The rules you follow every day in Bali

Getting certified is the start. Keeping your licence, your reputation and your client’s money safe depends on habits you repeat every day. This lesson covers the four big areas: agreements, advertising, money and the things that end careers in Bali.

1. Put every mandate in writing

Under Permendag 33/2025, a brokerage must have written agreements with its clients and with co-broking partners (Bisnis.com, SIP Law Firm). No signed agreement means no clear right to a fee.

A good listing or buyer agreement states:

• The property, the price and the type of right: freehold Hak Milik, leasehold, Hak Pakai or HGB.
• The commission rate, inside the legal range of 2% to 5% for sales and 5% to 8% for rentals, and whether VAT is added.
• Who pays and when: usually the seller, at the signing of the deed or lease.
• Whether the mandate is exclusive, and for how long.
• What happens if the client deals directly with a buyer you introduced.
• The agency’s licence details.

For co-broking, sign a separate agreement with the other agency, with the split written down. The law does not fix the split between agencies.

2. Advertise honestly

The rules are short, and they matter:

• Show the licence. A P4 must show its licence details on its website and in its publications (Bisnis.com).
• No false information and no uncertain promises. Permendag 33/2025 bans them in brokerage marketing. The consumer protection law, Law 8/1999, also bans promoting goods or services with uncertain promises (Article 9), and Article 62 allows penalties of up to 5 years or IDR 2 billion (Hukumonline).
• Be careful with yields. A brochure that promises a “guaranteed 12%” that is not in the contract is the kind of promise that gets buyers, developers and agents into trouble. Quote real comparables instead.
• Do not market illegal rentals. The Ministry of Tourism set deadlines for accommodation to hold OSS licences and announced the delisting of unlicensed stays from booking platforms from 1 August 2026 (Freaking Nomads). If you sell a villa “with rental income”, check the licence first.
• Foreigners and social media. Posting villas for sale is business activity. An Australian on a visa on arrival was deported in 2024 for promoting a villa online (INP Polri). If you are foreign, your agency’s Indonesian brokers handle client-facing marketing.

3. Follow the money rules

National payment system. Brokers must use the national payment system for transactions (Bisnis.com). Commission is invoiced by the agency and paid to an Indonesian account in the company’s name, never to your personal account or abroad.

No crowdfunding, no laundering. Permendag 33/2025 bars brokers from facilitating crowdfunding-based property financing, money laundering or terrorism financing (Bisnis.com).

You are a reporting party. Government Regulation 43 of 2015 added property companies and property agents to the parties that must report to PPATK, Indonesia’s financial intelligence unit (Setkab). In practice:

1. Know your client. Collect ID and understand who the real buyer is.
2. Ask where the money comes from, especially on cash and third-party payments.
3. Report suspicious transactions to PPATK through your agency.
4. Report large cash deals. Providers of goods and services must also report cash transactions of IDR 500 million or more (Hukumonline).
5. Do not tip off the client. Reporting parties must not tell the client that a report is being made (Setkab).

A buyer who pays in cash bundles from different people, will not explain the source and asks to keep the price off paper is a textbook red flag. Stop and talk to your manager.

4. What gets agents sanctioned or deals voided

Practice	What can happen
Working without a competency certificate after October 2026	Reprimands from Kemendag (AFU)
A P4 breaking the rules or skipping its annual report	Written warning, suspension, licence revocation, fines (SIP Law Firm)
Foreigner doing field brokerage on the wrong visa	Deportation and re-entry ban (INP Polri)
Arranging a nominee deal	The agreement is void and the nominee is treated as the owner (Hukumonline)
Promising returns that are not in the contract	Consumer claims and criminal penalties under Law 8/1999
Taking cash with no checks	Breach of anti-money laundering duties

Nominees deserve a special word. A nominee deal puts Hak Milik land in an Indonesian’s name while side papers give the foreigner control. Hukumonline reports that the Supreme Court treats these as void and recognises the nominee as the legal owner. If a client or seller suggests one, say no, and offer a legal route: lease, Hak Pakai or a proper company structure.

A daily habit list

• Signed agreement before marketing a listing.
• Licence details on every post and brochure.
• Title, zoning and permit checks before quoting rental income.
• ID and source of funds before any deposit.
• All money through Indonesian company accounts.

Read Before you sign and Buying property in Bali as a foreigner. Rules on rentals and foreign companies moved several times in 2026, so check the official source before you act.