Completing from a distance
A purchase can be completed without the buyer in the room. The AJB, or the deed by which HGB or Hak Pakai is granted, is signed before the PPAT by both parties in person, or by someone acting for either of them under a power of attorney made before a notary. That is the usual way a buyer living overseas completes. Viewings are the part that cannot be delegated so easily. We arrange and accompany them, including for homes that are not publicly listed, so that a short visit covers the shortlist.
Money needs its own planning. A foreign national can generally open an Indonesian bank account with a passport and a KITAS or KITAP, and banks commonly ask for an NPWP, the tax identification number, particularly for larger transactions, along with proof of an Indonesian address. Requirements vary by bank, and an OJK regulation now provides simplified customer due diligence for foreigners. The rupiah moves, too. On 8 September 2026 one US dollar bought about IDR 17,600, having weakened roughly 6.94 per cent over the preceding twelve months, so an owner paying local costs from a foreign currency sees those costs move.
Visas and stay permits
One immigration adviser describes three permits used by foreigners who buy property or set up a business in Bali. A Second Home KITAS requires proof of funds reported at IDR 2 billion or more, is valid for five or ten years, and leads to KITAP eligibility after three years. An Investor KITAS is tied to holding shares in a PT PMA. A Retirement KITAS, for those aged 55 and over, carries a reported minimum income of around US$3,000 a month, renews annually and leads to KITAP eligibility after five years. Sources disagree on the visa index codes for these categories, so none is given here, and the current classification should be confirmed against official immigration guidance.
A stay permit can also bear on title. Older reporting states that a KITAS or KITAP is needed to hold Hak Pakai, while 2023 reporting of the current regime says a passport and visa or residence permit suffice. Your PPAT should confirm which applies before the deed is drawn.
Running the house
A house of this size needs attention whether or not anyone is in it. Management, maintenance and rental after purchase can be arranged through our partners, which spares an owner abroad from assembling a team at a distance.
The building itself sets the workload. One Bali developer, writing in June 2026, described build quality engineered for humidity, UV, rain, soils and seismic activity, together with professional operations, as part of what separates the top tier. Services deserve the same scrutiny before purchase. On the Bukit, mains water to parts of Ungasan, Kutuh, Pecatu, Balangan and Jimbaran was cut from 28 May to 4 June 2023 during a pipe repair, the most recent such report the research found.
Ownership also runs on dates that are easy to lose from abroad. Under PP 18/2021, Hak Pakai and HGB are granted for a first term of up to 30 years, and the deeds that extend or renew them are drawn by a PPAT. Hak Pakai can be inherited. A lease ends on the date its contract sets, and what happens to the house then depends on its wording, since no statute fills the gap. PBB, charged each year on the assessed NJOP at a rate capped at 0.5 per cent, is set by the regency and falls due whether or not the owner is in residence.
The research behind this guide does not cover employment terms for household staff or the cost of management, and neither is described here. Those terms are best set in writing with whoever runs the house, and checked by your own adviser.
Letting it while you are away
Letting a Bali villa to short-stay guests is a licensed business. Under the risk-based OSS system, the older TDUP tourism registration has given way to an NIB, the business identification number, tied to the correct KBLI business code. The villa code was 55193 under KBLI 2020 and is reported to move to 55203 under KBLI 2025, a change reported not to open the activity automatically to foreign investment.
A foreign owner cannot hold a Pondok Wisata licence or an NIB in their own name, since Pondok Wisata (KBLI 55130) is reserved for Indonesian individuals and cooperatives. The reported route is a PT PMA, licensed under the code for villa accommodation. From there the chain runs through a tourism-zone location, a PBG granted for commercial use, then an SLF, then a verified NIB, and the whole sequence is reported to run from six months to a year. In a residential, or yellow, zone a private villa is allowed but daily rental is not automatically permitted.
Enforcement has reached the booking platforms. The Ministry of Tourism set 31 March 2026 for short-stay operators listed online to complete licence verification against the OSS database, then extended the deadline to 31 May 2026. Nine platforms are taking part, and a listing that cannot show a verified NIB and KBLI risks removal. By 6 May 2026 the OSS system held over 99,000 short-stay listings nationally, and a little over 31,000 of them carried a verified NIB with the correct classification, and reporting in August 2026 said thousands remained at risk of delisting.
Guests from abroad also pay Bali’s foreign-tourist levy of Rp 150,000 per person, collected from 14 February 2024 under Law No. 14 of 2023 on Bali Province.
Tax on rental income
Rent from land and buildings received by an Indonesian tax resident carries a final income tax, PPh Pasal 4 ayat 2, of 10 per cent of the gross rent under PP 34/2017. Where the tenant is a registered withholding entity, such as a company, the tenant generally withholds and remits it. Between two private individuals with no withholding agent, the landlord must pay the tax over and issue their own withholding slip (bukti potong) using e-Bupot in Coretax.
Rent paid to a non-resident taxpayer without a permanent establishment in Indonesia is generally subject to a final PPh Pasal 26 withholding of 20 per cent of the gross amount. A double-taxation treaty can reduce that rate, in some cases to nil, where the non-resident provides a certificate of domicile on the DGT form under PER-25/PJ/2018. Without it the full 20 per cent applies. Secondary sources put Indonesia’s treaty partners at 71 countries, a count the research did not verify against the official list.
How a PT PMA’s own rental business is taxed, and how any of this interacts with the tax rules of the owner’s home country, fall outside the research behind this guide and belong with a tax adviser in each jurisdiction.
Before you leave
The settled owner abroad has a few things in writing before the first departure. The title deed or lease deed, held safely. The stay permit and its renewal dates. If the house will be let, the PT PMA, PBG for commercial use, SLF and NIB in place, rather than in process. A clear arrangement for management and maintenance. And a tax position confirmed by an adviser, so that the house can run while you are elsewhere.