Yes, but not freehold. The three legal ways to hold a villa, what each one gives you, and the one way that is never legal.
Yes, a foreigner can buy property in Bali, but not freehold. Freehold land (Hak Milik) is reserved for Indonesian citizens. A foreign buyer holds a villa on a lease in their own name, on a Hak Pakai right of use, or through an Indonesian company (a PT PMA) holding Hak Guna Bangunan. Almost every villa sold to foreigners in Bali is the first of those.
Tell us what you want to buy and why. We will tell you which way of holding it fits, and what your notary will check.
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The fourth route you will be offered, putting the land in an Indonesian friend's name, is not a route. It is void, and since February 2026 it is also a matter for whoever arranged it.
Not open to foreigners: freehold (Hak Milik), which Article 21 of the Basic Agrarian Law limits to Indonesian citizens, and nominee deals, which Article 26 makes void. Why
A lease gives you the right to use the land and the villa on it for a set number of years. It is a contract, signed before a notary, held in your own name. You can sell the years that remain, leave them in a will and, if the deed allows it, sub lease.
What matters is the end date on the deed, not the number of years in the advert. A villa sold as "25 years" may have 21 left by the time you sign, and an extension is only worth something if its price or method is written down. That is why our listings show the lease end date wherever we have one. How leasehold works in Bali has the detail, and the lease calculator shows what each year left actually costs you.
You do not need a residence permit or a company to buy on a lease.
Hak Pakai is a registered right of use, on the land certificate rather than in a contract, and a foreign individual can hold it for a home. It is tied to your permit status, and this is one of the places where current sources contradict each other about exactly which permit you need and what price rules apply.
Treat any confident answer about it, including from an agent, as something to have your notary confirm in writing.
A PT PMA is an Indonesian company with foreign shareholders. It can hold Hak Guna Bangunan, the right to build, which suits letting commercially, developing to sell or running several properties.
It is a company you have to keep: minimum paid up capital of IDR 2.5 billion since October 2025, reporting, tax returns and bookkeeping every year, whether it trades or not. For one villa to live in, it is usually more structure than you need. PT PMA, and when it is overkill sets out the numbers.
A nominee deal puts the freehold in an Indonesian citizen's name, with side agreements meant to give you control. Article 26 of the Basic Agrarian Law makes that void from the start. There is no contract to enforce if the nominee sells, borrows against the land or dies.
Since Perda Bali 4 of 2026 came into force on 24 February 2026, acting as an intermediary or facilitator for one is also prohibited, with sanctions that run as far as revocation of licences and demolition. We do not arrange nominee structures and will not introduce you to anyone who does. Nominee ownership in Bali explains the 2026 rules.
For a lease, no. It is a contract, and your permit status does not decide whether you can sign it.
For Hak Pakai, permit status is part of the question. Have your notary confirm the current requirement in writing.
For HGB, you need the company. The right is held by the PT PMA, not by you.
The price is agreed and your lawyer reviews the memorandum of understanding before anything is paid. A 10% deposit is then held in escrow by the notary, not paid to the seller, and is refundable if due diligence comes back unsatisfactory. The seller releases the full documents and the notary runs due diligence, usually 30 to 60 days, before the binding agreement is signed. Off plan purchases follow the developer's payment schedule. Our process and the documents your notary checks cover each step.
Ask your notary: which right will I hold, in whose name, until what date, and what happens at the end of it?
This page describes publicly available law and practice and is not legal or tax advice. Bali Property Sourcing is a real estate agency and buyer's agent, not a law firm. Land rights, permit rules and capital thresholds change and are applied locally. Instruct your own notary before you commit money.
Every property listed here is one we would be happy to own. Ask us anything about it, and your notary checks the documents before the sale goes ahead.
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