Before you commit
What I'd check first
The information I need to tell you whether a Bali property works, and the list of things that decide it, in the order they decide it.
Most Bali deals do not fail on price. They fail because one link in a chain does not match the others, and nobody checked the chain in order.
The order is: land → owner → agreement → zoning → permitted use → business classification → PBG → SLF → operating licence. A break anywhere invalidates everything downstream. A beautiful plot with clean title is worthless for a rental business if the classification is closed, and a perfect licence is worthless if the building has no PBG.
Below is what I go through. If you send me these, I can tell you where the problem is. If a seller becomes evasive about any single line, you have already learned something.
The plot
- Exact location, regency and village, not 'Canggu area'
- Certificate type and number: Hak Milik, HGB, Hak Pakai, or a lease
- Whose name is on the certificate, and their authority to transact
- Land area, and the cadastral drawing against what you walked
The zoning
- RDTR designation for this parcel, from the regency, not the agent
- KDB and KLB figures. What you can actually build, not just whether you can
- Setbacks: beach, river, cliff, temple
- Whether LP2B or subak protections apply
The building
- PBG for every structure standing on the plot
- SLF issued, not 'being processed'
- If off-plan: what has actually been approved, with application numbers
The business
- The rental model, nightly, monthly, or genuine long-term residential
- Which KBLI classification the operator intends to use
- Whether that classification is open for new registration today
- Whether the NIB covers this location or only a company domicile
The agreement
- If leasehold: term remaining, and whether extension is priced or merely promised
- Whether transfer and sublease rights are explicit
- Whether the extension clause binds the owner's heirs and successors
- Who pays which taxes, in writing
What the answers usually reveal
In practice the break is nearly always in the same three places: the zoning does not permit the intended use, the business classification is unavailable, or the lease extension was promised verbally and never written into the deed.
None of those are visible in a photograph of a villa.
Want me to look at the numbers with you?
Location, title type, zoning, and any permits you've been shown. I'll tell you which link in the chain breaks, and what it would take to fix it.
Kai, Bali property adviser