Before I buy or lease land in Bali, how do I check the land certificate and whether the zoning allows what I want to build?

Two separate questions decide whether a plot is worth buying or leasing: who holds what right over it, and what the plan allows on it. A clean certificate does not mean you can build a rental villa, and a zoning that allows one does not mean the seller can sell.

1. The certificate and the land office records

What a certificate proves. A land certificate (sertifikat) is the proof of a land right that has been entered in the land book (buku tanah) (PP 24/1997 Article 1 point 20). It is strong evidence of the physical and legal data written in it, as long as that data matches the survey letter (surat ukur) and the land book at the land office (Article 32(1)). The elucidation explains that Indonesia’s registration system does not have the state guarantee the data; the certificate holds unless it is proved wrong.

Your right to look. Anyone with an interest has the right to know the physical and legal data in the registration map, land register, survey letter and land book (Article 34(1)). The elucidation says parties should check this before any legal act over a plot, and that not doing so is their own responsibility. Ask the land office, through your notary, PPAT or lawyer, for the current record of the plot.

What to compare. Check that the following match across the certificate, the land book and what you see on site:

• the holder’s name, and that the seller is that holder or has a valid power to act;
• the type of right (Hak Milik, Hak Guna Bangunan, Hak Pakai) and, for a term right, when it ends;
• the plot area and boundaries in the survey letter;
• any mortgage (hak tanggungan) or other entry recorded against the right.

The 5-year rule. Where a certificate was lawfully issued to someone who acquired the land in good faith and actually occupies it, another person who claims the land can no longer pursue the claim if they did not object in writing or go to court within 5 years of issue (PP 24/1997 Article 32(2)). A certificate issued recently has not passed that point.

Who can hold the right you are buying. A foreigner cannot hold Hak Milik. See can a foreigner own land in Bali? and leasehold or Hak Pakai. The checks the land deed official must make before signing are in what does a PPAT do.

2. Zoning: the plans that apply

The regency’s detailed plan (RDTR). The RDTR is the detailed spatial plan of a regency or city, with its zoning regulation (PP 21/2021 Article 1 point 6). It is the plan that says what a particular zone may be used for.

Conformity for a business use (KKPR). Spatial-use conformity (Kesesuaian Kegiatan Pemanfaatan Ruang) is the match between a planned use and the spatial plan (PP 21/2021 Article 1 point 17). For a business, conformity is obtained through OSS before it applies for its business licence (PP 21/2021 Article 100). Under the current licensing regulation, KKPR is one of the basic requirements of a business, with the PBG and SLF (PP 28/2025 Article 12(1)). Where the regency’s RDTR is integrated with OSS, a confirmation (konfirmasi KKPR) is issued or refused automatically against it (Article 17); where no RDTR is available yet, an approval (persetujuan KKPR) is needed, which involves registration, document review and assessment, and a state fee (Articles 18 and 19). A rental villa run as a business goes through this step; see what licences a rental villa needs.

The building’s function. The function of a building must match the zoning, and is written into its building approval. See building permits: PBG and SLF.

Bali’s provincial plan. The Bali spatial plan for 2023 to 2043 (Bali Provincial Regulation 2/2023) names local protected areas that include sacred areas, the surroundings of temples (Kawasan Tempat Suci), coastal setbacks, and the banks of rivers, springs, lakes and ravines (Article 1 points 44 to 48), and sets zoning directions for them (Article 85). For coastal setbacks, the regency or city carries out the technical study that fixes the boundary (Article 85(c) point 10). Ask your architect or permit agent whether any part of the plot falls in one of these areas. The same regulation sets a general building height limit of 15 metres (Article 100).

3. Protected farmland (LP2B)

Land designated as sustainable food farmland (Lahan Pertanian Pangan Berkelanjutan, LP2B) is protected and may not be converted to another use (UU 41/2009 Article 44(1), as amended by UU 6/2023). Conversion is allowed only for the public interest or a national strategic project, with conditions that include replacement land (Article 44(2) and (3)). An official who approves a conversion against Article 44(1) faces imprisonment of 1 to 5 years and a fine of IDR 1,000,000,000 to IDR 5,000,000,000 (Article 73, as amended). The Bali spatial plan uses the same term (Article 1 point 77). Rice fields offered for sale should be checked against the plan before any money changes hands.

Before you pay a deposit

• Get a copy of the certificate and have the land office record checked for the same plot.
• Get the zoning of the plot in writing from the RDTR, and ask whether a KKPR for your planned use is likely to be confirmed.
• Ask whether the plot is LP2B, in a coastal or ravine setback, or near a temple.
• Make any deposit conditional on these checks.

Who does this work

• Land sourcing agents find plots; they are not a substitute for a title check.
• Property lawyers check title and structure.
• Notaries and PPATs make the deeds and check the certificate at the land office.
• Permit agents and architects read the zoning and apply for the KKPR and PBG.