Reviewed
The certificate
Verify the certificate at the land office rather than accepting a photograph of it. What is being checked is that the title exists as described, that the person selling it is the person on it, that the boundaries match the land you were shown, and that nothing is attached to it: no mortgage, no existing lease, no dispute, no inheritance not yet settled.
This is a notaris or PPAT's job and it is not the place to save money. A cheap transaction on a title nobody verified is the most expensive thing in this guide.
Zoning and permitted use
Land in Bali is designated for particular uses, and some of it is agricultural or protected land where accommodation is not permitted. Enforcement of the spatial plan has become noticeably stricter, so a neighbour who built there before you is not evidence that you may.
Confirm the designation and permitted use of the specific parcel, in writing, before you commit. If the plan is a rental villa, that permission has to extend to accommodation, not just to a building.
Access, in writing
A plot reached across someone else's land needs a recorded right of way, not an understanding with the current owner. Understandings do not survive the land next door changing hands.
Then walk the access as a truck would. Lane width, turning space, overhead cables and the distance from a sealed road decide what a delivery costs and sometimes whether a design is buildable at all.
Services
Find out what actually reaches the boundary and what would have to be brought there.
- Water: mains, a bore, or delivery, and what the neighbours actually rely on.
- Power: whether there is capacity at the boundary or a transformer away.
- Drainage: where surface water and waste can lawfully go.
- Internet, which matters more than owners expect for a rental.
Who checks what
The legal checks belong to a licensed notaris or PPAT, and you should engage your own rather than relying on the seller's. The physical checks belong to whoever will design and build: ground, access, services and what the plot will demand structurally.
We do the second half as a matter of course before quoting, and we will tell you to walk away from a plot rather than draw on it. A design fee is recoverable. A bad title is not.
General information about building in Bali, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a quotation. Rules and prices change. Confirm any title, zoning or tax position with a licensed notaris or PPAT and your own advisers before you commit.