A foreigner cannot hold freehold title (Hak Milik) to land in Indonesia. Article 21(1) of the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) reserves it to Indonesian citizens alone, and article 26(2) voids by operation of law any transaction transferring a Hak Milik to a foreigner "directly or indirectly" — the land falls to the State, and whatever the seller has already banked cannot be clawed back.
That leaves three legal routes to land. Hak Sewa, the lease: open to foreigners resident in Indonesia, with rent the statute lets you pay in a single instalment, and no maximum term whatsoever — the "25 years" you hear all over Bali is market custom, not a rule. Hak Pakai: 30 + 20 + 30 years on State land, but 30 years renewable by deed when it sits on someone's Hak Milik, which is how most expat villas are set up. HGB: closed to foreign individuals, reachable through a PT PMA whose investment must exceed IDR 10 billion excluding land and buildings (PP 28/2025, art. 212(2)). Only apartments escape the rule: a strata unit (satuan rumah susun) can be held outright, subject to conditions. For a house, the caps bite hard — one plot per person or per family, 2,000 m² of land maximum.
Why Hak Milik is closed to you, permanently
The founding text runs to seven words. The UUPA, Law No. 5 of 1960, article 21(1): "Hanya warga-negara Indonesia dapat mempunyai hak milik" — only an Indonesian national may hold a right of ownership. Enacted on 24 September 1960, the law still carried the official status "Berlaku" (in force) on 22 July 2026.
Article 26(2) draws the consequences, and this is the passage to read before you sign anything. A sale, an exchange, a gift or any other act intended to transfer a Hak Milik to a foreigner, "langsung atau tidak langsung" — directly or indirectly — is:
- void by operation of law ("batal karena hukum");
- followed by forfeiture of the land to the State ("tanahnya jatuh kepada Negara");
- and paired with a blunt rule about the money: payments already received by the seller cannot be reclaimed ("semua pembayaran yang telah diterima oleh pemilik tidak dapat dituntut kembali").
That "directly or indirectly" is aimed squarely at nominee structures: land registered in an Indonesian's name while the economic benefit stays with the foreigner. The Dinas PUPRKIM of Bali Province defines it in the same terms on its own site — "the use of a local Indonesian citizen's name as the formally registered holder of the land right" — and calls the practice "bertentangan dengan prinsip penguasaan tanah nasional", contrary to the national principle of land control. The community guide expat.or.id puts it more bluntly: "We've heard many stories of people who have lost major investments by trusting an Indonesian 'friend' with holding the title".
Two side rules are worth knowing. A foreigner who inherits a Hak Milik without a will, or who becomes a co-holder through marital community of property, has one year to dispose of it: after that the right lapses automatically and the land reverts to the State (art. 21(3)). And an Indonesian spouse married to a foreigner keeps the same land rights as any other Indonesian, provided the property is not jointly owned — which is proved by a notarised separation-of-property agreement (PP 18/2021, art. 70).
The three legal routes — and the apartment exception
Three routes exist for land, plus a special case reserved for apartments. They share neither the same nature, nor the same legal basis, nor the same term.
| Route | Who may hold it | Legal basis | Term fixed by law | What you actually hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hak Sewa (lease / leasehold) | Foreigners resident in Indonesia | UUPA art. 44-45 | None — the statute is silent | A contractual right to use someone else's land |
| Hak Pakai (right of use) | Foreigners ("Orang Asing"), by name | PP 18/2021 art. 49(2)(e) | 30 + 20 + 30 years (State land/HPL) or 30 years renewable (over Hak Milik) | A registered real right, in your own name |
| HGB (right to build) | Indonesian citizens and legal entities incorporated under Indonesian law — not foreign individuals | PP 18/2021 art. 34 | 30 + 20 + 30 years (State land/HPL) or 30 years renewable (over Hak Milik) | A right held by your company, not by you |
| Hak Milik atas Satuan Rumah Susun (strata title unit) | Foreigners holding a compliant permit | PP 18/2021 art. 67(1)(c) | None: it is an ownership right | The unit outright, subject to zoning conditions |
One piece of vocabulary to fix straight away: "buying a villa in Bali" describes none of these situations. What you buy is a right over land belonging to someone else or to the State, for a term set by the underlying title. The only question that matters is which of these rights you are buying, and for how long.
Hak Sewa: the simplest route, and the least regulated
The lease is defined by article 44 of the UUPA: the right to use another party's land and build on it, in exchange for rent. The same article specifies that this rent may be paid "satu kali" — in a single instalment — or periodically, before or after the land is used. That is the legal basis for the prepaid lease everyone in Bali trades on. Article 45 opens the title to foreigners resident in Indonesia, to Indonesians, to Indonesian legal entities and to foreign legal entities with a representative office in the country.
