Rent or buy in Bali: the numbers over five years

Bali publishes no official statistics on long-term rents, so we built our own sample: 480 monthly and yearly listings across nine areas, collected on September 7, 2026. The spread inside one area is wider than the spread between areas. Treat each median as the middle of a range, and negotiate from there, especially on longer terms.

A two-bedroom villa in Canggu asks a median Rp 36 million a month. Pererenan and Ubud sit close to that. Umalas and Uluwatu run far higher, and Kedungu and Tabanan are the cheapest in the sample.

Source: Rise Real Bali sample of 480 long-term rental listings, September 7, 2026. Asking prices, not signed contracts.

Across 41 matching pairs of area and villa type, a yearly contract came in 22% below the monthly rate at the median. The Canggu two-bedroom drops from Rp 36 million to about Rp 28 million a month, or Rp 337 million for the year. Discounts ran from almost nothing to 58%, and the biggest ones were on large villas.

The catch is cash flow. Most annual leases in Bali want the whole year paid before you move in, plus a deposit, usually one month's rent. Electricity is metered on top and runs Rp 2–4 million a month for a villa with air conditioning and a pool. Paying two or three years ahead often buys another 15–20% off.

Source: Rise Real Bali rental sample, September 7, 2026; Knowmads Bali and Bali Villa Hub on deposits and prepayment, 2026

A two-bedroom villa in Canggu has a median asking price of Rp 4.96 billion in our catalog, so we model Rp 5 billion on a leasehold with 25 years left. The first cost is time. A lease loses value as it runs down, and after five years you'd sell a villa with 20 years left. Spread evenly, that run-off comes to Rp 200 million a year.

Next come the running costs. We set aside 3% of the villa's value a year for repairs and replacing what the climate wears out, plus about Rp 15 million for land and building tax and insurance. Up front you pay notary fees (1% of the deed at most), a legal check and a furniture package. We write all of that off over the five years. Utilities are the same whether you rent or own, so we leave them out.

Source: Rise Real Bali cost model, September 2026; Rise Real Bali catalog median for 2-bedroom villas in Canggu; PP 24/2016 on notary fees

Put the options next to each other and a buyer who lives in the villa full time loses. Five years on annual contracts cost about Rp 1.68 billion. Owning costs about Rp 2.10 billion. Renting month to month is the most expensive way to live here at Rp 2.16 billion, so if you're staying, switch to a yearly lease first.

One more honest adjustment: your Rp 5 billion could earn something elsewhere. At 5% a year, that's another Rp 250 million a year of forgone return on the owner's side, and the gap widens to about Rp 1.7 billion over five years.

Source: Rise Real Bali model and rental sample, September 2026

Buying pays off in the months you're away, when the villa earns. In our yield model, a Canggu two-bedroom at Rp 2.5 million a night and 60% occupancy leaves a tax-resident owner about Rp 27 million for each month it's let, after management, upkeep and tax.

The gap between owning and an annual lease is about Rp 84 million a year. Three months of letting covers it. A non-resident keeps less, since withholding on rent is 20% instead of 10%, so plan on closer to four months. Count the forgone 5% return as well, though, and even a full year of letting doesn't quite close the gap at this price. Buying works when you treat the villa as an investment you also use, and letting it legally needs a rental license, as our license guide explains.

Source: Rise Real Bali yield model: owner keeps about 60% of revenue as a tax resident; PP 34/2017; Income Tax Law, Article 26; Magnum Estate, June 2026

We talk buyers out of a purchase more often than you'd think. These are the situations where renting is the honest answer.

Source: Rise Real Bali buyer practice, 2023–2026

A lease doesn't need a notary to be valid, but a notarial deed carries the strongest evidential weight if there's a dispute. A contract with a foreign party must be written in Indonesian as well as English. Unless the contract says otherwise, the Indonesian version prevails, so read it or have it read.

Two details protect you. Under the Civil Code (Article 1576), selling the villa doesn't end your lease, and the new owner takes over the landlord's obligations. That protection is only as good as a signed, dated contract with the property described. Also make sure your landlord reports your stay to immigration as the law requires, so your address in the system matches where you live.

Source: Civil Code, Articles 1576 and 1870; Law 24/2009, Article 31, and Presidential Regulation 63/2019, Article 26, via Hukumonline, June 10, 2024; Law 6/2011 on immigration, Article 72

Change the price, the area or the months you're away and the answer moves. Our guide to what a villa costs gives asking prices by area, and running costs covers the monthly bill. Send us the villa you're weighing and your plans for the next five years, and we'll run both columns for you, or browse the catalog.

FAQ