Buying a Villa or Land in Lombok: What to Check Before You Pay

By Jeremy Jordan, S.H. — licensed Indonesian advocate (advokat), DPN Indonesia, NIA 25.25.32730 · Reviewed 23 October 2026

Who this guide is for

You have found land, a villa or a long lease in Lombok — in Mataram, Senggigi, the Gili Islands, Kuta Lombok or Mandalika — and someone wants a deposit. Lombok runs on the same national land law as Bali, so the core checks are the same as in our Bali due diligence checklist. This guide sets out those checks briefly and then the points that are specific to Lombok: the foreigner price floor for NTB, land inside the Mandalika Special Economic Zone, and the provincial land on Gili Trawangan. It covers the general rules; the documents of your particular property decide your position.

Step 1 — Know what you will actually hold

Only Indonesian citizens can hold Hak Milik, the freehold title (Basic Agrarian Law 5/1960, Article 21(1)). Any sale or other act intended to transfer Hak Milik to a foreigner, directly or indirectly, is void by law; the land passes to the State and payments already made cannot be reclaimed (Article 26(2)). A foreigner's realistic options are a lease, Hak Pakai on a house, a strata unit, or HGB held through an Indonesian company (PT PMA) — our structure options guide compares them.

Bali has a regional regulation aimed specifically at nominee arrangements. We found no equivalent provincial or regency regulation for Lombok (searched October 2026). That changes nothing for the buyer: "freehold in a local friend's name" is caught by the national rule above, wherever the land is — see our nominee risk guide.

Step 2 — The right Land Office and the right court

Land records are kept by the Land Office (Kantor Pertanahan) of each city or regency: Kota Mataram, Lombok Barat, Lombok Tengah, Lombok Timur and Lombok Utara (Minister of ATR/BPN Regulation 9/2026). The check has to be run at the office for the regency where the land lies.

• PN Mataram covers Mataram city, West Lombok (including Senggigi and Sekotong) and North Lombok (including Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air).
• PN Praya covers Central Lombok, including Kuta, Mandalika and Selong Belanak.
• PN Selong covers East Lombok.

Search the court case system (SIPP) of the competent court by the seller's name and, where possible, by the certificate number. On the Gilis, also note that local government boundaries are changing: North Lombok has begun forming a preparatory village for Gili Trawangan out of Desa Gili Indah (Regent Regulation 73/2026), so documents may refer to either. Disputes over land certificates and other government land decisions have also been brought before the Administrative Court (PTUN) in Mataram — search its SIPP as well.

Step 3 — Check the certificate before any deposit

Have a PPAT (land deed official) run an official check of the certificate at the Land Office. It shows the registered holder, the right, its term and what is registered against it:

• A mortgage (Hak Tanggungan). If the seller defaults, the first-ranking mortgage holder may sell the property at public auction on its own authority (Law 4/1996, Article 6). The mortgage must be released at or before completion.
• A recorded PPJB or lease. Both can be recorded on the certificate (PP 18/2021, Article 90). Once a PPJB is recorded, the right cannot be transferred to anyone other than the party named in it (PMNA 3/1997, Article 127B(6), inserted by Minister of ATR/BPN Regulation 16/2021).
• A court-case note. Land that is the subject of a court case can be noted at the Land Office (PP 18/2021, Article 91).
• Overlaps and the five-year rule. Overlapping certificates occur and can be cancelled for administrative or legal defect (Minister of ATR/BPN Regulation 21/2020, Articles 29, 34 and 35). A claimant who did not object in writing or sue within five years of a certificate lawfully issued to a good-faith holder in physical control can no longer pursue the claim (PP 24/1997, Article 32(2)) — so a brand-new certificate carries more risk than an old one held in good faith.

Then confirm everyone who must sign. Property acquired during a marriage is joint property and needs both spouses' consent (Law 1/1974, Articles 35(1) and 36(1)); in practice, if the registered holder has died, the heirs shown in the inheritance documents must take part; and a PPAT must refuse a transfer deed based on an absolute power of attorney that in substance transfers the land (PP 24/1997, Article 39(1)(d)).

