Buying a property in Bali is very popular, but it is not an easy process. In this article, we will tell you everything we know about how to buy and own a property in Bali.

Firstly, it is always best to go through a broker of your trust. Make sure you check well for the building quality, as Bali’s tropical climate is hard on building material and quality standards of buildings vary wildly.

In Bali, there are two common ways to “own” a property – either you lease the land of the villa and thus own the villa as long as your lease runs. Or you buy the ground, which is restricted to Indonesian citizens or Indonesian businesses.

Lease
The most common form is to lease the land, as you can do this as a foreign citizen. In that case, make sure that if you buy an existing villa, there are at least 25 years of lease left, better more. Also, check if there is an extension option in the contract. 20 years extension options are the standard.

So if you are leasing the ground, the transaction is rather simple, as you can directly put the lease and sales and purchase agreement on your name. We highly recommend consulting a lawyer for the transaction nevertheless.

Buy
If you want to buy and thus own the land and are not an Indonesian citizen, there are two options. Either you enter into a nominee agreement with an Indonesian citizen or you buy the land through an Indonesian entity that you set up. Owning a villa through a nominee agreement is not uncommon, but there are obvious risks involved. That’s why we would definitely recommend strongly to consult a lawyer for that kind of transaction.

The same goes for setting up a local entity to own the land and villa on it. It’s not particularly difficult in itself and the process is easy. But all the details must be well taken care of.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us, we will do our best to help!