Several high-profile real estate bodies have warned that European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) is placing a burden on real estate investors.

Under current rules non-financial counterparties (NFC) have to report details of derivatives to central databases even when these details are already reported by their banks.

NFCs have to check these databases to make sure the information is correct – a process that comes at significant cost, according to the British Property Federation.

Several real estate organisations have urged the European Commission to simplify the process.

Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “If we want to encourage investment into our urban environment we need to ensure that our regulatory framework is not unnecessarily onerous.

“Whilst we would not dispute the importance of trade reporting for financial firms, this element of EMIR has created a disproportionate operational and legal burden on many real estate businesses, who use derivatives for sound risk management purposes.

“It would be a shame to see the Commission pass up this opportunity to make life easier for many businesses at little risk to the financial system.”

The  organisations argue that the cost of the process  can be avoided without compromising the information submitted to regulators, and  have proposed  a ‘single-sided reporting’ system where only one party would be legally required to report the information.