Letter: On 'Details of apartment ownership'

Thu, 06/05/2008 1:14 AM  |  Reader's Forum

ADPARA>I refer to an article titled "Devil in details of apartment ownership", (The Jakarta Post, June 2, p. 5). This article is a bit misleading due to the lack of understanding of laws on apartment and agrarian ownership.

According to the law on apartments, strata unit ownership includes the unit itself that is owned exclusively by its owner, shared properties including spaces and properties inside and outside of the building and the land where the building stands. Ownership of land is regulated by the agrarian law.

Because apartment units can be owned by non-Indonesian citizens, the land title is only an HGB or its siblings mentioned in the article (leasehold), not hak milik (fee simple).

HGB can be extended and can be revoked if the land is badly needed for public use when the lease expires. It is not easy to revoke an HGB, especially when the land zoned for its present use and the structure constructed is permanent (last longer), such as an apartment building.

Therefore, the lease most likely can be extended for another 20 years and then for another 20 years. The HGB lease time period does not apply to the property developed under a BOT scheme, since the leasehold terminated with the handing over the property to the owner of the land (life of the BOT project).

Strata ownership is considered new in Indonesia, therefore confusion and lack of understanding, which leads to manipulation, is common when dealing with the development of properties.

Precedence from other countries, especially when dealing with leasehold land, is in abundance. The strata unit monthly fee should include the sinking fund for major renovation and leasehold extension.

So when the time comes, the owners of the units do not have to pay/contribute lots of money for HGB extension. Consumer organizations and the government should make developers transparently explain the property they develop, including the status of the structure and the land title.
TEGUS UTOMO ATMOKO
Jakarta

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