Buying in Bali: the short answers

Not freehold (Hak Milik). A foreigner can hold a right to use (Hak Pakai) on a house in their own name, a right to build (HGB) through an Indonesian company they own (PT PMA), or a lease (Hak Sewa) from the landowner.

You pay the landowner once, up front, for the right to use the land and anything on it for a fixed number of years. You do not own the land. When the years run out, the right ends and the land and buildings go back to the owner unless your contract says otherwise. A Bali leasehold is not the same thing as a freehold at home, and comparing entry prices only makes sense once that is understood.

No fixed maximum in the law, but the term must be definite. The Supreme Court has rejected lifetime and perpetual leases. Standard practice is 25 to 30 years with a written option to extend for a further fixed term.

A nominee is an Indonesian who holds freehold title on paper while a foreigner pays for and uses the property. Since February 2026 Bali's Regulation 4/2026 declares these arrangements void and exposes everyone involved, the owner, the nominee, the agents and any officials, to sanctions including permit cancellation, fines, demolition orders and prosecution under national law. The foreigner in a nominee structure holds nothing enforceable. Any listing that offers a foreigner "freehold" is offering a nominee.

A right to use, in the foreigner's own name, on a house. Initial term 30 years, extendable by 20, then renewable for 30. The law asks for valid immigration documents (passport, visa or stay permit); a KITAS is not a legal precondition, although banks and some notaries ask for one. Bali has a minimum value: a landed house must be worth at least IDR 5 billion and an apartment IDR 2 billion.

A PT PMA is a foreign-owned Indonesian company. It can hold HGB (30 years, extendable 20, renewable 30) and can run a licensed rental business. It costs money to set up and file every year. A personal-name lease is simpler and cheaper but cannot hold a villa rental licence in a foreigner's name. Which is right depends on whether the villa will be rented commercially. This is a question for a lawyer, not a chat. PP 18/2021 art. 37;

No transfer tax (BPHTB) on a lease. The landowner owes a 10 percent final income tax on the lease money; contracts often push this onto the buyer, so ask who pays. Stamp duty is IDR 10,000 per document. If the seller is a VAT-registered developer, VAT applies, effectively 11 percent on non-luxury property. Notary fees are usually 1 to 2.5 percent, negotiable.

Buyer pays BPHTB, up to 5 percent of the higher of price or assessed value (NJOP), after a tax-free amount of at least IDR 80 million. Seller pays 2.5 percent final income tax on the sale value. Notary and land office fees on top.

No. Before any money moves, ask for the land certificate, the owner's ID matching the certificate, the zoning confirmation for the plot, and any building approval (PBG). A notary checks the certificate at the land office. Money paid before that is at risk. Deposits should go through the notary's escrow, not to an agent or the owner directly.

Market shorthand for land the regency zoning plan reserves for farming, protection or open space, including protected rice land (LP2B). Villas cannot legally be built there, no building approval is issued, and existing buildings can be ordered demolished, as happened at Bingin in July 2025. One agency's analysis of 9,495 Badung listings found about 9 percent on such land, with Pecatu and Uluwatu near 27 percent. That is an agency estimate, not official data.

Zoning confirmation (KKPR or ITR) says what the land may be used for. A building approval (PBG, formerly IMB) says this building may be built. A certificate of function (SLF) says it may be occupied. A villa can have the first and none of the others. A listing that says "zoned for tourism" is not saying "permitted".

No province-wide legal ban is in force. The governor rejected a moratorium in January 2025 and instead issued Regulation 4/2026, which targets conversion of protected rice land and nominee holdings. Some reports say permits to convert rice land are being refused; treat that as unconfirmed. Detik 9 Jan 2025; Bali spatial office essay 22 Jan 2026. Verified that no formal ban exists.

Only with a licence. Since 31 March 2026 every accommodation listed on booking platforms must hold a valid business licence (NIB with the right activity code); unlicensed listings are being removed. Ministry data from late 2025 showed roughly 29,000 non-hotel units listed in Bali against about 14,500 registered, so around half. A Pondok Wisata licence is for an Indonesian individual living on site with up to five rooms; a foreigner cannot hold it personally. A PT PMA licenses a villa under the villa code instead.

If you are an Indonesian tax resident with a tax number (NPWP), 10 percent final tax on gross rent. If you are not resident and have no NPWP, 20 percent withheld on gross, unless a tax treaty lowers it and the paperwork is lodged. A tax adviser confirms the current rates. Land and building tax (PBB) is due yearly on assessed value, usually a small amount.

You become a resident taxpayer and must register once you are in Indonesia more than 183 days in a year or intend to live here. Non-residents are not required to have one but pay the higher withholding above. Being tax resident, registered with an NPWP, is what puts rental income on the 10 percent rate rather than 20 percent. A tax adviser confirms the current rates. Directorate General of Taxes guidance, Apr 2025. Verified.

The right ends automatically. Land and buildings revert to the landowner unless the contract says otherwise. If you stay on and the owner does not object, the law treats it as a rolling lease on new terms, not a continuation of the old ones. Your protection is limited to what is written in the original deed.

A fixed price for a fixed further term, written into the notarial deed, is a binding promise and can be enforced against the owner and generally their heirs, but enforcement means going to court. "Extension at market price" or "priority to renew" is not a price and gives little protection. Open-ended or lifetime extensions have been struck down.

Whatever the landowner agrees to at the time, unless the deed fixed it. There is no register of extension prices. Asking prices for bare land in the same village are the nearest public benchmark, and the index shows those per are by area.

A lease is a contract right and passes to heirs; death of either party does not end it. Hak Pakai and HGB can pass to foreign heirs who hold valid immigration documents; an heir without them must transfer the right within a year or lose it. Freehold inherited by a foreigner must be given up within a year.

A notary and land deed official (PPAT) for the title, deed and registration. A licensed tax adviser for your own tax position, which depends on where you are resident. A lawyer for a PT PMA. The index does not recommend any of them and takes no fee from any of them.