How to check a Bali developer before your first payment

A project has a brand, and the contract has a legal entity. They're often different, and that's normal. What matters is that one company appears everywhere: on the land certificate or lease, on the building approval, in the draft PPJB and on the bank account you're asked to pay into.

If the seller is one PT and the invoice names another, stop and ask why in writing. There can be a clean answer, such as a land-holding company and a separate construction contractor. Get it on paper before the first transfer.

All four are official and free. None needs an Indonesian login for a basic search, though ATR/BPN's app asks you to register.

AHU, the companies register at the Ministry of Law, confirms the PT exists and shows its status and filed amendments. OSS, the licensing system, shows whether the company holds a business identification number (NIB) and which activity codes (KBLI) it's licensed for. On GISTARU, ATR/BPN's spatial plan map, you can see the plot's zone. The land agency's Sentuh Tanahku app covers the title itself: which right, how many square meters and until when.

Source: Ministry of Law, AHU; OSS RBA; ATR/BPN, GISTARU and Sentuh Tanahku

Indonesian building approval runs in a fixed order. First comes KKPR, confirmation that the planned use fits the spatial plan. Then PBG, the building approval, filed only through the state SIMBG system. After construction, SLF, the certificate of occupancy. A villa that will take nightly guests then needs a tourism business license on top of its NIB.

A foreigner can't file for PBG personally. The applicant is the holder of the land right, typically an Indonesian company with HGB. Consultants we work with quote 14 to 30 working days to process a complete PBG file, and about three and a half months for the whole cycle including design and paperwork.

1. Step 1KKPR

   The plot's zone allows the planned use.

2. Step 2PBG

   Building approval through SIMBG, filed by the landholder.

3. Step 3Construction

   Seven to nine months for a 250–300 m² villa with a pool, design-and-build, in our experience.

4. Step 4SLF

   Certificate of occupancy after inspection of the finished building.

Source: PP 16/2021 on buildings; Tata Ruang Bali, provincial spatial planning portal; consultants' processing times, our estimate

Developers sell off-plan homes in Indonesia through a PPJB, a binding agreement to sell that comes before the final deed. PP 12/2021 lets a developer sign a PPJB only once it meets five conditions: clear land rights, a defined unit, a PBG, available infrastructure and at least 20% of the project built.

For houses and townhouses, the 20% counts units across the planned development. For apartment buildings, it counts the construction volume of the tower on sale. A supervising consultant's report confirms the figure.

Plenty of Bali sales start earlier than that with a reservation form and a booking fee. It's common practice, and it isn't a PPJB. Read what your early document actually commits each side to, and when the PPJB will replace it.

Source: PP 12/2021 on housing and residential areas, as summarized by Industri Properti, February 2021

Indonesia has no regulated escrow for residential sales. In practice, payments go through the notary or PPAT, into a deposit account under a contract clause, or straight to the developer against construction milestones.

None of these is wrong. Each carries a different risk, and the contract decides which one you're taking. Look for payments linked to stages you can verify, such as the foundation, the structure, the roof and handover. Check the refund terms if the PBG or the SLF doesn't come through by a set date. Confirm the mechanism with a practicing notary, since no single law governs it.

• Payee account in the same company name as the contract
• Each installment tied to a construction stage you can inspect or see in photos
• A written SLF deadline
• Refund terms if a permit is refused, with a date and an amount
• The land right and its term written as numbers

A foreign-owned developer operates as a PT PMA. BKPM Regulation 5/2025 cut the minimum paid-up capital to Rp 2.5 bn per company. The investment plan still has to exceed Rp 10 bn per five-digit KBLI code per location, excluding land and buildings.

The licensing framework changed too. PP 28/2025 took effect on June 5, 2025 and replaced PP 5/2021 as the basis for risk-based business licensing, widening it from 16 regulated sectors to 22. A company whose OSS record looks out of date isn't necessarily a problem. It's a fair question to put to the sales team, and the answer should come back with documents. Our PT PMA guide covers the running costs.

Source: BKPM Regulation 5/2025; PP 28/2025, via SmartLegal.id and Ombudsman RI

Reviews live in chat groups and forums, and they skew toward extremes. Documents live in the registers. Use reviews to find questions, then answer those questions with papers.

The most useful review is one you collect yourself. Ask which projects the developer has already handed over, visit one, and talk to an owner if you can. Ask whether those buildings received their SLF, and how long it took after handover. A developer with finished work is usually glad to show it.

We keep profiles of the developers whose projects we list, with logos and the projects on sale. For any project in our catalog, we'll run these register checks with you before the first payment.

A developer's paperwork is only as good as the land beneath it. Foreigners can't hold freehold (Hak Milik), and any deal that tries to pass it to one is void under Article 26 of the Basic Agrarian Law. Leasehold, Hak Pakai and HGB through a PT PMA are the routes that work.

The land term matters as much as the type. HGB on state land can run 30 + 20 + 30 years. HGB granted on someone's Hak Milik runs up to 30 years and then needs a fresh agreement with the owner. Brochures rarely spell out which one applies, so ask. The minimum price for a foreigner buying a house with land in Bali is Rp 5 bn, and Rp 2 bn for an apartment, under Ministerial Decree ATR/BPN 1241/2022.

Our due diligence checklist covers the land checks step by step, and the zoning guide explains how to read the plot's zone.

• The PT in the contract is the PT on the payee account
• PBG issued for the same plot as the land certificate
• Zone in GISTARU allows housing or tourist accommodation
• Land term written in years, never "long-term"

Source: UUPA 5/1960; PP 18/2021; Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/2022

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