Bali land rules 2025–2026 that buyers should know
After major floods in September 2025, Bali tightened land conversion. Key points of Regional Regulation No. 4 of 2026 and what they mean for villas.
Background
Severe flooding on 10 September 2025 killed 17 people, according to Bali's disaster agency. Shortly afterwards, Governor Wayan Koster announced a ban on converting productive land for commercial facilities such as hotels, villas and restaurants, and asked regents and mayors to tighten permits. Housing permits would be selective, with an exception for residents building on their own land.
Bali Regional Regulation No. 4 of 2026
The ban was then formalised in Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 4 of 2026, signed on 24 February 2026. According to news reports, its main points are:
- A ban, with criminal penalties, on converting productive rice fields designated as Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (LP2B) into villas and commercial buildings.
- Other sanctions include cancelled permits, administrative fines and an obligation to demolish buildings.
- A ban on nominee arrangements, where foreigners hold land in a local's name. Intermediaries and facilitators can also face criminal penalties.
- Enforcement prioritised in Tabanan, Gianyar and around the Gilimanuk–Mengwi toll corridor.
Bali's rice-field area is reported to have fallen from 70,996 hectares in 2019 to about 64,474 hectares in February 2026.
What it means for South Kuta
Most land on the Bukit peninsula is dry limestone, not rice fields, so the rice-field conversion ban does not directly affect most plots in South Kuta. Even so, every plot still needs its zoning and status checked, as Badung's spatial planning rules continue to apply.
What buyers should do
- Check the zoning (ITR/RDTR) and make sure the plot is not LP2B land.
- Foreign buyers should use a legal structure such as leasehold, Hak Pakai (right of use) or a PT PMA company, with a notary/PPAT. Do not use nominee arrangements.
- Keep the building permit documents (PBG/IMB) when buying a built property.
This summary is based on media reports, not the official text of the regulation, and is not legal advice. For certainty, refer to the regulation itself and consult a notary/PPAT.