Property & Land Structuring + Villa Due Diligence
A foreign buyer cannot take the same land rights an Indonesian citizen can. What is available - a registered lease, Hak Pakai, or HGB held through a company - sits under UU 5/1960, with PP 18/2021 governing rights for foreign persons and entities, and each option carries a different exposure. This service checks the title and the seller first, then advises which structure the deal can actually support.
Bali property for foreign buyers, in under two minutes
1:38 · Captions available · General information, not legal advice for your situation.
What you get
- A title check against the BPN record, and a check of whether the seller has the legal capacity to sell what they are selling
- A zoning and building check: what the spatial plan permits on that parcel, and whether the building approval matches what is standing on it
- Buying from a developer, off-plan or finished: the developer company and its licences, its right over the land (ownership, or the head lease and how long it still runs), and whether the building approval (PBG) covers the unit you are buying
- The sale or lease agreement read clause by clause before you sign - payment stages, completion date, what happens on delay or cancellation, the refund terms, and any rental-management agreement attached to the villa
- A written structuring recommendation - registered lease, Hak Pakai, or HGB through a company - under UU 5/1960 with PP 18/2021, with the tax exposure of each set out
- The lease deed or AJB executed with the notary/PPAT, with your payments tied to milestones rather than handed over at the start
- The transfer taxes and the re-registration (balik nama) tracked to completion, not left with the agent
How it runs, step by step
| Milestone | Typical time | What happens / your part |
|---|---|---|
| Title & seller check | 3–10 days | We verify the certificate at BPN and the seller's capacity |
| Zoning & permits | 5–15 days | We check the spatial plan (RTRW/RDTR) and building approval (PBG/SLF) |
| Tax & structuring advice | 2–7 days | We advise lease vs Hak Pakai vs HGB and the tax exposure |
| Notary/PPAT execution | 1–2 weeks | The lease deed or AJB is executed; you pay milestone-linked |
| Taxes & registration | 2–8 weeks | BPHTB (buyer) / PPh (seller) paid; title re-registered (balik nama) |
Typical total: DD 2–6 weeks; transfer 4–10+ weeks
Legal basis
| Aspect | Basis |
|---|---|
| Core land law | UU 5/1960 (UUPA — Basic Agrarian Law) |
| Land rights available to foreign individuals and entities | PP 18/2021, which replaced PP 103/2015 — that earlier regulation was revoked in full by PP 18/2021 Pasal 103 letter b, though its implementing rules survive where they do not conflict (Pasal 102) |
| A villa is KBLI 55203 'Aktivitas Vila' under KBLI 2025 (55193 under KBLI 2020) — not the homestay code 55130 pondok wisata (now 55201) | BPS conversion table KBLI 2020–2025 (Katalog 1302033), pp. 210 and 406; whether your entity can hold the code is checked in OSS |
Each basis above has been verified against the primary source and filed in the firm's dossier for this service. Points still under verification are not published here.
Common questions
I am buying a villa from a developer, off-plan. What do you check before I pay?
Beyond the title, seller and zoning checks above, four things. Whether the developer company exists and holds the licences for the project. How long the developer's own right over the land still runs, compared with what it is selling you - many Bali projects sit on leased land, and a 30-year villa lease from a developer whose own lease has 18 years left is a problem. Whether the building approval issued for the project covers the unit described in your agreement. And what the agreement says about payment stages, delay, cancellation and refunds. The written report sets out what we found, what could not be verified, and what should be resolved before you pay - so allow time for it before the deposit date.
The seller has a certificate. Isn't that enough?
A certificate records what was registered. It does not tell you whether the record still matches reality, whether the person signing can sell, or whether the land is encumbered or already in dispute. Those are three separate questions and the certificate answers one of them, which is why the check starts at BPN rather than at the seller's photocopy.
Everyone here buys through a nominee. Why not me?
That is a different service and an honest conversation - see Nominee Risk Review & Restructuring. The short version this page will give you is that a nominee arrangement does not give you the land; what it gives you is a claim against a person. If nominee is the plan, read that page before you pay a deposit.
I want to rent the villa out. Does that change anything?
Yes, it changes the licensing question. Villa rental maps to KBLI 55203 'Aktivitas Vila' under KBLI 2025 (the code was 55193 under KBLI 2020), not the homestay code 55130 pondok wisata (now 55201) that is sometimes used for it. Which classification your business can actually hold, and through which entity, is checked in OSS for your specific case rather than assumed from what the previous owner did.
Honest limits
BPN, the notary/PPAT, the tax office and the local licensing office control their own timing; every duration shown is indicative of 2026 practice. This service does not include valuation, building survey or construction advice, and it does not extend to designing or papering a nominee structure. Where the record and the reality disagree - which is common enough to budget time for - the report says so, and the deal may need to stop while it is resolved.
Talk to the advocate
Tell us what you are dealing with on WhatsApp. That first message is intake and a conflict check — not legal advice. Advice happens in a booked consultation: Rp2.5 million for 90 minutes, credited against your fee if you retain the firm within 30 days.
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