Why the title comes first
The title decides more than ownership. It decides who may sign, how long the right lasts, which taxes apply on acquisition, whether the house may later be let to guests, and what passes to heirs. It also narrows the field. A buyer who intends to hold under Hak Pakai can only consider homes that meet its price floor and size cap, and a buyer who intends to use a company must first have one.
Island-wide sold data gives the balance of the market. REID data, as reported in August 2026, put leasehold at 86.5 per cent of the 4,220 villa sales recorded in the 12 months to the first half of 2026. The figure covers every price point, not only the top end, but it shows how much of Bali changes hands under a lease rather than a registered title.
What follows explains each option as the research describes it. It does not recommend one. Which structure suits a particular purchase is for the buyer to settle with their own notary and lawyer, who will also draw the documents.
Hak Milik, and why it is closed to foreigners
Hak Milik is the Indonesian freehold. Only an Indonesian citizen may hold it, a rule grounded in Article 9 and Article 21 of the agrarian statute, the UUPA. A foreign national cannot hold it, and nor can a PT PMA, even though a PT PMA is itself an Indonesian legal entity.
The workaround once common in Bali, the nominee, does not survive scrutiny. Under a nominee, the certificate names an Indonesian while a foreigner supplies the money and claims the benefit. The UUPA, at Article 26(2), forbids passing ownership to a foreigner whether directly or indirectly, and the courts treat these agreements as null and void, with the state able to take the land back. The Supreme Court’s circular, SEMA No. 10 of 2020, directs courts to declare nominee land agreements involving foreigners void because they fail the Civil Code’s lawful-cause test, set out at Article 1320. In 2026 the province added its own prohibition. Bali’s Perda 4/2026, which also protects productive farmland, expressly bans transferring land ownership through nominees.
Freehold listings still matter to a foreign buyer, because a PT PMA can acquire land a seller holds as Hak Milik, with the right converted to HGB or Hak Pakai at the sale. On the Bukit, an April 2026 analysis of more than 16,000 active listings put the asking premium of freehold over leasehold at 82 per cent in Pecatu and 76 per cent in Uluwatu, the highest on the island.
Hak Pakai, the right of use
Hak Pakai is the title a foreign individual can hold in their own name. The minimum price is set by Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022, signed 12 September 2022 and giving effect to PP 18/2021 and to Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021. In Bali the floor is Rp 5 billion for a house standing on its own plot and Rp 2 billion for each apartment. The house must fall within the category the decree calls mewah, there is one plot per person or family, the plot may be no more than 2,000 square metres, and the home may be new or existing. Anything larger requires a permit. For the Indonesian diaspora the minimum is 75 per cent of these figures.
At the September 2026 rate of about IDR 17,600 to the dollar, Rp 5 billion is below US$300,000, so the floor rarely constrains a purchase at this level. The size cap is more likely to matter on an estate.
Eligibility is reported in two ways. An older source, from 2021, states that a KITAS or KITAP is needed. Reporting from May and June 2023, including the account of an ATR/BPN official, says a passport and visa or residence permit are enough under the current regime. The newer reporting is more specific, but a PPAT should confirm the position before an offer is made.
Hak Pakai can be inherited. BPN Bali counted 463 plots held by foreigners under Hak Pakai as of March 2025, the only official figure the research found.
HGB through a PT PMA
HGB, Hak Guna Bangunan, is the right to build on and use land. A PT PMA, which is a limited liability company with foreign investment, may hold HGB or Hak Pakai but never Hak Milik. The structure is the one commonly used for villa-rental businesses.
The company carries its own requirements. Permen Investasi dan Hilirisasi/Kepala BKPM 5/2025, in force from 2 October 2025, cut the minimum paid-up capital to Rp 2.5 billion, down from Rp 10 billion under Peraturan BKPM 4/2021, as reported by a specialist tax publication in November 2025. Separately, a PT PMA must show an investment value above Rp 10 billion, excluding land and buildings unless regulation provides otherwise, counted for each five-digit KBLI business code and each project location. One source says land and building value counts toward that total for property and accommodation businesses. A law firm names no such exception. The point is unresolved and needs confirming against the regulation text, which the research did not read directly.
A company is a business in its own right, with the licensing that implies, and its shareholders hold shares rather than land. Those consequences belong in the conversation with your lawyer.
Hak Sewa, the lease
Hak Sewa is a contract under which the buyer gains the use of land owned by another party, usually a Hak Milik holder. It is open to foreigners, it is not a registered title, and nothing about it is entered on any certificate held at BPN. Everything rests on the notarised lease deed, drawn and confirmed by a notary, typically with witnesses.
Because no registered right passes, BPHTB, the acquisition duty, is not charged on a lease. Lease terms vary by listing. On the Bukit, median lease durations on listed stock exceeded 34 years as of May 2026.
Terms, extensions and renewal
Under PP 18/2021, HGB and Hak Pakai follow the same pattern. Over state land or Hak Pengelolaan land, the first term is up to 30 years, followed by an extension of up to 20 and a renewal of up to 30, for a maximum of 80 years. Where the land beneath is Hak Milik, a first term of up to 30 years can be renewed by up to 30, for a maximum of 60. Deeds that grant or extend these rights are drawn by a PPAT.
A lease has no statutory pattern of this kind. Its length and any option to extend are whatever the contract says. The same is true of the building at the end. Guides on lease expiry find no statute that fills the gap, so unless the lease provides for compensation, buy-back or removal, the fate of the house becomes a private negotiation with the landowner. For a home bought at this level, those clauses deserve as much attention as the price.
What each option asks of the buyer
Hak Pakai asks the buyer to meet the price floor and size cap and to hold the right personally. HGB through a PT PMA asks for a company, its capital and investment plan, and its ongoing compliance. Hak Sewa asks for a well-drawn contract and a sound landowner, since the lessee stands on the deed and on the certificate beneath it, and on nothing else. Not one of the three is Hak Milik, and none can be made into Hak Milik by private agreement.