Lombok Building Permits for Foreign Villa Investors: KKPR, PBG and SLF Before You Pour Concrete

You have the land, your architect is sketching, and the contractor wants a deposit. This is when a Lombok building permit matters most. The law is blunt about the order: no construction before the PBG is issued, and no use of the building before it holds an SLF (PP 16/2021, Art. 263(1) and 274(2)). Get it wrong and you can own a finished villa you cannot legally live in or rent out.

This guide reads PP 16/2021, PP 28/2025 and Lombok Tengah’s 2024 levy bylaw and turns them into a plain sequence for foreign owners. For the wider budget, see our cost to build a villa in Lombok guide.

This guide is general information, not legal or engineering advice. Permit rules, fees and local procedures change, and each regency runs its own counter. Confirm your structure, zoning and permit path with a licensed notary, an Indonesian lawyer and a registered architect before you sign a build contract.

Quick answers

What permits do I need to build a villa in Lombok?
Three, in this order. KKPR confirms your plot’s zoning allows the building. The PBG (Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung), which replaced the IMB in 2021, approves the design before construction. The SLF (Sertifikat Laik Fungsi) certifies the finished building is fit for use before anyone occupies or rents it. Private houses file through the Public Works ministry’s SIMBG system. Business buildings, such as a PT PMA’s rental villa, file through OSS.

How long does a PBG take, and what does it cost?
Under PP 16/2021 the technical review must finish within 28 working days, in at most five rounds, with the first within 3 working days. Small single houses (up to 72 m² on one floor or 90 m² on two) get 5 working days. The fee is a regency levy (retribusi) set by formula. Lombok Tengah’s 2024 bylaw sets its local index at 0.5% and works examples of about Rp156,000 for a 36 m² house and about Rp19.5 million for a 738 m² three-story restaurant. Budget separately for architects’ and engineers’ drawings, and get written quotes.

Can a foreigner get a PBG in Lombok?
The PBG is issued to the building’s owner, and the file must show the land’s status. A foreigner holding Hak Pakai over a residential plot can file for a private house. A PT PMA holding HGB files through OSS, the route for a rental villa. On leased land the file needs a written land-use agreement with the landowner, and who may sign is a question to confirm with your regency. Nominee arrangements do not solve it.

The three Lombok building permit steps in order: KKPR, PBG, SLF

Every villa build in Lombok passes the same three gates.

Permit	What it confirms	When	System	Who issues	Legal clock	Fee
KKPR	The plot’s zoning fits the planned use	Before the PBG	OSS (business) or the regency spatial office	OSS automatically where an OSS-integrated RDTR exists, otherwise a regency assessment	Automatic (konfirmasi), or 5 + 20 working days after the state fee is paid (persetujuan, business route, PP 28/2025 Art. 17 to 21)	State non-tax fee (PNBP). Ask the office for the current amount
PBG	The design meets technical standards	Before construction	SIMBG (private) or OSS (business)	Regency Dinas PUPR reviews, DPMPTSP issues after the levy is paid (PP 16/2021 Art. 261(7) and (8))	28 working days, max 5 rounds (Art. 254(8))	Regency levy (retribusi)
SLF	The finished building is fit for its function	Before use	SIMBG or OSS	Regency technical office	3 working days from upload of the fitness statement (Art. 276(2))	Issued free (Art. 276(3)). Inspections are covered by the PBG levy (Finance Ministry DJPK)

The IMB is gone. The PBG replaced it under PP 16/2021, signed on 2 February 2021. Lombok Timur’s licensing office says the PBG has applied there since 2 August 2021.

SIMBG’s FAQ says a PBG application also needs an environmental document, alongside the spatial-use document. ILA Global Consulting (26 Aug 2026) reads a single private villa as usually needing only the simplest statement, an SPPL. That is a practitioner view, so confirm the tier with the regency environment office.

Who applies for a Lombok building permit: match the path to your ownership structure

The permit follows the building’s owner and the land’s status, so pick the structure before the drawings. We compare the options in PT PMA vs Hak Pakai and explain each title in Indonesian land certificate types.

