Can foreigners buy property in Bali: leasehold, HGB through a company, and commercial land.

Can a foreigner own land in Bali: the direct answer.

No foreign individual can hold freehold title to land in Indonesia. What a foreigner can hold is a right for a period of years. In Bali two routes are in everyday use.

• Hak Sewa, a contractual lease. You rent the land, or the land with a building on it, from its Indonesian owner for a fixed term.
• HGB, the right to build, through a PT PMA. A foreign-owned limited company holds the right to build on the land and use it for a set period.

A third route was common until recently: a nominee, where an Indonesian citizen holds the title on the foreigner's behalf. A provincial regulation signed in February 2026, Perda Bali 4/2026, is reported to ban it and to carry criminal sanctions (RRI). We do not work with nominee structures and would not count one as ownership.

Leasehold in Bali: how a Hak Sewa lease works.

A lease is a contract, so almost everything depends on what the deed says. Land is quoted per are, which is 100 m², per year. Recent Canggu listings ask IDR 15, 18 and 25 million per are per year (Bali Exception), about USD 910 to 1,515 at IDR 16,500 per US dollar. An agency guide from April 2026 gives ranges from about USD 3–10 per m² per year around Ubud to USD 20–40 in Seminyak (Getwherenext).

Three clauses decide what the paper is worth.

• Extension. Horwath HTL notes that renewal provisions are generally “subject to agreement”. Ask whether your deed fixes a price or a formula, or only an intention to talk.
• Use. The right to build, to run a business and to sublet must be written in. A lease signed for a house does not make the plot commercial.
• Form. The deed should be notarial, with the landowner's title and identity checked by a notary you appoint.

Every year that passes takes a year off the asset. What that does to returns is worked through in the villa ROI guide.

HGB through a PT PMA: when a company holds the right.

HGB, Hak Guna Bangunan, is a right to build granted for a set term, and a foreign-owned company can hold it. Consultants summarise the term under Government Regulation 18/2021 as 30 years, a 20-year extension and a 30-year renewal. Check the current procedure with a notary.

The company has its own entry price. BKPM Regulation 5/2025 sets paid-up capital at IDR 2.5 billion (about USD 150,000) and requires an investment plan above IDR 10 billion (about USD 606,000) that excludes land and buildings (Hukumonline, June 2026).

Not every purpose is open. Emerhub reports that since May 2026 the OSS licensing system has refused new foreign-owned companies in Bali under low-risk and medium-low-risk business codes, and that real-estate code 68111 is on that list. A new company formed only to hold and rent out property is therefore a question for a licensing agent. A company that runs a business on the land under a code that remains open is a different case. Hukumonline places restaurants (KBLI 56101) in the medium-high tier with 100% foreign ownership allowed. Sources disagree about cafés and some other classes, so the code is confirmed in OSS first. More in can a foreigner open a restaurant in Bali.

Can you own a villa in Bali: yes to holding it, conditions on renting it.

You can hold the lease on a villa and live in it. Renting it out by the night is a separate matter. Horwath HTL is clear that the tourism operating licences for short-term rentals cannot be held directly by a foreign individual, and that the company route carries the investment plan above IDR 10 billion. Rentals that could not show full licensing by 31 March 2026 faced removal from booking platforms.

So “can I own it” has a yes, and “can I earn from it legally” has conditions. The buyer's side is in is it worth buying a villa in Bali, and the warning signs are in villa investment red flags.

Commercial property in Bali: why restaurant leases are shorter.

Shops, cafés and restaurant sites follow a different custom. Licensing consultants report that commercial leases in Bali are often prepaid for 5 or 10 years (Emerhub). A vendor's 2026 cost guide for café-size units gives annual rents of IDR 150–350 million on Canggu's main roads, IDR 100–250 million in Seminyak and IDR 50–200 million in Ubud, with one to two years paid upfront and a two-year minimum (MistSystem, April 2026).

For a restaurant the lease term is a design input. The fit-out of an existing building has to earn its cost back inside the term, so five years suits a light interior and not a heavy rebuild. A new build on empty land needs a long land lease or a company-held right, because what happens to the building at expiry is decided by the deed. Building takes time off the lease too: our planning range is 9–14 months for a new build and 3–6 months for a fit-out.

The market is not all on the landlord's side. Bank Indonesia's Bali office measured a 4.80% year-on-year fall in commercial property demand for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Bali Discovery, February 2026).

We read a lease with the drawings in hand: term against payback, the right to build, access for delivery trucks, power and water. See how to read a Bali commercial lease and restaurant construction on your leased land.

From land rights to a restaurant: where we come in.

We build and open restaurants, with construction by the Kimo Construction team, so land rights are the first page of every project we take on. The claim we make is limited. Compared with a villa bought through a nominee or rented without a tourism licence, a restaurant has fewer land and licensing unknowns, provided it stands on dry land zoned for tourism or commerce, is built with an approval and is held through a PT PMA under a notarised lease. Its risk is operational instead: a kitchen and a team that must perform every day, on a lease that is usually shorter. The risk is different, not lower.

If you would rather hold a share than a lease, co-ownership means shares in the Indonesian company (PT PMA) that holds the lease and licences, with a shareholders' agreement drafted by a notary; ticket size, reporting and exit terms are set per project and sent as a project sheet on WhatsApp. We promise no return. Read restaurant co-ownership, step by step and the co-ownership guide, run a first budget in the cost calculator, or see six asset types lined up in how to invest in Bali. To start, send us the location pin.