balivillacareDue diligence on a Bali villa: twelve checks, and the rule behind each
Key takeaways
- Title first: the PPAT must refuse a deed if the original certificate does not match the land office register.
- Then the plot: a KKPR for the use, and not protected farmland, where conversion carries up to 5 years and IDR 1 billion.
- Then the building: a PBG (or a valid IMB) with the right function, and an SLF renewed every 5 years for a non-house.
- Then the business: NIB, villa KBLI, standard certificate, hotel tax filings, staff contracts.
- If a company comes with the villa, its LKPM and tax filings are part of what is being bought.
A Bali villa is a plot, a building, a business and often a company, and each of them can be in order or not independently of the others. The checklist below ties every item to the regulation that makes it checkable, so the question to a seller is specific.
The twelve checks
| What to see | Rule | |
|---|---|---|
| Title certificate | Original, matching the land office register | PP 24/1997 Pasal 39(1)(a) — more |
| Who holds it | The seller, entitled to act, not on an absolute power of attorney | PP 24/1997 Pasal 39(1)(c)-(d) — more |
| No dispute | No dispute over the physical or legal data | PP 24/1997 Pasal 39(1)(f) |
| Zoning | A KKPR for the use; not protected farmland | PP 28/2025 Pasal 15-19; UU 41/2009 Pasal 44 — more |
| Building approval | PBG (or a still-valid IMB) for the building as built, with the right function | PP 16/2021 Pasal 11, 263, 346 — more |
| Certificate of function | SLF, valid: 5 years for a non-house, 20 for a house | PP 16/2021 Pasal 297 — more |
| Business license | NIB, KBLI villa code, location, holder; standard certificate | PP 28/2025 Pasal 131, 206-207 — more |
| Land and building tax | SPPT paid; who is the taxpayer | UU 1/2022 Pasal 39 — more |
| Hotel tax | Registered taxpayer; returns filed | Perda Badung 7/2023 Pasal 25, 120 — more |
| Staff | Contracts, PKWT registration, BPJS | PP 35/2021 — more |
| Operator or manager | Lease or management contract, and what survives a sale | — — more |
| Company | If buying a PT PMA: LKPM filed, tax filed, capital | BKPM 5/2025 Pasal 285-286, 373 — more |
The certificate
A registered transfer needs a PPAT deed (PP No. 24 Tahun 1997, Pasal 37). The PPAT must refuse if the original certificate is not produced or does not match the land office's registers, if the land is in dispute, or if a party acts on an absolute power of attorney that is in substance a transfer (Pasal 39). Asking the PPAT to check before a deposit is paid costs nothing in law.
The zoning
The KKPR states the permitted activity, the building coverage and floor area ratios and the conditions; land designated as protected food farmland may not be converted. Zoning in full.
Want a villa checked before you commit?
Tell us which part of Bali it is in. Five questions, and your details are the last step.
Function on the approval
Every building has a function on its PBG, SLF and ownership certificate (PP 16/2021, Pasal 11(1)). A villa approved as a house and run as a letting business needs an amended PBG for the change of function (Pasal 11(2)). It is the most common mismatch, and the one a license application will find.
The SLF
Five years for buildings other than single and row houses, twenty for those (Pasal 297). If it lapses, the building ownership certificate is void and the regency's utility services are withdrawn (Pasal 302).
The license and the taxes
The NIB and its KBLI code, location and holder; the standard certificate; the hotel tax registration and returns; the land and building tax bills. A license in someone else's name does not transfer with the villa. How to read the license.
What a finding means
| What follows | Rule | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate does not match the register | The PPAT must refuse the deed | PP 24/1997 Pasal 39(1)(a) |
| Seller relies on an absolute power of attorney | The PPAT must refuse the deed | PP 24/1997 Pasal 39(1)(d) |
| “Freehold” held for a foreigner by a local | Void; the land falls to the State | UUPA Pasal 26(2) |
| Plot is protected farmland | No conversion; criminal penalty for converting | UU 41/2009 Pasal 44, 72 |
| Building's function is a house, used as a business | Amended PBG needed | PP 16/2021 Pasal 11(2) |
| SLF lapsed | Building ownership certificate void; utilities withdrawn | PP 16/2021 Pasal 302 |
| License held by the seller's company | An NIB belongs to a business actor, not to the villa | PP 28/2025 Pasal 206 |
None of these is a reason by itself to walk away; each is a reason to price the fix, or to make the fix a condition of completion, before money moves. The worst outcome is finding them after the deed, when the seller has been paid and the buyer owns the problem.
Who is selling
Every check above starts with the seller. The land register is public, and a PPAT must refuse a deed built on a mismatched certificate or an absolute power of attorney. Verifying the seller.
What comes with it
Staff with contracts, an operator lease or a management agreement, and sometimes a whole PT PMA with its quarterly LKPM history. Each is an obligation the buyer may be taking over.
What this page does not cover
- Physical inspection of the building. A surveyor's job.
- Any particular villa's documents. We read the rules, not files, on this page.
- Renting rather than buying. The due diligence checklist for renting a luxury villa.
- A villa sold “with license”. What transfers, and what does not.
- Fees of notaries or advisers. Not set by these regulations.
Common questions
What should due diligence on a Bali villa cover?
Title, the right of the seller to sell, zoning, the building approval and certificate of function, the business license, land and building tax, hotel tax filings, staff, any operator or management contract and, if a company is being bought, its filings.
How is the title checked?
The PPAT making the deed must refuse if the original certificate does not match the land office's registers (PP No. 24 Tahun 1997, Pasal 39(1)(a)). A buyer can ask the PPAT to check before any money moves.
Does a villa need a PBG and an SLF?
Construction starts after the PBG (PP 16/2021, Pasal 263); an older IMB stays valid until it expires (Pasal 346). The SLF must be renewed every 5 years for buildings other than houses (Pasal 297), and a lapsed SLF voids the building ownership certificate (Pasal 302).
What is the most common gap?
A building whose function on its approval is a house, being run as a letting business. Changing the function needs an amended PBG (PP 16/2021, Pasal 11(2)).
Who should do it?
A notary or PPAT for title and deed, and an adviser for licensing and tax. This page lists what the regulations make checkable.
Sources cited on this page
- UU No. 5 Tahun 1960 (UUPA) — Pasal 26, 44-45
- PP No. 18 Tahun 2021 — hak pakai and houses for foreigners
- PP No. 24 Tahun 1997 — land registration, Pasal 37 and 39
- PP No. 28 Tahun 2025 — Pasal 8, 11, 12, 15-19, 131
- PP No. 16 Tahun 2021 — PBG and SLF
- PP No. 21 Tahun 2021 — KKPR
Every figure above links to the source it was read from. This page was last changed on 24 October 2026. How we check this.