Building a Villa in Bali: Permits, Rules and Costs

Building a villa in Bali, step by step: land and zoning, the PBG building permit, the 15 m height rule, contractors, costs and the SLF before use.

Building a villa in Bali takes land you own or lease with the right to build, a zone that allows it, a PBG (Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung, building approval) before work starts and an SLF (Sertifikat Laik Fungsi, certificate of fitness for use) before use. Here are the steps, rules and costs as of October 2026, including the routes open to foreigners.

Who can build a villa in Bali, and on what land?

Anyone who holds the land, or leases it with the right to build. The Buildings Law (UU 28/2002, as amended) allows building on someone else’s land based on a written agreement with the landowner.

• Indonesian citizens build on their own Hak Milik (freehold) or HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan, right to build) land.
• Foreigners on leased land: the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA arts. 44–45) recognizes leases of land for building, including to foreigners domiciled in Indonesia. Our leasehold vs freehold guide compares the titles.
• Foreigners with Hak Pakai: the title for one home to live in, on up to 2,000 m², from IDR 5 billion for a house in Bali. Ask a PPAT (land deed official) whether it works for an empty plot.
• A PT PMA (foreign-owned company) can hold HGB and build for a business; see our guide to owning property through a PT PMA.
• Never a nominee: freehold held for you in an Indonesian’s name is void, and Perda Bali 4/2026 bans nominee ownership.

Building a villa in Bali, step by step

1. Check the land and its zone

Before any deposit, and as conditions of the deal:

• Certificate: a PPAT requests the official check at the land office (BPN). We list land across southwest Bali and review the certificate and permits with the owner before a listing goes online, but that does not replace the PPAT’s check.
• Zone: the regency confirms in writing that the zone allows your plan, whether a home or a rental villa. Our Bali zoning guide explains how.
• Farmland: leave rice fields alone. In December 2025 a governor’s instruction told the regencies not to approve conversions, and since about late February 2026 Perda Bali 4/2026 has strictly controlled the conversion of productive land.
• Boundaries and access: the walls should match the certificate, and the plot should reach a public road. If access crosses a neighbor’s land, get it agreed in writing.

More in our guide to buying land in Bali.

2. Design within Bali’s building rules

Before the design is final, get the rules for your plot in writing from the regency public works and spatial planning office (Dinas PUPR).

• Height: Bali’s building height limit is generally 15 meters under the provincial spatial plan (Perda Bali 2/2023), and Badung’s public works office checks buildings against it. Ask how height is measured.
• Balinese architecture: Perda Bali 5/2005 asks for Balinese principles: the traditional layout of the plot, a building divided into foot, body and head, Balinese gates and walls along the road, and balanced green space. Hotels, shops and other modern buildings must apply them on main roads and tourist routes.
• Coverage and green space: the local plan sets, by zone, the share of the plot buildings may cover (KDB, koefisien dasar bangunan), the floor area allowed relative to the plot (KLB, koefisien lantai bangunan) and the share that stays green (KDH, koefisien daerah hijau).
• Setbacks: a minimum distance from the road (GSB, garis sempadan bangunan), set locally, and protected strips along rivers (for a river without embankments, 10 to 30 m inside urban areas depending on depth, and 50 m or 100 m outside urban areas for a small or large river; less beside an embanked river), beaches (at least 100 m from the highest tide line) and around major temples.

3. Get the permits

How the PBG works. The PBG replaced the old IMB building permit under Government Regulation (PP) 16/2021, still in force without amendments. The owner, or someone authorized such as the architect, applies in SIMBG (businesses through OSS):

1. Consultation (free): you upload the plans (architecture, structure, mechanical, electrical and plumbing), and experts check them against the technical standards. Under PP 16/2021, this check takes up to 28 working days, and a regional procedure allows at most five rounds; ask the regency which limit applies to your type of building.
2. Issuance: the regency sets the levy, you pay it, and the PBG is issued.

Drawing time comes before the 28 days and the levy after, so ask your architect for a realistic schedule.

The levy. Each regency sets it in its regional tax and levy regulation (in Badung, Perda 7/2023; Tabanan has its own), and the regency calculates it in SIMBG from the floor area, a local unit price and indices for the building’s function and type. Badung’s earlier levy regulation (Perda Badung 4/2022, since replaced by Perda 7/2023) charged business buildings a far higher function index than homes. We could not confirm the current figures, so ask the regency which function your villa is registered under and for a levy estimate before you budget.