Then comes the point almost no guide picks up. Neither article 44 nor article 45 sets a term. And PP 18/2021, the regulation that overhauled the land regime in 2021, contains no provision on hak sewa at all: it covers Hak Pengelolaan, HGU, HGB, Hak Pakai, rumah susun and land registration — not the lease.
That silence has two very concrete effects:
- the "25 years" or "30 years" of a Balinese lease come from no statute; they are market custom — and writing the opposite, "Indonesian law caps leases at 25 years", is plainly false;
- there is no statutory extension mechanism: a renewal is a clause you negotiate, not a right you hold.
The three agency guides we went back over quote the same range without ever pointing to an article: "25-30 yrs + extensions" (magnumestate.com), "~25-30 yrs, extendable" (tasvan.com), "25-30 years, with extensions negotiated contractually" (balirealestateplus.com). The last is the most accurate, and worth taking literally: negotiated contractually. Outside the contract there is nothing.
Everything therefore rides on the deed itself: initial term, mechanism and price of the extension, what happens to the buildings at expiry, the right to assign the lease to a third party, and what follows if the Hak Milik owner dies or sells. A lease signed privately, without going through a notaris/PPAT, leaves you with no solid standing against third parties, and the statute will fill none of the gaps.
Hak Pakai: the only title that really carries your name
Hak Pakai is the one real right the statute opens to a foreigner by name: PP 18/2021, article 49(2), lists five categories of holders of a fixed-term hak pakai, and letter (e) reads "Orang Asing".
This is also where the market's most common misreading hides. The term of a Hak Pakai depends on the land it sits on.
| Configuration | Initial grant | Extension | Renewal | Total | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hak Pakai over State land or Hak Pengelolaan | 30 years max | 20 years max | 30 years max | 80 years | PP 18/2021 art. 52(1) |
| Hak Pakai over Hak Milik (land owned by a Balinese individual) | 30 years max | — | Renewable by PPAT deed | No guaranteed 80-year cycle | PP 18/2021 art. 52(3) |
| HGB over State land or Hak Pengelolaan | 30 years max | 20 years max | 30 years max | 80 years | PP 18/2021 art. 37(1) |
| HGB over Hak Milik | 30 years max | — | Renewable by deed | No guaranteed 80-year cycle | PP 18/2021 art. 37(2) |
The line to remember is the second one: most foreign-owned villas in Bali sit on a Hak Pakai laid over a Balinese owner's Hak Milik. In that configuration the statute gives you 30 years and a renewal that runs through a fresh deed, not through any automatic entitlement. Guides that write "Hak Pakai: up to 80 years" without naming the underlying title are describing a situation other than yours.
Three further points complete the regime:
1. At the end of the cycle the land reverts to State land or to land under Hak Pengelolaan. Both provisions expressly target the cycle set out in their own paragraph (1), the State-land one (art. 37(3) and 52(4)). The former holder may be granted priority, subject to seven conditions including continued compliance with the spatial plan (art. 37(4)): a regulated favour, not a vested right.
2. The open-ended hak pakai ("selama dipergunakan") is not available to foreign individuals: article 49(3) reserves it for central, regional and village administrations and for the missions of foreign states or international bodies.
3. If you acquire a detached house whose land is held under Hak Milik or HGB, conversion to Hak Pakai is mandatory (Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021, art. 187(3)). New or old, purchase, gift, exchange or auction: every mode of transfer is admitted (art. 187(1) and (2)), but the final title has to be a Hak Pakai.
How much land, what kind of home: the caps in figures
PP 18/2021 sets the frame in two articles. Article 71 defines what a foreigner may own. A rumah tapak (detached house): only on land under hak pakai — State land, Hak Milik via a PPAT deed, or Hak Pengelolaan via an exploitation agreement. A rumah susun (apartment, "rusun"): on hak pakai or HGB, with paragraph (2) covering rusun built in a special economic zone (KEK), free-trade zone or free port, industrial estate and other economic zones. Article 72 then sets out the four caps: minimum price, land area, number of plots or units, strictly residential use.
The figures themselves live in Permen ATR/BPN No. 18 of 2021, promulgated on 27 October 2021 and still in force. Article 186(1), for a detached house:
- the house must fall within the "rumah mewah" (luxury house) category as defined by the applicable regulations;
- one plot only, per person or per family;
- 2,000 m² of land maximum ("tanahnya paling luas 2.000 m2").