Mandalika: you build on someone else's land right

The Mandalika Special Economic Zone covers 1,035.67 hectares in Pujut district, Central Lombok, and is a tourism zone (PP 52/2014, Articles 1, 2 and 4). Where land has been acquired for a zone proposed by a state company, it is given Hak Pengelolaan (HPL, a management right), and businesses then receive HGB or Hak Pakai on top of that HPL (PP 40/2021, Article 141(1)–(2)). Court records show the HPL certificates at Kuta registered to the state tourism developer that proposed the zone (PN Praya 21/Pdt.G/2023 and 56/Pdt.G/2024); that company is now a subsidiary of the state aviation and tourism holding (PP 3/2023).

What that means for a buyer:

• You never buy the land itself. HPL cannot be mortgaged or transferred (PP 18/2021, Article 12(1)–(2)). Your right is HGB (Indonesian citizens and Indonesian companies only — Article 34) or Hak Pakai, granted by the Minister on the HPL holder's consent (Articles 38(2) and 53(2)).
• The HPL holder stays in the picture. Every legal act on your right — including a sale or a mortgage — needs the HPL holder's recommendation and must be set out in the land-use agreement (Article 13(2)). Read that agreement before you pay: it governs term, extension, renewal and transfer.
• The agreement fixes your term. The term of a business's HGB or Hak Pakai in a zone may not exceed the term granted to the zone developer (PP 40/2021, Article 142(5)); how that works where the developer holds HPL is not spelled out, so in practice the land-use agreement is what fixes your term — read it before you pay.
• Foreigners have a zone-specific route. In a tourism zone, a foreigner or foreign company may own a stand-alone home built on land held under an agreement with the land-right holder, with Hak Pakai for 30 years renewed on terms set out in the agreement, or a strata unit on Hak Pakai (PP 40/2021, Article 144). We found no exemption from the NTB minimum price for zone property, so we treat the price floor below as applying.

Not every plot near Mandalika is HPL land. Local residents have brought claims to land inside the developer's HPL at PN Praya; the published first-instance decisions we reviewed rejected them (PN Praya 21/Pdt.G/2023, 56/Pdt.G/2024). Ask the Central Lombok Land Office whether your plot lies inside an HPL or outside it, and who the registered holder is, before you rely on any map.

Gili Trawangan: the ex-GTI land belongs to the province

About 65 hectares of Gili Trawangan were run for decades under a contract between the NTB provincial government and PT Gili Trawangan Indah (GTI). The province ended that contract in 2021, following a recommendation from the national investment task force (JDIH NTB). The land is provincial land held under HPL, and in September 2022 the province began signing utilisation agreements directly with businesses occupying it (ntbprov.go.id).

• Do not buy or lease this land from an occupant. In a case brought by an occupant who had leased out a plot on the ex-GTI land, PN Mataram declared that lease void and without binding force and ordered the rent refunded (64/Pdt.G/2024), a ruling upheld on appeal (103/PDT/2024/PT MTR). The same occupant was later convicted of corruption at first instance and on appeal; the prosecutor's appeal is now before the Supreme Court, so that case is not final (PN Mataram 60/Pid.Sus-TPK/2025).
• Do not expect freehold. An official of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has warned publicly, as reported by Antara, that this government land may not be converted into Hak Milik certificates and that doing so could become a criminal matter.
• The lawful route is an agreement with the province. Regional assets may be used by others only through set forms — lease, loan for use, utilisation cooperation, build-operate-transfer or infrastructure cooperation (PP 27/2014, Article 27). A lease of regional land runs up to five years and can be extended; for business activities the governor designates as needing a longer term, up to ten years, extendable (PP 27/2014, Article 29(2)–(3); Minister of Home Affairs Regulation 19/2016, Article 114(1), (3), (5) and (8), as amended by Regulation 7/2024). An HGB over the province's HPL needs a land-use agreement with the province and its approval (PP 18/2021, Articles 7–8 and 38(2)) — but HGB is available only to Indonesian citizens and Indonesian companies (Article 34), and we have not seen published rules on whether, or on what terms, the province contracts with foreign individuals.
• The scheme is being rewritten. In May 2026 a provincial task force announced a revaluation of the land and new rental standards and terms. As of October 2026 we have not seen the new rules published, so terms quoted by anyone today may change.

