Nominee ownership of Bali land: Perda 4/2026 and the national law

For decades foreigners in Bali have “owned” freehold through an Indonesian name on the certificate, backed by side agreements. In February 2026 Bali enacted its own regulation on it. The Perda is narrower than reports of it suggest — it targets the people who arrange nominee deals and the conversion of farmland — and the rule that makes nominee deals worthless was already in national law. This page reads the Perda in full, the Agrarian Law, the investment law, and the 2026 rice-field rules.

Seven words in the nominee rules

The terms in the Perda and the national laws.

What Perda Bali 4/2026 does

The ban

Pasal 14: “Setiap Orang dilarang menjadi perantara, fasilitator, atau menyediakan sarana yang menyebabkan warga negara asing menguasai kepemilikan lahan secara Nomine” — every person is prohibited from acting as intermediary or facilitator, or providing the means, that cause a foreign national to control land ownership by nominee. “Every person” covers individuals, businesses with or without legal personality, and public officials (Pasal 1 angka 19). The Elucidation describes an intermediary as one who connects the parties and a facilitator as one who helps, eases or supports the nominee transfer.

The sanctions

Breach draws administrative sanctions: written warning, temporary halt of activities, closure of the site, revocation or cancellation of permits, demolition of buildings, restoring the land's function, withdrawal of incentives and fines (Pasal 20(2)). Civil servants can be sanctioned under the civil-service rules. Beyond that, criminal sanctions “may be imposed under other legislation” (ayat (5)); the Perda sets no prison term or fine amount of its own. The procedure is left to a future governor regulation (Pasal 21).

What it does not do

• It does not declare nominee agreements void — the national laws below do.
• It names no duty for notaries or PPAT specifically.
• It has no transitional rule or deadline for existing arrangements.
• It does not name the foreign beneficial owner or the Indonesian name-holder as such. Whether a nominee who lends their name “provides the means” under Pasal 14 is not settled by the text.

The national law that already applied

Only citizens may hold hak milik (UUPA Pasal 21). A sale, gift or other act meant to pass it, directly or indirectly, to a foreigner is void, and the land falls to the state, other parties' encumbrances continue, and payments received cannot be reclaimed (Pasal 26(2)) — which is the risk a foreign “owner” behind a nominee carries. For companies, investors may not agree or declare that PT shares are held for another; such an agreement is void by law (UU 25/2007 Pasal 33). The lawful routes are a lease, a house on hak pakai, or a PT PMA holding HGB. Lease or hak pakai. Freehold to HGB for a PT PMA.

The farmland half of the Perda

Productive land — land used for food crops, horticulture or plantations (Pasal 1 angka 7) — designated in the spatial plan may not be converted (Pasal 13(2)). The exceptions are national strategic policy, land acquisition for public purposes, relocation after a disaster, and owners short of land building only a residence; the Elucidation caps that last exception at 20% of non-rice food-crop, horticulture and plantation zones. Control runs through incentives and disincentives set by governor regulation, oversight by the provincial agriculture office at least every six months, and desa adat and subak as part of the oversight team (Pasal 7-19, 24).

Rice fields: the national layer

Rice fields on the protected map that are not yet designated as sustainable food land cannot be converted without a land-use change recommendation from the land minister (Perpres 4/2026 Pasal 17). In December 2025 the Governor instructed all regents and mayors not to carry out or approve conversion of farmland, including sustainable food land and baseline rice fields, and not to change their zoning. Zoning and KKPR.

What this page does not cover

• Unwinding an existing nominee arrangement. A question for a lawyer, on the specific documents.
• The governor regulation on sanctions, not yet issued as far as we found.
• Whether the 2020-2023 job-creation laws changed UU 25/2007 Pasal 33. We quote the 2007 text.

Common questions