How to check a Bali developer before money moves

"Checking the developer" is really four separate checks: the land under the project, the permits over it, the company behind it, and the way the money flows. A weak answer on any one of the four is a finding, not a footnote.

The land under the project

Start with what certificate backs the project and who holds it. For a leasehold purchase the chain matters most: the underlying certificate must be genuine and free of bank encumbrances, the person signing as landowner must be the registered holder, the developer’s own head lease must be notarized and long enough to cover every year being sold to you, and the landowner’s written consent to sublease or assign must exist. You can pre-screen some of this yourself: the official BHUMI parcel map shows free of charge whether a parcel is registered, its boundaries and its right type, though never the owner’s name. The formal certificate check against the land book is done by the land-deed official (PPAT) before any deed is signed, and that step is non-negotiable.

The permits

Since 2021 the building approval is called PBG; it replaced the old IMB, which stays valid only until it expires. A PBG must exist before construction starts and must match what is actually being built, floor by floor and use by use. The separate SLF certificate confirms the finished building passed inspection; "the SLF will come later" is a risk you price, not a formality. Villas typically also carry a light environmental tier (UKL-UPL or SPPL); full AMDAL belongs to large or sensitively located projects. Zoning you can check yourself: the government’s public spatial maps (GISTARU, RDTR Interaktif) show what a plot’s zone permits, and Bali runs its own provincial portal on top.

Date-stamped, because this moves: since late 2025 Bali restricts new tourism-accommodation construction on agricultural land province wide (Governor's Instruction 5 of 2025, then Perda Bali 4/2026), while projects holding a valid earlier PBG may continue. We check the current status per project, not per headline.

The company

1. 01

   AHU Online

   The Ministry of Law company registry: search the exact PT name to confirm the entity legally exists.

2. 02

   OSS and the NIB

   Verify the 13-digit business identification number. A company can exist in AHU and still lack licensing, so both get checked.

3. 03

   Court records

   The district-court case system (SIPP) and the Supreme Court database, searched by the PT name, show the litigation history.

4. 04

   A track record you can walk into

   Completed projects, and how late they ran. One finished complex says more than any render.

And the honest limit: private Indonesian companies publish no financial statements, so solvency and project funding cannot be verified from any public source. That risk is managed, not verified, and the tools for managing it are the payment structure and the contract.

The money

Indonesia mandates no escrow for sales like these, and in Bali practice stage payments go to the developer’s operating account. The standard protection is structural: a booking deposit, then instalments tied to construction milestones such as foundation, structure, roof and handover, never to calendar dates. On paper, Indonesian housing rules require land certainty, a PBG and 20 percent construction progress before a preliminary sale agreement is signed; many Bali leasehold deals are structured as a lease plus a construction contract and sit outside that consumer regime, so do not assume the safeguard applies to your deal. Assume the contract is the safeguard.

Contract red flags

• No PBG while "construction is starting".
• A lease term sold to you that outruns the developer’s own head lease.
• A deed silent on assignment, sublease or inheritance.
• A calendar-based payment schedule instead of construction milestones.
• No delay penalties and no exit clause for you.
• A land certificate pledged to a bank.
• A seller entity that is not the certificate holder or head lessee.
• Guaranteed ROI as a selling point. Treat the promise itself as the red flag.

Who does what

The notary and the land-deed official are neutral public officials: they execute deeds, check the certificate and see that transfer taxes are paid. They do not negotiate for you, do not inspect build quality and do not audit the developer. Deep due diligence is your side of the table: your lawyer for the legal layer, and an agency that screens before it recommends. What nobody can verify off-plan, completion, timeline, final quality, the SLF actually arriving, stays what it is: risk. Milestone payments and contract terms are how it is carried.