Bali’s limits on new villas, and what they mean for Sanur

In September 2025, floods killed at least 18 people in Bali. Since then, the province has turned a long debate about “too many villas” into firm rules: no more commercial building on productive farmland, a provincial law against nominee land deals, and closer enforcement of green belts and forest zones. For anyone buying in Bali, the first question is now less “can it be built” and more “on what kind of land”.

From “no moratorium” to firm limits

The policy has changed several times, so the order of events matters.

What the 2026 farmland law does

Perda 4/2026 covers two things: controlling the conversion of productive land, and banning land ownership through nominees (“borrowed names”).

According to the provincial spatial-planning office, the sanctions include written warnings, stopping activity, closing a site, revoking permits and demolishing buildings that break spatial rules. Media reports on the signing add that converting protected food farmland (known as LP2B) into villas or other commercial property can lead to criminal prosecution, and that permits to convert the remaining rice fields are frozen until 87% of them are permanently designated as LP2B.

National rules moved the same way. In February 2026 the central government revised its regulation on protected rice fields (Presidential Regulation 4/2026), and the Minister of Agrarian Affairs said protected rice fields may not be converted for any purpose.

The scale of the problem, in official figures:

Building is still possible. In July 2026 Koster put it simply: hotels and restaurants may be built, but on dry or unproductive land.

Enforcement on the ground

The rules are being applied in visible ways:

• Bingin Beach, July 2025: cliffside villas and restaurants were demolished. The governor said the area was meant to be green belt and the buildings had no permits.
• Pejarakan, Buleleng, September 2026: a villa in a protected production forest was demolished after three warning letters for lacking a spatial-use permit and a forestry permit.
• Jalan Hang Tuah, Denpasar, September 2026: city councillors questioned permanent cafés and restaurants standing in the green belt along the road that links central Denpasar with Sanur. Under Denpasar’s spatial plan, only semi-permanent buildings for storing and processing farm produce are allowed there. No enforcement plan had been announced at the time of the report.

What this means for supply in Sanur

Sanur sits within Denpasar city, which was not one of the six regencies in the 2025 hotel agreement. Land use is set by Denpasar’s spatial plan (Perda 8/2021, covering 2021–2041). Three practical points follow.

First, the limits are about land type, not a ban on building. In an established area like Sanur, new villas can still go up on plots zoned for housing or tourism, with the right permits. What is off the table is building on rice fields, green belts, forest or protected setbacks.

Second, the pool of buildable land is fixed by the plan. In older neighbourhoods much of that land is already in use, and the farmland that once allowed areas to spread outwards is now protected by law. New projects in established areas are therefore more likely to come from plots that are already zoned for building than from converted fields.

Third, the area around Sanur is still receiving public investment. The Sanur Special Economic Zone for health and tourism, including Bali International Hospital, was inaugurated by President Prabowo on 25 June 2025.

We do not forecast prices, and neither should anyone selling to you. What you can check is the land itself. Ask for the zoning of the plot, whether it is listed as protected farmland, and whether it touches a green belt, river, coast or cliff setback. An independent notary or lawyer can confirm these with the land office and the city’s spatial-planning records.

How we think about this at Atrea

Valora Sanur is nine villas behind one gate on Jl. Bumi Ayu, in an established part of Sanur, with the PBG (building approval) and SLF (certificate of function) included in the price.

Heavy rain is part of life in Bali, so water was planned from the start. Each villa has two infiltration wells to return rainwater to the ground, a bio septic system, and a roof form designed for heavy rain and strong sun, with rain chains to guide run-off. These are small decisions, but they are the ones that matter on wet nights in Bali.

If you would like to see them in person, visit our marketing gallery on site in Sanur, open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM, or contact the team at atrea.id.

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