Author
All authors → Made Rai
Columnist
Verifies every figure before publication. Holds veto over any claim without a primary source.
Disclosure
No interest held
Has declared no financial interest in the property, the projects or the companies this byline writes about.
Disclosure does not disqualify anyone here. Concealment disqualifies permanently.
In this edition
Pieces
8A foreign villa owner dies. Hak milik gives the heirs 12 months, hak pakai states no deadline
Title Explainer 14/10/2026
Paying for a Bali villa in dollars risks 1% of the price, and no escrow in Indonesian law holds the money
Compliance Long read 10/10/2026
Indonesian law lets an off-plan developer hold 80% of the price before 20% of the project exists
Title Case file 10/10/2026
Article 1559 lets a tenant sublet only part of a house he lives in. The nightly-letting model is neither
Compliance Case file 05/10/2026
Badung's 2026 wage floor is IDR 3,791,002.57. A privately hired villa housekeeper has no floor at all
Compliance Explainer 05/10/2026
Badung taxes a villa at 0.2% a year. The number it applies that rate to is not in the published file
Compliance Case file 05/10/2026
Badung taxes a villa guest's bill at 10%. Which line of the statute catches your house decides the rest
Compliance Answer 29/09/2026
A Bali certificate check costs IDR 50,000. Only your PPAT's version counts for the deed
Title Answer 29/09/2026
In this edition
Fact-checked
16Checked before publication, not written. The fact-checker is never the author of the piece they check.
Your Bali landlord sells the land. Article 1576 says the sale does not end your lease
By Jiwon Seo Title Last reviewed 14/10/2026
The investment list reserves Vila 55193 to cooperatives. That code ceased to exist on 18 December 2025
By Imogen Ashworth Compliance Last reviewed 14/10/2026
Owners are quoted IDR 100,000 and IDR 2,500,000 a month for the same banjar levy, and no tariff is published
By Elena Hartono Occupancy Last reviewed 10/10/2026
Did Bali tourism fall in 2025? The tourism office's domestic survey fell 5.02%, its foreign count rose 9.72%
By Elena Hartono The Index Last reviewed 29/09/2026
How Indonesia counts the 183 days that make you a tax resident
By Rina Halim Resident Last reviewed 29/09/2026
How many hotel rooms does Bali have? Two agencies printed three totals for 2023, and the tourism office none since
By Elena Hartono The Index Last reviewed 29/09/2026
Can I sell my Bali lease early? UUPA 5/1960 and PP 18/2021 disagree
By Kenji Tanaka Exit Last reviewed 29/09/2026
A Bali overstay costs Rp 1,000,000 a day up to 60 days, then Rp 90,000,000 to lift the entry ban
By Rina Halim Resident Last reviewed 29/09/2026
How many storeys can you build on Bali? 15 m generally, 1 storey in a major temple's core zone
By Komang Wirata The Map Last reviewed 29/09/2026
Can a Bali sertipikat still be challenged after 5 years? Some routes close; overlap cancellation has no deadline
By Jiwon Seo Title Last reviewed 29/09/2026
A Bali villa was built without a PBG — what is the fine, and who has to demolish it?
By Bayu Prasetyo Build Last reviewed 29/09/2026
Bali's only official price index measures Denpasar, not Canggu
By Elena Hartono The Index Last reviewed 08/09/2026
What does Indonesian law require your construction contract to contain?
By Bayu Prasetyo Build Last reviewed 08/09/2026
Where the "80 years" in a Bali leasehold pitch comes from
By Jiwon Seo Title Last reviewed 08/09/2026
If a nominee purchase is void, do you lose the land or the money as well
By Jiwon Seo Title Last reviewed 08/09/2026
Bali villas are marketed at 12% yields. We asked eleven agencies for the spreadsheet behind that number
By Elena Hartono Occupancy Last reviewed 18/08/2026