Building a house in Bali: KKPR, PBG and SLF

This page is for a foreigner who plans to build a house in Bali, or to buy one that is being built. It states what the regulations say, with the article, and says where they are silent. It is general information, not legal advice.

The kabupaten applies the rules, through its technical office (Dinas Teknis, the public works and spatial planning office, called Dinas PUPR or similar) and its one-stop licensing office (DPMPTSP). Before you build, ask them what they need for your plot, and work with a licensed architect or engineer and a notary. How the fee is calculated is on the page on taxes and official costs.

First the use of the land must fit the zoning (KKPR). Then the building needs its approval before construction starts (PBG). When it is finished, it needs a certificate that it is fit for use before anyone uses it (SLF).

The law does not name KKPR as a document of the PBG application. The link comes from SIMBG, the national building system, which asks you to hold two prerequisite documents before you apply for PBG: a space-use permit document (the KKPR route) and an environmental document. The building regulation itself requires a building to stand where the detailed plan (RDTR) allows, or, where there is none, to follow the land use set in the other spatial plans.

A private house is a non-business use of space, and it needs a KKPR in its non-business form. The regulation lists a private residence (rumah tinggal pribadi) among these activities and sets no size exemption for houses.

There are two forms. Where the area has a detailed plan (RDTR) already integrated into the OSS system, you get a Konfirmasi KKPR: the system matches your planned location with the RDTR, and it must be issued within 1 working day after a complete application and payment of the state fee (PNBP). The answer is approved, fully or partly, or rejected with reasons. Where there is no RDTR, or it is not yet integrated into OSS, you get a Persetujuan KKPR, checked against the other spatial plans, such as the kabupaten RTRW. It must be issued within 20 working days of a complete application and payment. The land office gives its technical opinion within 10 working days, and is treated as having given it if it does not reply.

You register with the coordinates and area of the plot, information on who holds the land, the activity and the planned floors and floor area; for a Persetujuan also the technical plan of the building. Both forms are valid for 3 years, or for the term of the land right if you already hold the land. The Minister's system issues the KKPR. Under Pasal 58 the power is delegated: for a plot within one kabupaten to the bupati or walikota (or an official they appoint), and to the governor only for a plot across kabupaten (or in DKI Jakarta); the Minister keeps the power (Pasal 58(4)).

The regulation does not say whether a lease (Hak Sewa) is enough to show that you hold the land, or how the 3 year validity works for a tenant. Which Bali RDTR are already integrated into OSS is shown plan by plan on the map page, in its list of official sources, as recorded on 1 October 2026 from the ATR/BPN Protaru register; that status can change. Ask the kabupaten office which form applies to your plot and what it accepts as proof of your right to the land.

This is the regulation in force on 2 October 2026, the date we checked it (Permen ATR/BPN 13/2021, under PP 21/2021). Ask the office for the version in force when you apply. PP 28/2025 on risk-based business licensing governs business actors, for whom KKPR, environmental approval, PBG and SLF are basic requirements. We read it as not the route for a private house, although it does not say so in terms.

The page on zones and map colours explains the zone codes and colours of the plans, how to read the table of allowed uses, and where to look up the zone of a plot.

Apply for PBG before construction starts, and start only after you hold it. The applicant is the building owner or a person the owner authorises, and the application goes to the kabupaten government through SIMBG.

There are two stages: planning consultation, which is free of charge, and issue. You register in SIMBG with data on the owner, data on the building and the technical plan, and the plan is examined against the technical standards. The expert team (TPA) makes up to 5 examinations within 28 working days, the first within 3. For a single house of one floor up to 72 m2 or two floors up to 90 m2, the technical assessment team (TPT) examines it within 5 working days.

Then the technical office sets the fee from the formula in the regulation, you pay it, and DPMPTSP issues the PBG once it has proof of payment. No deadline is set for issue after payment. For the fee, see the page on taxes and official costs.