For an apartment, the required category is "rumah susun komersial". Going beyond — several plots, or more than 2,000 m² — is possible only with the Minister's authorisation, where the economic and social impact is positive (art. 186(2)). Diplomatic missions and international bodies sit outside these caps (art. 186(3)).
That leaves the price floor, and here honesty is owed: it is quantified neither in the PP nor in the Permen. Article 187(2) defers to a separate Keputusan Menteri, revisable without touching either text. Of the three agency guides we reviewed, only one puts a number on it — balirealestateplus.com, "Minimum value thresholds apply: IDR 2 billion to IDR 5 billion in Bali", without citing the number of the Keputusan; the other two flag a threshold without quantifying it. We could not open that decision: neither peraturan.go.id, which does not index ministerial Keputusan, nor the ministry's own legal database publishes it. Treat that range as unverified and have the applicable threshold confirmed by a notaris/PPAT or by Kanwil BPN Bali.
One last detail on apartments: when a rusun is built on HGB land, the foreigner's share covers the common parts and facilities "tidak termasuk tanah bersama" — common land excluded (art. 188(2)). The obligations attached to that common land, however, still fall on them (art. 188(3)).
Do you need a KITAS? What the text says, what the counter asks for
This is the sharpest gap we found between the guides and the statutes. PP 18/2021, article 69(1), requires the foreigner to hold a "dokumen keimigrasian sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan perundang-undangan": an immigration document compliant with the regulations. Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021 restates the same notion in its article 185, with a slightly different qualifier — the document must be "diterbitkan oleh instansi yang berwenang", issued by the competent authority.
Neither the PP nor the Permen uses the word KITAS or KITAP. The concept they use is broader. Yet tasvan.com writes "To qualify, a foreigner must hold a valid Indonesian residency permit (KITAS or KITAP)" and balirealestateplus.com makes a KITAS a condition of Hak Pakai: two formulations that turn a counter practice into an explicit legal requirement.
Two readings remain open and we cannot settle between them: either the text really is broader than the practice, or an immigration regulation defines "dokumen keimigrasian" narrowly. The reasonable position: the law requires a valid immigration document, land offices in practice generally ask for a KITAS or a KITAP, and only Kanwil BPN Bali will settle it for your file. If your plans hang on it, sort out your stay permit first — our guide to KITAS and long-stay visas breaks down the categories and their conditions.
Better news on succession: the home passes to heirs, the foreign heir being required to hold a compliant immigration document as well (art. 69(2) and (3)).
PT PMA and HGB: the company route
HGB (hak guna bangunan, the right to build) is often presented as the "serious" option. It is worth reading who it is addressed to. PP 18/2021, article 34: HGB is granted to Indonesian citizens and to legal entities incorporated under Indonesian law and domiciled in Indonesia. A foreign individual has no access to it; a PT PMA, a foreign-capital company under Indonesian law, does — which is precisely why the "PT PMA + HGB" structure exists.
The entry price is quantified, and it is steep. PP No. 28 of 2025, article 212(2), imposes a minimum investment strictly above IDR 10,000,000,000 (ten billion rupiah), excluding land and buildings, per 5-digit KBLI activity code and per business location. Two phrases in the text change the arithmetic: "harus lebih besar dari" means strictly greater — exactly ten billion does not clear the bar — and "di luar tanah dan bangunan" excludes land and buildings, so the villa itself does not count towards the threshold.
The same article separates two checks at the gate of the OSS system: the minimum investasi (minimum investment) and the ketentuan permodalan (share capital rules). The PP quantifies only the first. The balirealestateplus.com guide puts paid-up capital at IDR 2.5 billion for 2025-2026, attributing it to a BKPM regulation No. 5 of 2025 that we could not open: that figure would therefore belong to the second category. The same page does get one verifiable point wrong — it states that the ten billion is counted "including land and building values for property sectors", where PP 28/2025 says the opposite, "di luar tanah dan bangunan". Hold on to the ten-billion threshold excluding land and buildings; on share capital, ask your adviser for the exact reference of the BKPM regulation before you budget anything.
Finally, a quiet but real sanction: if the holder of an HGB stops meeting the required conditions, they have one year to transfer the right (art. 35(1)). A PT PMA left dormant or struck off is no administrative footnote — it is a countdown running on the land title.
What changed in 2026
Two regulatory moves are worth tracking, and they pull in the same direction: more control.
At provincial level. The Dinas PUPRKIM of Bali Province published on 25 June 2026 an analytical piece — built like a study, with academic references and a recommendations section — on two Perda adopted during the year: Perda No. 3/2026 on coastal protection and shoreline setbacks (sempadan pantai), and Perda No. 4/2026 on controlling the conversion of productive land and prohibiting nominee transfers of land ownership.
