Can Foreigners Buy Property in Bali? Leasehold, Hak Pakai and PT PMA Explained for 2026
Yes, but not freehold. Indonesian freehold, called Hak Milik, is reserved for Indonesian citizens, and any sale or arrangement that passes it to a foreigner, directly or indirectly, is void by law. What a foreign buyer can lawfully hold in Bali is one of three things: a lease of land from an Indonesian owner, a fixed-term right of use called Hak Pakai registered in their own name, or a right to build (HGB) held through an Indonesian company with foreign shareholders, known as a PT PMA.
Most foreign villa purchases in Bali are leaseholds. Hak Pakai is the only land title a foreign individual can hold directly, and it comes with conditions: a minimum price, a cap on land area and an immigration-document requirement. The company route works, but it is a business with obligations rather than a holding vehicle for a holiday home. A fourth arrangement, putting the land in an Indonesian friend’s name, is the one we tell every buyer to walk away from. It is void, and since February 2026 Bali’s own provincial regulation prohibits it.
Below we go through each structure as the law stood in October 2026. None of this replaces advice from an Indonesian notary or lawyer on a specific property.
Why freehold is not available to foreigners
The Basic Agrarian Law of 1960 (UUPA) says only Indonesian citizens can hold Hak Milik, and a person who also holds another citizenship cannot hold it either (Art. 21). Article 26(2) goes further: a sale, gift, will or any other act intended to transfer Hak Milik to a foreigner, directly or indirectly, is void, and the land falls to the State. Nominee arrangements are caught by that rule.
So when a listing promises “freehold for foreigners” in Bali, it is describing something else. Usually it is a nominee structure, sometimes a company holding HGB, sometimes a Hak Pakai. None of these is Hak Milik in a foreigner’s name, because no lawful route to that exists.
Leasehold: the structure most foreign buyers use
A lease (Hak Sewa untuk Bangunan) is the right to use someone else’s land for buildings in exchange for rent. Under UUPA Articles 44 and 45 the rent can be paid in one lump sum or in instalments, before or after use, and “foreigners domiciled in Indonesia” are among the eligible lessees.
The lease is a contract with the Indonesian landowner, normally signed as a notarial deed. Typical Bali terms run 25 to 30 years, with extensions only if the contract provides for them. The “up to 80 years” totals sometimes advertised are contractual options added together, not a right the law gives you. When the lease ends, the land and the buildings go back to the owner unless an extension was agreed.
Two rules from the Civil Code work in the lessee’s favour. A lease does not end when either party dies, so heirs step into it for the rest of the term (Art. 1575), and a sale of the land does not end the lease unless the lease says so (Art. 1576).
The weakness is that a lease is not a registered land title like Hak Pakai or HGB. Many foreign buyers are in effect relying on an unregistered long-term rental, and you should not count on a bank mortgage against a Bali leasehold. Your protection is the contract, so its drafting matters more than anything else in the purchase. Our guide to Bali leasehold covers terms, extension clauses and what happens at expiry.
Hak Pakai: the one title in your own name
Government Regulation 18 of 2021 (PP 18/2021) lists foreign individuals among those who can hold Hak Pakai, a right to use land for a fixed term (Art. 49). It takes effect when registered at the land office, and the holder receives a certificate. A landed house held under Hak Milik or HGB has to be converted to Hak Pakai before a foreigner can acquire it.
How long it lasts depends on the land underneath
The figure of “80 years” comes from Hak Pakai on State land: up to 30 years, extendable by up to 20, then renewable for up to 30 more. Hak Pakai on Hak Pengelolaan (HPL) land follows the same pattern, with the HPL holder’s consent.
The common Bali case is different. Most land is privately held Hak Milik, and a Hak Pakai granted over it by the Indonesian owner runs for up to 30 years. It can only be renewed by a new grant deed, and only if the owner agrees. There is no automatic 20-year extension on this variant. On private land, only the first 30 years are certain.
Even on State land, extension and renewal are administrative decisions that have to be applied for and approved, and there is no guarantee they will be granted.
The conditions attached
- One plot per person or family for a landed house, with a maximum land area of 2,000 square metres unless a ministerial permit allows more.
- Houses must be in the “luxury” category and apartment units in the “commercial” category.
- Minimum prices for foreign buyers, set by Ministerial Decree 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022, in force since 12 September 2022. In Bali the floor is IDR 5 billion for a landed house and IDR 2 billion for an apartment.
- The buyer must hold immigration documents (PP 18/2021 Art. 69(1)).
Two of these need a word of caution. On the price floor, treat IDR 5 billion and IDR 2 billion as the Bali figures and confirm the current number with the notary before you commit. No sanction is set for buying below the floor, but a notary or the land office may refuse to register the right, so we would never plan a purchase below it.
