All articles
· Whitespace · 1 min read

Leasehold vs PT PMA: how foreigners actually own Bali property

Leasehold vs PT PMA: how foreigners actually own Bali property

Foreigners can’t hold freehold land in Indonesia. That single fact sends a lot of buyers running, and it shouldn’t. There are two well-established, fully legal routes to owning Bali property as a foreigner. Here’s the plain-English version.

Leasehold is the most common route for foreign buyers, and we hold leasehold inventory across the island. Browse leasehold properties.

Leasehold (Hak Sewa)

You lease the land and the building on it for a fixed term, typically 25 to 30 years, extendable only where the extension is written into the original contract. It is never automatic. The agreement is formalised before a notary. No local partner is required.

Leasehold is the norm, not a compromise. Most Balinese landowners have a deep cultural attachment to their land and prefer long leases to outright sales.

PT PMA (a foreign-owned company)

A PT PMA is an Indonesian limited company that you own. The company can hold property rights (Hak Guna Bangunan) and run a business, which is useful if you’re buying to operate a villa as a rental at scale.

It carries more setup and reporting overhead than leasehold, but gives you an operating vehicle and longer, renewable rights.

Which one?

  • Buying one villa for yield or lifestyle? Leasehold is usually simpler and cheaper.
  • Building a rental portfolio or operating commercially? A PT PMA may be worth the overhead.

There is no nominee structure here and no grey area. Both routes are recognised under Indonesian law. We’ll connect you with licensed notaries and legal advisors to structure it properly.

This is general information, not legal advice. Always use a qualified Indonesian notary and lawyer.

Speak with our advisors
Chat on WhatsApp

Share

WhatsApp Telegram

Answers to the questions that always come up

Why is it leasehold and not freehold?

Foreigners cannot hold freehold (Hak Milik) in Indonesia. That is fixed in law, not a quirk of this project. The standard route is a leasehold of 25 to 30 years, agreed before a notary, with no local partner involved. An extension is only real where it is written into the original contract, so that clause is the first thing to read. Our full breakdown of both routes is here.

Leasehold vs PT PMA

Can I legally own this as a foreigner?

Yes, through one of the recognised structures: leasehold (Hak Sewa), Hak Pakai if you hold a residency permit, or a 100% foreign-owned PT PMA company. Nominee arrangements, where a local holds the title for you, are void under Indonesian law and we do not use them. Which structure applies to this unit is stated on the listing, and a licensed notary confirms it before you commit. We give you the facts; the notary gives the legal opinion.

How foreigners own Bali property

How do I know it will actually be built?

You do not get certainty, you get evidence. Ask for the developer's completed projects and go and look at them, and ask us for the payment schedule so you can see how much money is exposed at each stage. Indonesia has no statutory escrow for off-plan funds, so the payment schedule and the developer's delivery record are the real protection. We will tell you what we can verify on a project and what we cannot.

Are these rental yields real?

The 18 to 20 percent numbers in this market are gross and sell-side. Net is what you keep, after management, platform fees, tax and upkeep, and on well-placed villas that lands around 6 to 12 percent a year. Bali ran roughly 61 percent hotel occupancy full-year 2025 on official BPS data. Our published market read shows the deductions and names the sources.

Bali market report, with sources

Why buy through you rather than direct from the developer?

A developer can only sell you their own building. Our book is deliberately small and we have walked every unit in it, so the comparison you get includes the ones that are wrong for you and the reason why. If the right answer is a project we do not represent, we will say so. The whole portfolio is public and you can filter it yourself.

The full portfolio