Real estate agents in Bali: what the regulations require

Brokerage is a licensed business, brokers must be Indonesian, and the commission has a legal range. Several agency websites say none of this exists. Here is the regulation.

Bali real estate agents: twelve questions, each with its rule

Most of what is said about agents in Bali is said by agents. The table puts each common question next to the regulation that answers it.

Brokerage is a licensed business, and has been for years

Several Bali agency websites tell buyers there is no licensing system for property agents. The regulations say otherwise. Property brokerage is a business line with its own code, KBLI 68200, and the licensing lampiran gives it micro to large businesses; medium-high risk; NIB plus a standard certificate within 3 days; the minister or head of agency (PP 28/2025 Lampiran I.G no. 1, KBLI 68200). Medium-high risk means the standard certificate is checked before the business may operate, not merely declared.

The standard itself is in a trade-ministry regulation that came into force on 5 October 2025 (Permendag 33/2025 art. 18). It replaced Permendag 51/2017 on property brokerage companies (Permendag 33/2025 art. 17(a)), so the requirement for a licensed brokerage company is not new — what is new is the detail. Brokers without a competence certificate, and companies licensed under the old regime, had to adjust within one year of the regulation coming into force (Permendag 33/2025 art. 16(a)).

Who may be a broker

The licensed business is a legal entity domiciled in Indonesia (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, definition 2). The person who brokers is an individual who works for and answers to a brokerage company, holding a level-6 work-competence certificate in property brokerage (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, definition 3). And the requirement that matters most in Bali: every property broker must be certified and Indonesian citizens (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, requirement 2(a)). The licensing lampiran says the same thing in its own words: brokers must be Indonesian citizens (PP 28/2025 Lampiran I.G no. 1, KBLI 68200, requirement 2(a)).

Foreign nationals are contemplated, but in other roles. The standard’s document list provides for a foreign national’s identity document for the manager, property-manager and investment-consultant roles only (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, requirement 2, document (c)). A foreigner can manage a brokerage; on the standard as written, a foreigner cannot be the broker on your transaction. Whether a foreign national may work in Indonesia at all is a separate, immigration question.

Commission: a range, in writing

The standard sets the commission as a range, not a free-for-all. On a sale it is at least 2% and at most 5% of the transaction value (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 4(a)). On a rental it is at least 5% and at most 8% of the transaction value (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 4(b)). For property management and property investment consulting it is set by written agreement (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 4(c)) — which is why a villa-management fee is not capped the same way a brokerage commission is.

Whatever the figure, it belongs in the written agreement, and that agreement must name the parties, the broker and their certificate number, the property's title number, location and condition, the commission and how and when it is paid, the term, and dispute resolution (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 1(b)(1)). The commission clause must show a breakdown of costs, including tax and any other deductions (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 4(d)). The individual broker may receive at most 70% of the company’s commission (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 4(e)).

Reading the range against a quote

Three practical points follow, all our reading of the clause above. A quote above 5% on a sale, or above 8% on a rental, is outside the range for brokerage. A quote that bundles brokerage with management should say which part is which, because only one part has a range. And who pays — buyer, seller or both — is something the regulation leaves to the agreement; it does not say the seller pays.

Checking an agency in five minutes

The standard turns several of its obligations into things a buyer can see.

1. The license number

It must appear at the premises, on the website or app, and in every printed or electronic publication (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 2). A listing site that hosts brokers must refuse to register a brokerage company or broker who does not give the license number and certificate number (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 6(a)). A listing with no number on it is from someone not showing what the regulation says must be shown.

2. The broker’s card

A broker at work must show an identity card with the company's license number, brand and location, and the broker's valid certificate number (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 3). Ask for the certificate number and write it down.

3. The agreement before the viewing

The written agreement comes first. If a commission is going to be claimed, the agreement setting it should exist before you are shown anything.

4. The deposit

An agency may accept a booking fee or down payment from the buyer, with the seller's consent (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, scope 2(a)(8)). It is not the seller. A receipt that names the agency, the property’s title number and the seller’s consent is the minimum; payment is in rupiah. The rupiah rule.

5. The promises

An agency is prohibited from uncertain promises or guarantees, or misleading statements (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 9(b)). A “guaranteed” rental yield in a brochure is the kind of statement that clause is about. So is a claim that a foreigner can own freehold. What a foreigner can actually hold.

Agencies working with overseas partners

Bali property is often sold through partners abroad. An Indonesian brokerage working with a foreign business actor that offers property must report the partnership to the Minister within 14 working days (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 1(a)(5)), and the agreement must be in Indonesian or bilingual. The standard also prohibits facilitating crowdfunded property financing (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 5(a)) — relevant to “fractional villa” offers marketed by agents. Each agency reports to the ministry once a year, by 30 April of the following year (Permendag 33/2025 Lampiran I, KBLI 68200, obligation 7).

The code an agency is registered under is a fair question too. Under KBLI 2025 the brokerage code is 68210: real estate intermediation in buying, selling and renting, for a fee or commission, online or offline (Peraturan BPS 7/2025 Lampiran, KBLI 68210), separate from villa management and from booking platforms. The real estate codes.

We are not an agency and do not recommend, rank or name agents. We are paid a fixed fee per enquiry, whoever you buy through.

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