Every listing in this catalogue states one thing before the price: the tenure. Freehold or leasehold. It is the single field that changes what you are buying, what you pay in tax, what you can do with the property afterwards and what it is worth in fifteen years. This guide explains the difference in the terms an Indonesian notary will use, not in marketing shorthand.
What freehold actually means, and why you cannot have it
Freehold in Indonesia is Hak Milik — the strongest title, with no expiry. Under the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA 5/1960) it is reserved for Indonesian citizens. A foreign individual cannot hold it. Neither can a PT PMA, the foreign-investment company form.
So when a Bali listing says “freehold”, read it as one of three things:
- Hak Milik held by an Indonesian seller — the underlying title. You are buying into it through one of the structures below, not taking the Hak Milik itself.
- Hak Pakai — the right to use, which a foreign individual can hold in their own name.
- HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan, the right to build) — held by a company, including a PT PMA.
Anyone offering you Hak Milik in your own name is either mistaken or proposing a nominee arrangement, where an Indonesian holds the title on paper for you. Do not. Nominee land structures are void under investment law, and a 2026 Bali provincial regulation attached criminal liability to them. The title you cannot enforce is not a title.
Hak Pakai: your name on the certificate
Hak Pakai is the route most people mean by “buying freehold as a foreigner”. Under Government Regulation PP 18/2021 article 37 the term runs 30 years, extendable by 20, renewable for 30 — 80 years in total, with the extension applied for before expiry and the renewal after it.
Two conditions matter:
- You need a valid KITAS or KITAP — a stay permit. If your visa lapses, the renewal becomes uncertain. This is the quiet risk in Hak Pakai that brochures skip.
- Bali regencies set a minimum property value, roughly IDR 2–5 billion depending on the regency. Below that threshold, Hak Pakai is not available to you at all.
Cost on top of the price is about 6–7%: BPHTB acquisition tax at 5%, notary around 1%.
Leasehold: buying a term, not a thing
Leasehold — Hak Sewa — is a contract for the right to use land and what stands on it, paid as one sum up front. It is governed by PP 44/1994 and, critically, it has no statutory maximum term. The “99-year lease” you see advertised is market practice, not law. Real structures are usually 25+25, or 30+20+30.
Leasehold is a form of purchase, not a monthly tenancy. You can resell it, pass it on, and take guest income from it. What you cannot do is assume it renews. Renewal is a private negotiation with the landowner, with no government process behind it. Three phrasings appear in contracts, and they are not equivalent:
- Extension at a price fixed now. The best case. The number is in the contract.
- Extension at market price on the day. Common, and an open-ended cost. Treat it as a risk, not a right.
- No extension. At the end, the land and the building go back to the owner.
Every leasehold listing here shows the years left, the exact expiry date and which of those three renewal terms applies. That is not standard practice on this market, and it is the reason we show it.
The number that actually compares them
A freehold at $400,000 and a leasehold at $250,000 with 18 years left are not a cheap option and an expensive one. They are different products. The comparison that works is cost per year of ownership: price divided by years of term. Every listing in this catalogue computes it, and the deal calculator on each page recomputes it when you change the assumptions.
A leasehold loses value as the term shortens — that is arithmetic, not opinion. Below roughly 20 years left, resale gets hard and financing gets harder, which is why listings under that threshold are flagged in red in our catalogue rather than quietly listed.
Which one fits which buyer
| You want to live here long term and hold a KITAS | Hak Pakai, if the property clears the regency value threshold |
|---|---|
| You want the lowest entry cost and a defined horizon | Leasehold, with the renewal term read carefully |
| You are buying to run a business or several properties | HGB through a PT PMA — but read the guide on that first, the rules changed in 2026 |
| You want an asset with no expiry in your own name | Not available in Indonesia. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a nominee scheme |
None of this replaces a notary. The structure of your specific deal is confirmed by a PPAT — the land-deed official — and by the title check on that plot. What this guide does is make you a buyer who knows which questions to put to them.
Common questions
Is leasehold the same as a monthly tenancy?
No. Leasehold is buying the right of use for a fixed term — 20, 25, 30 years or more — paid in one sum. You can resell it, pass it on and take guest income from it. A monthly tenancy is a recurring payment that buys occupation and no rights to the property. This catalogue is purchase only — freehold and leasehold, nothing offered by the month.
Can I convert a leasehold into Hak Pakai later?
Not as a conversion. It is a new transaction with the landowner, at the price of the day, and it requires you to hold a KITAS and the property to clear the regency’s minimum value. Assume it is a possibility to negotiate, never a right you already own.
How many years left is too few?
Below 20 years the resale market thins out sharply and the cost per year of ownership climbs fast. We flag those listings rather than hide them — sometimes a short term at the right price is a rational buy, but it should be a decision, not a surprise at the notary.
What happens to the building I paid for when a lease ends?
It goes to the landowner along with the land, unless the contract says otherwise. This is the clause worth paying a lawyer to read. Some contracts provide compensation for improvements; most do not.
Does a foreigner pay BPHTB on a leasehold?
No. BPHTB is an acquisition tax on a transfer of ownership, and a lease does not transfer ownership. Instead a final income tax of 10% applies to the lease amount, normally the landowner’s liability — but check who the contract puts it on.
See the listings behind this
- Villas for Sale in Canggu 1 listing