Is it worth buying a villa in Bali: what the 2026 rule changes mean for buyers.

Who can legally rent out a villa now.

The Horwath HTL report is blunt on this point: foreign individuals cannot directly hold the tourism-specific operating licences that short-term rentals require. A foreign buyer who wants nightly rental income needs a foreign-owned limited company, a PT PMA, and Horwath notes that this route means committed investment capital exceeding IDR 10 billion (about USD 606,000).

BKPM Regulation 5/2025 softened one number and kept the other. Paid-up capital fell to IDR 2.5 billion (about USD 150,000) per company. The investment plan above IDR 10 billion still excludes land and buildings, so the plot and the villa themselves do not count towards it (Hukumonline, June 2026).

Then came the registration block. Emerhub reports that since May 2026 OSS refuses new foreign-owned companies in Bali under low-risk and medium-low-risk business codes. Which accommodation code a particular villa needs, and which risk tier it falls in, is a question for a licensing agent. Ask it before the deposit, not after.

Nominee deals after Perda 4/2026.

For years the workaround was a nominee: land registered in an Indonesian citizen's name, with side agreements giving the foreign buyer control. Perda Bali 4/2026 is reported to prohibit nominee land ownership and to carry criminal sanctions (RRI). We have not read the official text, so treat the detail as reported and take the question to a notary.

The practical point does not depend on the fine print. A structure that works only while nobody examines it is not ownership. If the seller's answer to “who holds the title” is a person you have never met, the villa is priced as if you owned it and documented as if you did not.

Are Bali villas a good investment: what the 2025 numbers show.

There is no audited occupancy series for private villas, so the nearest measured figures are for hotels. Across Bali they averaged 74% in 2025. Canggu and Tabanan, where much of the new villa stock stands, managed 60%, the lowest of the areas Horwath tracks. Guests there also stay the shortest time: 2.4 days on average, against 4.0 in Legian and 3.2 in Seminyak. Short stays mean more changeovers and more empty nights between bookings.

The calendar is uneven. Hotels peaked at 85.9% in July, and February and March were the weakest months for revenue per room (Horwath HTL). Agency commentary on villas points the same way: Kibarer, a villa agency, said in February 2026 that the average villa has trouble staying at 45–60% in the shoulder seasons, with owners cutting rates by 10–30%. That is an agency view with no published method.

Supply is concentrated. More than 70 hospitality-managed residential projects are on sale, with Canggu and Berawa accounting for roughly 40%, and villas grew from 13% to 18% of that inventory within a year (Horwath HTL).

Bali villa investment or a restaurant share: what changes and what stays the same.

We build and co-own restaurants, so we have an interest here. Weigh what follows with that in mind.

Much stays the same. A foreign-owned restaurant needs the same PT PMA, the same IDR 2.5 billion of paid-up capital and the same plan above IDR 10 billion as a licensed villa. The 0.5% turnover tax is reported gone for both. A bar-led concept may fall into the 40–75% entertainment tax band instead of the 10% restaurant tax, depending on how the venue is licensed (Pajakku). And the farmland rules name restaurants beside villas: restaurants were among 13 buildings sealed at Jatiluwih in December 2025.

Three things change. First, the licence position. Hukumonline (June 2026) places restaurant business code KBLI 56101 in the medium-high risk tier, open to 100% foreign ownership, and the May 2026 block is reported to cover only the two lowest tiers. Consultants disagree about cafés and some restaurant classes, so the code is checked in OSS before a lease is signed. Second, for food and drink the plan above IDR 10 billion is counted once per regency, so a restaurant, a bar and a café in Badung can sit under one plan (BKPM Regulation 5/2025). Third, the kind of risk. Put a restaurant on dry land zoned for commerce or tourism, obtain the building approval, hold the notarised lease in a PT PMA, and fewer land and licence questions stay open than with a nominee-held villa or one rented without a tourism licence. The risk moves to operations: staff, food cost, 64,521 competing venues (BPS, 2024) and net margins that published Indonesian benchmarks put between 5% and 20% depending on format (Klikit, 2026).

That is a different risk, not a lower one, and we promise no return. Our co-ownership offer is 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. Start with the restaurant co-ownership page or the co-ownership guide.

If you still plan to buy a villa in Bali: the order to work in.

Do the land and licence checks first and the price negotiation second. Read how leasehold and company-held land work before you compare listings.

If you want to see what the same capital does in food and drink, the cost calculator gives a first budget by seats and finish level. Its ranges are indicative for 2026; a fixed price follows drawings and a bill of quantities. For a wider comparison, see how to invest in Bali.