SIMBG asks for land ownership data, general data (owner identity, the planning provider, a licensed architect) and technical data (architecture, structure, mechanical and electrical). Kabupaten checklists add items; Badung's lists the land certificate, land-use permission, proof of PBB, KTP or KITAS, the zoning information (ITR, KRK or KKPR), the environmental document and the drawings. We did not read the other kabupaten. SIMBG announces that traditional land proofs such as Letter C, Girik, Petok D and Verponding were valid under PP 18/2021 only until 2 February 2026, so register such land at the land office.

A certified planning provider makes the technical plan; for a single house up to the sizes above, the owner may prepare it himself. The statute says a prototype design needs no consultation or examination, while the regulation still lists TPT examination for these houses; ask the technical office which applies. The architects regulation adds that if a simple house is not designed by an architect, the PBG process must still be carried out by a licensed architect (PP 15/2021 Pasal 30(6)); the page on the construction contract sets this out.

After the PBG is issued, tell the technical office the construction schedule and start date through SIMBG before you begin. If you do not, the office asks for clarification, up to twice within 6 months of issue, and then the PBG is revoked and you register again. A PBG has no fixed expiry for a building that is built and unchanged.

A house used as a business, such as a villa let to guests, follows a different route: PBG and SLF are basic requirements that the business actor obtains through OSS. The first check of data and documents takes up to 3 working days, and the examination up to 26 working days instead of 28. The regulations do not say where the line between a private house and a business use falls for a villa; it depends on whether the activity needs a business licence. Ask the kabupaten.

You may build on land you do not own, but the statute asks for a written agreement between the landowner and the building owner. The official elucidation says this means an authentic deed (akta otentik) stating each party's rights and duties and the term, made before the competent official, and taking into account the function of the building and how it will be used. That points to a notarial deed, not a private letter.

The PBG is issued to the owner of the building, who may be a different person from the landowner. The building ownership document (SBKBG) records the building owner and the status of the land right, with the land-use agreement attached. The building regulation calls clear land rights an absolute requirement, and still allows the building owner and the landowner to differ.

The building papers follow the land agreement. If the agreement ends without extension, the SBKBG is deleted. The SBKBG can be extended only after the land agreement is extended, and the extension rests on a valid SLF. Selling the building needs the landowner's consent, and the buyer and the landowner can sign a new agreement. A request to demolish from someone who is not the landowner must be known to or approved by the landowner.

The law is silent on several points. It lists no mandatory clauses. It does not say how long the agreement must run compared with the SLF period. It does not say whether a foreign individual, or a company with foreign shareholders, can be the building owner on leased land; that belongs to land and foreign ownership law. The elucidation explains the statute rather than binding like an article, and the texts do not say whether a Hak Sewa deed made before a notary or a PPAT satisfies it. Have your notary draft the lease with the building in mind. See the page on leasing.

You may not use a new building until it has an SLF. The technical office issues it through SIMBG, together with the building ownership document (SBKBG), within 3 working days after the fitness statement is uploaded (1 working day for a prototype design), free of charge.

The fitness statement comes from the construction supervisor. For a single house up to 72 m2 (one floor) or 90 m2 (two floors) built without a supervisor, it comes from the government inspector (Penilik), based on the owner's construction report. The SLF follows the staged inspections of the construction; each is due within 3 working days, and if one is not done the applicant may continue to the next stage.

The SBKBG records the owner, address, land right status, PBG number and SLF number. Every building registered in SIMBG gets a building number (nomor induk Bangunan Gedung).

An SLF must be renewed after 20 years for single and row houses, and after 5 years for other buildings. The regulation does not say how a house let as a villa is classified; the function written in the PBG and SLF decides, so ask what yours says. Renewal starts with a fitness inspection by a technical assessor at the owner's cost, and the extension itself is free through SIMBG. Where major repairs are needed, a temporary-use letter can run for the repair period, up to 5 years and not extendable.

If the SLF and any temporary-use letter lapse, the SBKBG becomes invalid and public utility service is withdrawn until a new SLF is obtained. Check the SLF date on an older building before you buy it.

A building without PBG breaches the duty to obtain one before building (PP 16/2021 Pasal 253(4)). The regulation lets the owner apply for PBG through an SLF for the existing building: the transitional article says such a building must go through SLF to obtain PBG. No deadline is set, and no consequence for delay beyond the sanctions below. A certified technical assessor, or the TPT for a house, checks the documents and the condition of the building, including its conformity with the zoning information (KRK).

