Renting a House or Villa in Bali: How to Find One, Step by Step

Step 1: Decide what you are looking for

Before you search, settle four things: how long you will stay, your budget per month or per year, the number of bedrooms, and how far you are willing to be from the beach, the school or your work. Each one changes where you should look.

• Monthly or yearly? A yearly lease is the usual way to rent in Bali and costs less per month, but it is paid for the whole year in advance. A monthly rental costs more per month and often includes cleaning and pool care, but you can leave with notice. One common approach is to start monthly and switch to a yearly lease once you know the area. Our guides compare the two: monthly and yearly rentals and renting for a year.
• Furnished or unfurnished? Unfurnished villas rent for less; furnished ones suit shorter stays.
• Which village? Canggu and Berawa have the most cafes, gyms and traffic. Pererenan, Seseh and Cemagi are quieter and closer to the rice fields. Umalas and Kerobokan sit inland between Canggu and Seminyak. Villages further out, such as Padonan, Babakan, Munggu and Cepaka, are usually a little cheaper. Our guide to the best areas to live in southwest Bali compares them.

Step 2: Where to look

Bali has no single rental register, so the same villa may be on three sites under three prices, and the best ones may never be listed at all. Use several channels together.

If you tell us what you need, we send you villas that fit, including ones that never reach the website, and we can set up an alert for new matches. Tell us what you need or browse our current villas for rent.

Step 3: Agents and fees

Who pays a rental agent’s fee is not fixed by law, so ask. With us, the fee is agreed with the owner, and you pay no fee to us.

A few things are worth knowing:

• Ask about fees in writing before any viewing, with every agent you use. If someone asks you for a finder’s fee, a viewing fee or a “booking fee” to be paid to them personally, walk away.
• Ask who you are dealing with. Not everyone who calls themselves an agent in Bali works for an agency with an office and a name to protect, so ask for the company and the person’s full name before a viewing.
• Pay the owner, not the agent. Rent goes to the person entitled to rent out the villa. An agent who insists that the rent passes through their own account is a warning sign. With us, tenants always pay the owner directly.
• More than one agency is fine. Agencies often have different owners on their books, so two or three widen your choice; tell each one what you have already seen.

Step 4: Viewing a villa

Photos in Bali are flattering. View every villa in person, or have someone you trust view it for you on a video call, and visit at a different time of day if you can.

At the viewing, do three things besides looking at the rooms:

1. Test what breaks. Run two taps and the shower at once, switch on every air-conditioner, check the Wi-Fi speed on your phone and look into wardrobes and ceiling corners for damp. Our long-term rental guide has the full viewing checklist.
2. Ask who is renting it out. Is it the owner, a leaseholder who rents it on, or a manager? Ask to see the land certificate (sertifikat) and the ID of the person who will sign the lease. If a leaseholder rents to you, their own lease must run past your end date and allow subletting.
3. Ask what the rent covers. Electricity, water, internet, pool and garden care, cleaning, the village (banjar) contribution and the land and building tax (PBB) are each either included or not. Write down the answers; they go into the lease.

Every villa on our website lists what is included and gives an estimate of the monthly running costs, so you can compare two villas before you drive to either.

Step 5: Negotiating the rent

Rents in Bali are asking prices, and there is often room to negotiate. How much room there is depends on the villa, the season and how you pay.

• Pay the year upfront. This is the strongest argument for a lower yearly rent. Two installments are sometimes possible, usually for a smaller discount.
• Offer a longer lease. Many owners prefer a two-year tenant and price it accordingly. Fix the second year’s rent in the lease.
• Negotiate the package, not only the number. Repairs before you move in, extra furniture, pool and garden care included, or the start date can be worth more than a small cut in rent.
• Compare like with like. A villa at IDR 330 million a year with services included may cost less than one at IDR 300 million where you pay the pool and garden yourself.
• Reservation fee. If you pay one to hold the villa while the lease is drafted, get a receipt that says what it is for, that it counts toward the rent, and when it comes back if the deal does not go ahead.

Step 6: The lease and paying

A private written lease signed by both sides is legally valid in Indonesia; a notary is optional. The lease is what protects you, so read every clause before any money moves. Our villa rental contract checklist goes through it line by line.

• Bilingual. When the owner is Indonesian, the lease should be in Indonesian and English side by side. All our contracts are bilingual.
• Sign first, then pay. Never pay the full rent for a villa you have not seen, or before both signatures are on the lease.
• Pay by bank transfer to the account of the person named in the lease, and get a signed receipt. A receipt for more than IDR 5 million carries an IDR 10,000 stamp duty seal (meterai), as does each signed original of the lease.
• Deposit. Usually one to two months’ rent, refundable. Write the amount, the possible deductions and the return date into the lease.
• Move-in inventory. Walk through the villa with the owner or manager, photograph everything, note the meter readings and sign the list together. This is what gets your deposit back.

Our guide to renting a villa in Bali safely covers deposits, the common scams and the checks that avoid them.

Step 7: After you move in

Two formalities and one habit make the first weeks easier.

• Address registration. Landlords and villa managers are asked to report foreign tenants to immigration through the APOA app; give them your passport details. If you hold a KITAS (stay permit), register at the regency’s civil registry office for an SKTT (certificate of residence).
• Who to call. Get the owner’s or manager’s number for repairs, and find out who looks after the pool and the garden and on which days.
• Keep everything in writing. Report leaks, pump faults or air-conditioner problems by message, with photos, and keep the messages. It avoids arguments at the end of the lease.

We stay the contact for tenants and owners for the whole lease at no extra charge: for questions about the villa, for repairs that are the owner’s, and for the renewal.

How long does it take to rent a villa in Bali?

Allow a few weeks if you want a choice of villas and a yearly lease; a monthly rental can be arranged faster. Good villas can be taken quickly, so have your budget, your documents and your move-in date ready before you start viewing. If you are abroad, we can view for you on a video call.