Not all land on Gili Trawangan is ex-GTI land, and Gili Meno and Gili Air have had their own title disputes in the administrative court. Establish from the Land Office which kind of land your plot is before anything else.

Zoning, the coastline and farmland

A business use of land needs confirmation that the activity conforms with the detailed spatial plan (RDTR) or, where there is none, an approval assessed against the regional spatial plans, both obtained through the OSS system (Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 6/2023; PP 21/2021, Articles 101–104). Detailed plans have been issued for some Lombok areas — including Senggigi–Batulayar, north Sekotong, Selong Belanak, the area around Mandalika and parts of Mataram — but not everywhere; we found none published covering the Gili Islands. Ask for the zoning in writing for the exact coordinates.

• Coastal setback. The beach setback is at least 100 metres from the highest tide line, adjusted to the shape and condition of the beach (Presidential Regulation 51/2016, Article 2(1)); NTB's spatial plan measures it from the highest tide point, adjusted for the beach and for tsunami, abrasion and tidal-wave risk, with separate criteria for inhabited small islands such as the Gilis (Regional Regulation NTB 5/2024, Article 100(6)(a)–(b)). North Lombok has set up a team for 2026 to act against buildings in the coastal setback, with sanctions up to demolition (Regent Decree 52 of 2026). A beachfront villa is only as safe as its distance from the tide line.
• Farmland. Land designated as protected food farmland may not be converted (Law 41/2009, Article 44). A rice-field plot marketed as a villa site is a warning sign.

Building permits, and renting the villa out

Construction may only start after a building approval (PBG), and a building may only be used once it has a certificate of fitness for use (SLF) (Law 28/2002, Articles 36A(1) and 37, as amended by Law 6/2023). A building may be demolished where it has no PBG or departs from the approved plan (Article 39(1)(c)–(d)). For an existing villa, ask for the PBG (or older IMB) and the SLF.

If you plan to rent the villa to guests, check the local rules first. North Lombok's tourism regulation requires hotel, condotel, serviced-apartment, villa and motel businesses to be run by an incorporated legal entity (Regional Regulation Lombok Utara 7/2024, Article 54). At provincial level, NTB's 2022 governor regulation on accommodation businesses was revoked in September 2026 (Governor Regulation NTB 23/2026) — older summaries that rely on it are out of date.

If you are a foreigner buying a house or a unit

A foreigner who holds the required immigration documents may own a house or a strata unit (PP 18/2021, Article 69 and its Elucidation). A landed house must be on Hak Pakai, including Hak Pakai over Hak Milik by PPAT deed or over HPL land (Article 71(1)(a)). For strata units on Hak Pakai or HGB land, the regulation describes them as units built in special economic zones, free-trade zones, industrial estates and other economic zones (Article 71(2)) — have the unit's land right and location checked against this before you rely on it. In NTB the minimum price is Rp3 billion for a landed house. NTB is not listed separately for strata units, so the "other regions" figure applies: Rp1 billion for a strata unit (Minister of ATR/BPN Decree 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022). A deal structured to avoid these rules lands you back in Step 1.

Buying off-plan, and recording your agreement

A developer may only sign a PPJB once there is certainty of land ownership, of what is promised, of the building approval and of infrastructure, and at least 20% of the development has been built (Law 1/2011, Article 42(2), as amended by Law 6/2023). Our off-plan developer guide covers what happens when a project stalls.

Once you sign a PPJB or a lease over registered land, have it recorded on the certificate (PP 18/2021, Article 90). Recording needs a copy of the deed and the original certificate (PMNA 3/1997, Article 127B(3)), so make the seller's cooperation a condition of payment.

The honest take

Most of the risk in Lombok is the same as in Bali: paying before the title, the signatures, the zoning and the permits have each been checked. What is different is that some of the most attractive locations — Mandalika and parts of Gili Trawangan — sit on land the buyer can never own outright, where a state company or the province decides on transfers and extensions. That is workable if you know it before you pay, and very expensive if you learn it afterwards. No outcome is guaranteed.

General information only, not legal advice for your situation. No result is guaranteed. Speak to a lawyer about your specific facts.