The statute makes it the owner's and user's duty to demolish a building that has no PBG (UU 28/2002 Pasal 41(2)(f), as amended by UU 6/2023), and allows demolition on that ground (Pasal 39(1)(c)). The regulation does not say what happens if the building fails the check, for example on zoning, or whether a later PBG removes sanctions for building without one. The sanctions are addressed to the owner and the user, which a buyer becomes.

Building without a PBG, or using a building without an SLF, brings administrative sanctions under PP 16/2021 Pasal 327: a written warning, restriction of the work or of use, a temporary or permanent stop of the work or of use, freezing or revocation of the PBG or SLF, and measures against the professionals involved. A demolition order is in Pasal 12(2)(i) of the regulation and in UU 28/2002 Pasal 45(1)(i), not in the list in Pasal 327. Pasal 12 concerns a building used against the function stated in its PBG; it does not cover a building that has no PBG.

The regulation's own grounds for a demolition order (unfit and irreparable, dangerous, or an owner who ignores inspection findings) do not name the lack of PBG, but they do not displace the statute's ground above, so a demolition order remains possible. A demolition decision states a deadline and sanctions; if the owner does not demolish in time, the kabupaten does it at the owner's cost, except for poor homeowners.

Changing the function of a building, for example from a house to a commercial building, needs a changed PBG, and a mismatch brings the same sanctions. If the work does not match the PBG during construction, the technical office can stop it until you adapt it or file again; where the cause is field conditions and no technical justification is given within 6 months, the PBG is revoked.

On fines: neither the statute as amended in 2023 nor PP 16/2021 sets an administrative fine (denda administratif) for building without PBG. The statute has criminal penalties, adjusted from 2 January 2026 by UU 1/2026. If a violation causes property loss to others, permanent disability or death, the penalty is prison of up to 3, 4 or 5 years or a fine of up to 10, 15 or 20 percent of the building value; for a death, the statute said both, and UU 1/2026 now makes it prison and/or a fine (Pasal 46; UU 1/2026 Pasal II(5)(a) and Pasal VIII). The percentages do not turn into fine categories, because UU 1/2026 does not convert fines set as multiples of loss or gain, and its elucidation of Pasal II(7) names this statute as an example. If negligence leaves a building not fit for its function, with the same three levels of harm, the penalty is now only a fine of up to 1, 2 or 3 percent of the building value; the confinement of up to 1, 2 or 3 years is removed (Pasal 47(2); UU 1/2026 Lampiran I nomor 32). Pasal 46 says a government regulation will set the criteria and amounts of the fines; we found none.

Kabupaten rules may set fines of their own. Perda Badung 3/2016, Pasal 171 and 172, set a fine of up to 10 percent of the building value, but it may have been replaced: a search listing of the Badung legal database, which we could not open on 6 October 2026, shows Perda Badung 9/2023 on the implementation of buildings (Penyelenggaraan Bangunan Gedung), enacted on 29 December 2023, as in force. We could not open the database or the text, so we do not know whether it replaced the 2016 regulation or what fines it sets. Whether a local fine survives the 2023 statute is a question for a lawyer.

An IMB (izin mendirikan bangunan), the permit used before the PBG, stays valid for a building that is built and unchanged. PP 16/2021 keeps permits issued before it took effect valid until the permit ends, and SIMBG explains this as valid for as long as the building is built and unchanged. The regulation gives no end date for the IMB of a completed house.

The IMB was not converted into a PBG. If its holder has not yet started to build, they apply for a PBG through SIMBG. For an extension of the SLF of a built house, the IMB can be used and no PBG is needed. Any change, such as of function, floors, floor area or facade, needs a PBG. A house with an IMB only may have no SBKBG; the owner can apply for an SLF to obtain one.

The Bali rules come on top of the national ones: the provincial spatial plan (Perda Provinsi Bali 2/2023), the Balinese architecture regulation (Perda Provinsi Bali 5/2005) and the plans of each kabupaten, which can be stricter. The page on Bali programmes covers the height rule, tourism zones and setbacks further.