The sanctions this source attaches to the two Perda are all administrative, and harsher than what one usually reads: written warning, suspension of the operating licence, sealing of the site, up to physical demolition of commercial buildings put up inside a shoreline setback or on protected paddy land (LSD, lahan sawah dilindungi). On the nominee front, the same source describes a second set of measures: work stoppage, cancellation of the KKPR recommendation, and coordination with BPN to have the land certificate annulled. No monetary fine or criminal penalty is mentioned. We could not open the text of either Perda. Their existence and titles are attested by this provincial source; their exact provisions remain to be verified, and part of what the article proposes is recommendation rather than measure in force.
At national level. Perpres No. 4 of 2026 on controlling the conversion of paddy land (Pengendalian Alih Fungsi Lahan Sawah) expressly replaces Perpres 59/2019 and sets up an integrated control team (Tim Terpadu). Its recital leaves no room for doubt: paddy conversion "is increasing and potentially threatens national food security". In Bali, where a great many plots on the market are sawah, this is the text that makes converting them harder.
Otherwise the foundations have not moved. The 2026 Permen ATR/BPN available in the ministry's legal database — 1/2026 (internal risk management), 2/2026 (archiving), 3/2026 (Penilaian Tanah, land valuation), 4/2026 (status of the STPN school) and 6/2026 (spatial plans, amending Permen 11/2021) — do not touch the foreign ownership regime. One caveat: the numbering implies that at least one other 2026 Permen exists without appearing in the public listing, so the check is not exhaustive. As at 22 July 2026, the applicable law remains UUPA 5/1960 + PP 18/2021 + Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021, all three flagged "Berlaku" on peraturan.go.id.
Tax: two ceilings to know before you negotiate
Indonesian property tax is set locally, but Law No. 1 of 2022 on financial relations between central and local government fixes two national ceilings:
| Tax | National statutory ceiling | Who sets the actual rate |
|---|---|---|
| BPHTB — acquisition duty, paid once on purchase | 5% maximum (art. 47(1)) | The Perda of the local government (art. 47(2)) |
| PBB-P2 — annual land and building tax | 0.5% maximum (art. 41(1)) | The Perda of the local government (art. 41(3)); the rate must be lower for land used for food production and livestock (art. 41(2)) |
Never mistake these ceilings for applied rates. Badung, Gianyar and the city of Denpasar each set their own, and nobody can tell you "BPHTB is 5% in Bali" without having opened the Perda of the local government concerned. Ask for the local figure before you negotiate, not after.
Before you sign: the order of operations
In a Balinese land file, sequence matters more than speed. What follows describes the legal framework as it emerges from the texts cited above, not legal advice: every file is settled with a professional.
1. Establish the exact nature of the seller's title: Hak Milik, HGB, Hak Pakai — and the land it sits on. That is what determines your real term.
2. Use an independent notaris/PPAT, chosen by you and not by the seller or the agent. They draft the deed and have it registered.
3. Check zoning and permits before any payment — land-use conformity (ITR/KKPR), building permit (PBG), building conformity certificate (SLF): agricultural land, or land inside a shoreline setback, does not become buildable because a sale has been signed.
4. Refuse any nominee structure, however it is dressed up — "loan agreement", "irrevocable power of attorney", "holding company". Article 26(2) of the UUPA provides for no refund of the sums paid.
5. Have the applicable price floor confirmed, along with the immigration documents required, by Kanwil BPN Bali — not by a forum.
Until that path is complete, renting remains the rational option: our yearly rental prices by neighbourhood give the real orders of magnitude, and the moving-to-Bali checklist puts the property question back where it belongs in the administrative queue.
Once the lease or the Hak Pakai is signed, kitting the place out is largely a second-hand exercise — see our guide to furnishing a villa without breaking the bank. On Lokalfinds, the Property category lets you compare long-term rental listings and contact owners directly; for anything held under Hak Pakai or on a lease, ask for a copy of the certificate and the name of the notaris before you even view it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy a house freehold in Bali?
No. Article 21(1) of the UUPA reserves Hak Milik to Indonesian citizens, so no detached house can be held freehold by a foreigner. A strata title unit (Hak Milik atas Satuan Rumah Susun) can be, under article 67(1)(c) of PP 18/2021, provided you hold a permit compliant with the regulations. For a house, the only title registrable in your name is Hak Pakai; the lease (Hak Sewa) remains available, but it does not make you an owner.
