Buy · risks · official sources only · reviewed 30 September 2026
Risks of buying property in Bali, and how to check them
Most losses come from a skipped check: the wrong zone, no building permit (PBG), a lease extension that isn't in the deed, a nominee deal, or an off-plan project with no handover date. Officials now enforce these rules. A notary (PPAT) you choose yourself can check each point for the exact plot.
- Official actions since Jul 2025
- 4
- Red flags to check
- 10
- Papers before you pay
- 7
What officials did
Only actions we could confirm in an official source, oldest first. Each says what it means for a buyer.
48 buildings demolished at Bingin Beach
Badung Regency and the Bali provincial government began demolishing 48 villas, restaurants and homestays at Bingin Beach (Pecatu) that stood on state land without permits.
What it means: A business that has run for years doesn't prove the land title or the permits are valid.
Source: Bali Provincial Government, 21 Jul 2025 · Badung Regent order 600.1.15.2/14831/SETDA/SAT.POL.PP, 15 Jul 2025
No new hotels and villas on productive farmland
Bali's government told the regencies to stop approving new hotels, villas and restaurants on productive farmland and water-catchment land. Six regencies outside the south also agreed not to add new hotels and restaurants from 2026.
What it means: Check the zone of the exact plot (KKPR) before you buy. A plot on farmland may never get a permit.
Perda Bali 4/2026 bans nominee arrangements
A Bali regulation from February 2026 (Perda Bali 4/2026) bans nominee arrangements, with administrative sanctions. It also restricts turning productive farmland into villas.
What it means: Holding land through a local friend's name is not a workaround. Freehold (SHM) is for Indonesian citizens only.
Tourism Ministry on unlicensed accommodation
The Ministry of Tourism said about 1,600 unlicensed accommodation operators across Indonesia could be removed from booking platforms from 1 August 2026, with automatic licence checks planned from June 2027.
What it means: Holiday-rental income without its own business licence isn't income you can count on.
Source: Kemenpar, 26 May 2026 · Permenpar No. 6/2025
The date the ministry named for removals
We haven't seen an official report of what was removed. This line changes when one is published.
What it means: Ask the seller for the villa's business licence (NIB with the right business code), not a booking-platform rating.
Source: Kemenpar, 26 May 2026
Ten red flags on the villa in front of you
Tick the ones that apply to the villa you're looking at. Each links to the page that explains what to ask.
0 / 10 flags ticked. Tick any that apply to the villa you're looking at.
- 01The villa has no PBGNo building permit you can see, or only an old IMB nobody can match to the building.
- 02The seller can't show the land certificateNo copy of the certificate, or the name on it isn't the seller's or the lessor's.
- 03A "guaranteed" returnA fixed yield promised in a sales deck or the contract. Rent is never guaranteed, and a gross figure leaves out costs.
- 04Payment to a personal accountDeposits and instalments belong in a notary or company account, against a receipt.
- 05An "automatic" lease extensionA lease extension is a right only when its terms are written into the notarial lease deed, signed by the certificate holder and every co-owner or heir. It is never automatic.
- 06"A local friend holds the title"A Bali regulation from February 2026 (Perda Bali 4/2026) bans nominee arrangements, with administrative sanctions. Freehold (SHM) is for Indonesian citizens only.
- 07Nobody has checked the zoneFarmland or a green zone can't take a villa. Ask for the land-use confirmation (KKPR) for this plot.
- 08Off-plan with no handover date or developerMany off-plan listings name neither. Get both in writing before any deposit.
- 09Holiday income quoted, no business licenceNightly letting needs its own business licence. Without one, the income figure isn't safe.
- 10The seller picks and pays the notaryUse your own notary (PPAT). They check the certificate, sign off the deed and the tax payments.
Your ticks stay in this browser only.
When a sales deck quotes a yield
What a 2-bedroom leasehold villa earns from long-term rent before costs, by area (Oct 2026). Compare a quoted figure with this, and ask whether it's gross or net, long-term or holiday letting.
Gross long-term yield: the median yearly-lease rent × 12 ÷ the median asking price, same area and size. A developer’s figure is their claim and we haven’t checked it. Work out what a villa keeps after costs.