Height. The provincial plan gives a general directive of at most 15 m above the ground where the building stands, measured to where the vertical wall plane meets the sloping roof plane. The exceptions include airport navigation, worship, defence, disaster, telecommunications, power and hospitals of up to 5 floors; private houses and villas are not on the list. The article states no penalty or procedure, so on a plot the limit works through the kabupaten plans and the permit review. The 2005 architecture regulation has no height figure.

Ravines and springs. A ravine is a slope of at least 45 percent and at least 15 m deep. The setback on the flat ground above and below it is at least the height of the ravine, and grows with the height and the instability of the slope. Permanent buildings are allowed only on conditions, and a kabupaten may set another distance only for a ravine found stable after technical and risk studies and a recommendation from the Governor. No built-up land use is allowed within 200 m of a spring.

Beaches. The provincial plan gives no metre figure. National law sets the beach setback at least 100 m from the highest tide line towards land, wider where the coast requires, and each kabupaten must fix the line in its spatial plan. The provincial plan bans buildings that threaten the function of the setback and allows supporting facilities and existing permitted buildings only on conditions. Perda Provinsi Bali 3/2026 of 24 February 2026 on protecting beaches and their setbacks gives no metre figure either. It prohibits, among other things, blocking access for ceremonies, turning shared social space into a private area without a permit, and restricting local economic use, and its sanctions include demolition of buildings.

Rivers. The provincial plan gives no metre figure. It allows only limited uses and puts buildings already inside the setback in a status quo, to be cleared step by step. The national minimum for a river without a levee is 10, 15 or 30 m in urban areas, for a depth of up to 3 m, 3 to 20 m or over 20 m, and 100 m for a large river (catchment over 500 km2) or 50 m for a small one outside urban areas. For a river with a levee it is 3 m in urban and 5 m in other areas, from the outer foot of the levee. The bupati or walikota sets the line for a river inside one kabupaten.

Architecture. The 2005 regulation is in force. A building must apply traditional Balinese building norms, or the form and character of Balinese architecture or of the typical local architecture of the kabupaten. A building that is not traditional must show Balinese traditional style by the principles in the annex, which consists of diagrams; one of special function may use another style with the Governor's approval after a recommendation from the DPRD (Pasal 13(3)), and an existing building that does not conform must adapt. A provincial policy brief of 15 September 2026 consults on renewing the regulation; it is a proposal, not law. A local government may set specific architectural rules for an area after hearing the public, and adat communities may take part in the PBG review where adat aspects matter.

We did not read the building, spatial and setback rules of each kabupaten. Ask the technical office for the current RTRW and RDTR of the kabupaten where your plot lies.

No public search of PBG or SLF by address, owner or plot was found on SIMBG on 2 October 2026; we did not test the features that need a login. The regulation lets the public use SIMBG for information on the building process, not as a register. So begin with documents from the seller.

Ask the seller for the PBG, or the old IMB, and the SLF, with their registration numbers, and for the SBKBG, which records the owner, the land right status and the PBG and SLF numbers. Check that the SLF is still within its 20 or 5 years, that what stands matches the PBG in floors, area and function, and, for a house on leased land, that the land agreement is attached and still has years to run. A house with an old IMB may have no SBKBG.

On SIMBG you can follow an application by its registration number on the Lacak Permohonan page. The result can show the applicant's details, so use it only with a number the seller gives you. Questions on the status go to the technical office or the licensing office of the kabupaten. Badung also runs a lookup of PBG fee bills by registration code.

The decisions on PBG and SLF carry a QR code. After scanning it, the link must open only on the official domain simbg.pu.go.id over HTTPS. If you suspect a forged document, report it to SIMBG or to the local DPMPTSP.

For a project not yet built, ask for the zoning confirmation for the plot and the PBG for the building you are buying, and remember that the SLF must exist before anyone uses the building. A sale of a building is made before the competent official, and the file needs at least a notarial deed and the SBKBG. See the page on checking a property before you sign.