taxation treaty is designed to prevent the same income being taxed twice, usually by crediting tax paid in one country against the other. The detail depends on your circumstances — take advice from an accountant qualified in both jurisdictions.

GBP/EUR currency risk

You hold euros; the property is priced in sterling. The real cost of the purchase therefore moves with the GBP/EUR exchange rate, and on a large transaction the gap between agreeing a price and completing can swing the euro figure you need by a meaningful amount.

Many German buyers use a regulated currency specialist and a forward contract to fix the exchange rate at the point of exchange of contracts, so the euros required on completion day are known in advance rather than exposed to the spot market. The aim is certainty and risk management, not a currency gain — you are removing a variable, not speculating on it.

The German diligence mindset — and why it fits

German investors are often associated with a documentation-first, thorough approach: a preference for seeing the evidence — the comparables, the valuation methodology, the legal checks — before committing, rather than trusting a sales narrative. We think that instinct is the right one, and it maps almost exactly onto how a disciplined sourcer should work.

An evidence-led method means a property is researched, valued against recent comparable sales to the RICS Red Book standard, and legally checked before it is presented. You receive the working, not a brochure. For a buyer who is rightly sceptical of marketing claims and cannot visit in person, that transparency is the whole point.

Remote buying from Germany

Germany and the UK are only one hour apart, so working hours overlap almost entirely — coordination with a solicitor, broker or sourcer happens within normal business hours on both sides. Identity and AML checks are done electronically or through a German notary, contracts are signed remotely, and funds move by international transfer. There is no practical need to travel to complete a purchase.

What L&M does for German and EU investors

The difficulty in buying London from Germany is not the legal mechanics — it is judging whether a specific property is worth its price when you cannot read the local market firsthand. That is what an evidence-led sourcer is for.

When the service opens, L&M will research, model and stress-test each opportunity before a German or EU investor sees it: independent comparables, a RICS Red Book valuation on a six-comparable basis, condition and legal due diligence, and a clear all-in cost including the non-resident and additional-property SDLT surcharges. Our remuneration is a transparent sourcing fee, disclosed up front — never hidden in the price.

The method, and where things stand today

Our approach is compliance-first by design. Valuations are prepared to the RICS Red Book standard on a six-comparable basis, and an anti-money-laundering framework has been built to handle overseas source-of-funds checks from the outset, because most of our prospective investors are based abroad.

To be clear about status: L&M's AML supervision is pending and the service is on a waitlist basis only. We are not transacting, making offers, or sourcing live deals at this stage. The founding investor register is how German and EU investors get on the list to be first in line when the service opens. The founding investor register is limited to the first 50 investors.

Frequently asked questions — UK property investment from Germany