On immigration documents, the implementing rules list a visa, passport or stay permit as qualifying, so on paper a KITAS or KITAP is no longer a precondition. In practice, notaries and land offices commonly ask for a stay permit. The safe plan is to hold one, such as a KITAS, KITAP or Second Home Visa, and to confirm with the notary before signing.
A Hak Pakai also ends when the holder stops meeting the requirements to hold it (Art. 61). Under the 2015 rules, an owner who stopped residing had one year to transfer the property. Do not assume the same window applies today. If your circumstances change, the right has to pass to an eligible person, and the notary is the one to tell you how and by when.
Apartments: strata title and the zone question
A foreigner can own an apartment unit under a strata title (Hak Milik atas Satuan Rumah Susun, HMSRS) in a building on Hak Pakai or HGB land. You own the unit, not the land under the building, and when that land right finally expires, the strata title expires with it.
The catch is scope. The Job Creation Law and PP 18/2021 tie foreign strata ownership to buildings in Special Economic Zones, free-trade zones, industrial estates and “other economic zones”, a phrase that can be read narrowly or widely. Before paying a deposit on a Bali apartment, ask the developer’s notary to confirm in writing that the building qualifies for foreign strata ownership.
HGB through a PT PMA: the company route
Hak Guna Bangunan, the right to build, can be held only by Indonesian citizens and Indonesian legal entities. A foreign individual cannot hold it, but a PT PMA can. On State or HPL land, HGB runs up to 30 + 20 + 30 years. On Hak Milik land it is up to 30 years, renewable only by a new deed. The land reverts when the right expires.
BKPM Regulation 5 of 2025, issued in early October 2025, cut the minimum paid-up capital for a PT PMA from IDR 10 billion to IDR 2.5 billion. The investment plan must still exceed IDR 10 billion per five-digit business line (KBLI) per project location, and the paid-up capital must stay in the company account for 12 months except for asset purchases, construction and operations. Whether land and building costs count toward the IDR 10 billion is still an open point, so take this question to your own counsel.
A PT PMA is an operating business with licensing, tax, reporting and staffing duties, which makes it impractical for a single holiday home. It is the route for foreigners who want to run a rental business, and that ties into the licensing rules in our article on renting out a villa in Bali legally.
Nominee deals: void, and now banned in Bali
A nominee arrangement puts Hak Milik in an Indonesian person’s name, with a side agreement saying the foreigner is the real owner. Indonesia does not recognise beneficial ownership, so such agreements are unenforceable. In one Denpasar District Court case (872/Pdt.G/2020), the court voided the name-borrowing agreement and upheld the Indonesian party’s sale of the land to a third party, leaving the foreigner with nothing. That is the outcome the statute points to.
The same logic applies to company shares. Investment Law 25/2007 Article 33 voids any agreement under which PT shares are held on behalf of someone else, and BKPM can impose sanctions up to revoking the company’s licence. Since February 2026, Bali’s provincial regulation Perda 4/2026 expressly prohibits nominee land transfers and reaches intermediaries and facilitators too. Our article on the risks buyers meet in Bali looks at how these deals are sold.
The structures side by side
| Structure | Who holds it | Term | Registered title | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leasehold (Hak Sewa) | You, by contract with the Indonesian owner | As agreed; 25 to 30 years is typical | No | Extension only if written into the contract |
| Hak Pakai on private (Hak Milik) land | You, in your own name | Up to 30 years | Yes | Renewal needs a new deed the owner agrees to |
| Hak Pakai on State or HPL land | You, in your own name | Up to 30 + 20 + 30 years | Yes | Each step must be applied for and approved |
| Strata title (HMSRS) | You, in your own name | Follows the land right of the building | Yes | The building must qualify for foreign ownership |
| HGB through a PT PMA | Your Indonesian company | Up to 30 + 20 + 30 years on State land; up to 30 on Hak Milik land | Yes | Company obligations and capital rules |
| Nominee | An Indonesian person, in law | None for you | In their name | Void and prohibited |
Registration matters for finance too. A registered Hak Pakai can be pledged to a lender through a Hak Tanggungan mortgage, but the few banks willing to consider foreign borrowers require a KITAS or KITAP. Most foreign buyers in Bali pay cash or use a developer’s instalment plan.
What to check before choosing a structure
- Ask the seller in writing which right you are buying: a lease, a Hak Pakai, a strata title or shares in a company. If the answer is “freehold”, ask whose name will be on the certificate.
- For a lease, read the term, the extension clause and its price, and what happens to the building at expiry. The contract is your title.
- For a Hak Pakai, find out what land sits underneath. On private land, plan on 30 certain years.
- Confirm the current minimum price and the immigration documents the notary will ask for before you pay a deposit.
- For an apartment, get written confirmation that the building qualifies for foreign strata ownership.
- For a company, have counsel model the capital, licences and tax before you commit, and check the zoning of the land against the business you plan to run.
Our Indonesia page explains how we work in this market, and you can browse the current listings. For the costs that come on top of the price, see what a Bali villa really costs to buy and own.
