Eco Beach City › Free tools › Property glossary

Indonesia property glossary for foreign buyers

Short answer

Foreigners cannot hold Hak Milik (freehold). They can hold Hak Sewa (a lease), Hak Pakai (right of use, with a residence permit) or, through a PT PMA company, HGB (right to build). Titles are registered at the BPN land office; deeds are made before a notary/PPAT.

The words you will meet when you buy, lease or check property in Bali and the rest of Indonesia, explained in one or two lines each.

Hak Milik (SHM)

Freehold: full, permanent ownership of land. Only Indonesian citizens can hold it.

Hak Sewa

Leasehold: the right to use land or a building for an agreed term under a lease contract with the owner, usually 20–30 years and extendable by agreement. Open to foreigners.

Hak Pakai

Right of use: a registered title a foreigner with a residence permit can hold for a house or apartment, for 30 years, extendable by 20 and renewable by 30.

Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB, SHGB)

Right to build: the title a company, including a PT PMA, holds to own buildings on land, for 30 + 20 + 30 years.

PT PMA

Penanaman Modal Asing: an Indonesian limited company with foreign shareholders. It needs IDR 10 billion of planned investment, IDR 2.5 billion paid up (BKPM Regulation 5/2025).

Nominee arrangement

Holding land in an Indonesian's name on behalf of a foreigner. Such agreements are void under Article 33 of Law 25/2007.

KITAS / KITAP

Temporary (KITAS) and permanent (KITAP) residence permits. Needed for a foreigner to hold Hak Pakai.

Notaris / PPAT

Notary / land deed official. A PPAT is the notary authorised to make land deeds; leases are signed before a notary.

BPN

Badan Pertanahan Nasional, the national land agency (land office) that registers titles and checks certificates.

Cek sertifikat

A check at the land office that shows whether a certificate is genuine and free of mortgages, blocks or disputes.

Surat ukur

The survey map of a plot, with its boundaries and size in square metres.

RDTR / KKPR

The detailed spatial plan (RDTR) and the spatial-use approval (KKPR or PKKPR) that say what may be built on a plot.

PBG

Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung, the building permit that replaced the IMB in 2021.

SLF

Sertifikat Laik Fungsi, the certificate that a finished building is fit to be used.

PBB / NJOP

PBB is the yearly land and building tax, charged at 0.1–0.5% of the NJOP, the government's assessed value.

BPHTB

Tax on acquiring land or building rights (usually 5%), paid on purchases of titles; not paid by a lessee on a leasehold.

Are

Land unit used in Indonesian listings: 1 are = 100 m².

NIB

Nomor Induk Berusaha, the business registration number issued through the OSS system.

More free tools

Sources

Last reviewed 11 October 2026. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; check them with an independent Indonesian lawyer or notary before you sign anything.