4. Choose a contractor and sign a clear contract

Under the Construction Services Law (UU 2/2017, as amended), every construction company needs an SBU (Sertifikat Badan Usaha, business entity certificate) besides its business license from OSS. Good contract practice:

1. A licensed company: see its NIB and SBU, in the name of the company that signs.
2. Written scope: drawings, specifications and an itemized bill of quantities, so every quote prices the same work.
3. Price model: a fixed price (lump sum) leaves overruns with the contractor; cost-plus (costs plus a fee) is flexible but needs close control. Agree how changes are priced.
4. Progress payments: pay after checked milestones, such as foundations, structure, roof and finishing, not by date.
5. Retention and warranty: hold back part of each payment until a defects period after handover ends, with repairs at the contractor’s cost.
6. Delays: a completion date and a penalty for lateness, except for changes you order.
7. Permits, connections and exit: who arranges and pays for them, and what happens if either side stops.

Foreigners working on the project, such as a foreign architect or site manager, need a stay permit for work sponsored by an Indonesian employer; a visit visa does not allow work.

5. Build and supervise

• Build what was approved: changes and extensions need approval too, and a building that differs from its PBG can face the same sanctions as one without.
• Independent checks: your architect or an engineer checks the work before each payment, especially foundations, reinforcement, waterproofing and the roof.

6. SLF, utilities and handover

• SLF: when the building is finished, a statement that it is fit for use is uploaded to SIMBG, and the regency issues the SLF within 3 working days. It is valid 20 years for a single house or row house and 5 years for other buildings, renewable after a new inspection. Ask which applies to a rental villa.
• Electricity: apply to PLN, the state electricity company, for a connection sized for the air-conditioning, pool pump and water heater; see our guide to villa utilities and running costs.
• Water and wastewater: ask whether mains water (PDAM) reaches the street or you need a well, and what a new well requires. Put the septic tank or treatment unit in the drawings.
• Handover: list defects in writing, collect the as-built drawings and warranties, and release the retention when the list is cleared.

How much does it cost to build a villa in Bali?

There is no reliable single figure, and we found no official price per square meter for villas. A regency’s standard unit price for state buildings (SHST, formerly HSBGN) is a ceiling for government buildings, not a villa quote. Construction costs vary widely with design and finish:

Compare several quotes for the same drawings, and budget separately for furniture and a reserve for changes.

Building on leased land

On leased land, the lease is your right to build:

• Building rights: the lease must let you build, renovate and demolish, and apply for permits and connections. Building on someone else’s land needs a written agreement with the landowner (UU 28/2002 art. 35, as amended), best made as a notarial deed setting out rights, duties and the term. The PBG application also needs the landowner’s certificate.
• Who applies: agree who applies for the permits, in whose name, and that the landowner signs what the regency asks for.
• Term: long enough to justify the build. If the villa is not built yet, say when the term starts.
• At the end: a written lease ends on its end date (Civil Code art. 1570). We found no rule on the buildings, so the lease must say whether they are handed over, removed or paid for.
• Renting out: subletting needs the landowner’s consent unless the lease allows it (art. 1559).

If you plan to rent it out

Holiday rentals are a licensed business: the zone must allow it, the PBG and SLF must match what is built (both are basic requirements for a business license under PP 28/2025), and the business needs an NIB. A foreigner cannot hold the license personally, and since May 2026 Bali has closed OSS to new foreign-owned applications in 18 business lines. See our guide to renting out a villa in Bali.

Mistakes to avoid

• No PBG, or building differently from it: sanctions range from warnings and a stop to the works to revoked approvals and a demolition order.
• Ignoring setbacks: in late 2025 a Canggu villa built into a river channel was sealed, and its owner began demolishing about 250 m².
• Farmland: converting LP2B (farmland protected for food production) can bring up to five years in prison and a fine of up to IDR 1 billion under national law.
• Unclear access: a plot reached by a neighbor’s goodwill can leave trucks, and later buyers, without a way in.

Looking for a plot? Browse our land for sale, or tell us what land you need.