What do you risk with a nominee arrangement in Bali?
Three cumulative consequences, all set out in article 26(2) of the UUPA: the deed is void by operation of law, the land is forfeited to the State, and the sums already paid to the seller cannot be reclaimed. The text expressly targets transfers made "directly or indirectly". Bali Province also adopted in 2026 a Perda No. 4/2026 explicitly prohibiting the practice, backed by administrative sanctions.
What is the maximum term of a Hak Pakai for a foreigner?
It depends on the land. Over State land or Hak Pengelolaan: 30 years, extendable by 20, renewable for 30, i.e. 80 years in total (PP 18/2021, art. 52(1)). Over land held under Hak Milik — the configuration of most expat villas — the text provides 30 years maximum, renewable through a fresh PPAT deed (art. 52(3)), with no guaranteed 80-year cycle.
Does Indonesian law cap leases (Hak Sewa) at 25 years?
No. Articles 44 and 45 of the UUPA define Hak Sewa and who may hold it without setting any term, and PP 18/2021 contains no provision on this right at all. The "25 years" or "30 years" routinely quoted in Bali are market custom, not a legal rule. The corollary: no extension is automatic, everything rests on the clauses negotiated in the deed.
How much land can a foreigner hold in Bali?
2,000 m² maximum, and one plot only per person or per family, under article 186(1) of Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021. The house must fall within the "rumah mewah" (luxury house) category as defined by the applicable regulations. Exceeding the area or the number of plots is possible only with the Minister's authorisation, justified by a positive economic and social impact.
Do you need a KITAS to hold a Hak Pakai in Indonesia?
The statutes do not use the word. PP 18/2021 (art. 69(1)) and Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021 (art. 185) require a "dokumen keimigrasian", meaning an immigration document issued by the competent authority. Land offices are generally more restrictive in practice and ask for a KITAS or a KITAP. Have the requirement applicable to your file confirmed by Kanwil BPN Bali.
How much must you invest to set up a PT PMA holding an HGB?
PP 28/2025, article 212(2), imposes a minimum investment strictly above IDR 10 billion, excluding land and buildings, per 5-digit KBLI code and per business location. That threshold is distinct from the share capital rules ("ketentuan permodalan"), which the PP does not quantify. The paid-up capital figures circulating online are not confirmed by any accessible official text.
Sources
The six statutes below were read in full PDF — on peraturan.go.id, the metadata page on its own contains no articles. All URLs were retested on 22 July 2026.
Official texts (status "Berlaku" verified for the first four)
- UUPA — Law No. 5 of 1960 · PDF — art. 16, 21, 26(2), 44-45.
- PP No. 18 of 2021 · PDF — promulgated 2 February 2021; art. 34-35, 37, 49, 52, 67, 69-73. Full-text search: no occurrence of "hak sewa".
- Permen ATR/BPN No. 18 of 2021 · PDF — established 29 April 2021, promulgated 27 October 2021; art. 185 to 188.
- PP No. 28 of 2025 · PDF — art. 212 and 213.
- Perpres No. 4 of 2026 · PDF — replaces Perpres 59/2019, sets up an integrated control team (Tim Terpadu).
- Law No. 1 of 2022 · PDF — art. 41 and 47.
- JDIH ATR/BPN — listing consulted on 22 July 2026: Permen 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of 2026, none of them touching foreign ownership. Check not exhaustive.
Provincial administrative source (official)
- Dinas PUPRKIM, Bali Province — Paradoks pariwisata massal & tata ruang Bali 2026 — analytical article of 25 June 2026 on a government domain: titles of Bali Perda 3/2026 and 4/2026, definition of the nominee, administrative sanctions. The text of the Perda could not be opened.
Commercial sources — real-estate agency guides, cited as such
- Bali Real Estate Plus (14 February 2026) — the only source to quantify the price floor (2 to 5 billion IDR) and the PT PMA capital (2.5 billion, attributed to a BKPM regulation 5/2025). Error noted: it states that the 10-billion threshold includes land and buildings, against "di luar tanah dan bangunan" in PP 28/2025.
- Magnum Estate (updated 3 June 2026) — administrative pathway (ITR/KKPR, PBG-SLF, the PPAT's role). Market data unsourced, not used here.
- Tasvan (May 2026) — comparison of the three routes. Two inaccuracies corrected here: Hak Pakai "up to ~80 yrs" without distinguishing the underlying title, and KITAS/KITAP presented as a legal obligation.
Community source
- Living in Indonesia — community resource, last updated 27 June 2024, predating the 2026 tightening: cited only for the first-hand account of nominee arrangements.
