Foreign property ownership: Get it right or get rid of it

Eddy Leks
CEO and managing partner at Leks & Co., Lawyers

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Jakarta / Tue, April 25, 2017 / 12:57 pm

Foreign property ownership: Get it right or get rid of it

To realize the government’s promise to facilitate ownership of real estate by foreigners, in late 2015 the government issued a regulation replacing the 1996 law on the subject. (Shutterstock/File)

Promulgations on various regulations to help foreigners own property in Indonesia are not making life easier for either developers or foreigners. Instead, new confusion emerges. Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data show that 1.11 million foreign tourists came to Indonesia last December, 1.03 million in January 2017 and 957,580 in February 2017. On average, 1.03 million foreign tourists come here monthly. If only 10 percent of them were interested in purchasing condominiums units in Indonesia and 10 percent of the interested tourists followed through on the idea, foreigners would buy 10,320 condominium units every month. Not a bad number. To realize the government’s promise to facilitate ownership of real estate by foreigners, in late 2015 the government issued a regulation replacing the 1996 law on the subject. This regulation was issued to support development in Indone...