Hak Pakai: your own house, in your own name

PP 18/2021 lets a foreigner with an immigration document hold a house on Hak Pakai. It revoked PP 103/2015 (ATR/BPN JDIH). In West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), the minimum price for a foreigner’s landed house is Rp3 billion (Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022). Ask your notary how that applies to a house you build yourself. Your PBG would be for a residential building (fungsi hunian), filed through SIMBG.

The trap comes later. Renting the house out is a change of use, which needs a revised PBG (PBG perubahan, PP 16/2021 Art. 262(2)(a)), and Hak Pakai does not allow a rental business. If renting is in the plan, decide before you file.

Leasehold (Hak Sewa): building on someone else’s land

PP 16/2021 provides for buildings on another party’s land through a written land-use agreement (perjanjian pemanfaatan tanah), attached to the building ownership certificate, the SBKBG (Art. 275(4)). Kampar regency’s published PBG checklist lists the same agreement among the land documents.

ILA Global says that in Bali a foreign leaseholder cannot apply personally, so the Indonesian landowner applies, backed by the lease. Confirm the Lombok practice with the regency DPMPTSP and your notary. Either way, the lease should allow construction, say who owns the building at term end, and name who holds the PBG and SLF.

PT PMA with HGB: the route for a villa you will rent out

PP 28/2025, which revoked PP 5/2021 with effect from 5 June 2025, treats KKPR, environmental approval and the PBG/SLF as the “basic requirements” for a business (Art. 12). A company files its PBG through OSS (Art. 110).

The business route has its own clocks, and PP 28/2025 defines “days” as working days (Art. 1 point 26):

• Document check: 3 working days (Art. 111).
• Technical review: at most 5 rounds within 26 working days (Art. 113).
• Compliance statement: within 1 day (Art. 116).
• Levy: set within 1 day, or automatically by OSS (Art. 119).
• If the levy is not paid by the regency’s deadline, the PBG application lapses (Art. 120).

A villa run as paid accommodation sits closest to PP 16/2021’s business (“usaha”) class, whose elucidation lists lodging such as wisma, losmen, hostels and hotels. That is our reading, not a ruling, so have your architect confirm the class with the Dinas. The class changes both the fee and how often the SLF is renewed. For PT PMA setup, see our note on Indonesia’s lower foreign investment capital rules.

Nominee titles don’t fix permits

A PBG in a nominee’s name puts the building’s paper trail in the nominee’s name too. The arrangement itself is the bigger problem. See why nominee agreements are illegal in Indonesia.

Step 1: KKPR and zoning, the gate before any drawing

KKPR comes in two forms under PP 28/2025 (Art. 15 to 18):

• Konfirmasi KKPR, issued automatically by OSS where the plot sits inside a detailed spatial plan (RDTR) that has been integrated into OSS.
• Persetujuan KKPR, a manual assessment where it does not.

For persetujuan on the business route, you pay the state fee within 7 calendar days of the invoice, then the office has 5 working days to check documents and 20 to assess (Art. 19 to 21).

The Ministry of Investment (BKPM, accessed 19 Oct 2026) lists two Lombok Barat RDTRs as integrated into OSS: Kawasan Utara Sekotong and Geopark Rinjani Narmada-Lingsar. Lombok Tengah has an RDTR around the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (Perbup 105/2021, for 2021 to 2041). We found no OSS-integration listing for it, so near Kuta ask the regency which form applies. Inside the SEZ, the SEZ Administrator issues the basic requirements for business activities (PP 28/2025 Art. 12(4)(a)).

Zoning is where a Lombok project can stall early. Our October 2026 market update relays Lombok Post’s report (10 Oct 2026). Senggigi’s RDTR now limits the area to mid-to-upper housing, hillside permits are tighter, and protected rice-field (LSD) status “often blocks” PBG approvals. On the coast, Perpres 51/2016 sets a setback of at least 100 meters from the highest tide line.

The zoning-letter steps are in our four due diligence checks for buying land in Lombok.

Step 2: Getting the PBG through SIMBG or OSS

What you file

You register in SIMBG (simbg.pu.go.id) with owner data, building data and technical plans (PP 16/2021 Art. 253(9) and (10)). Lombok Timur’s licensing office lists an email address, KTP (ID card), NPWP (tax number), land certificate and building drawings. Foreign owners should confirm with the regency counter what replaces the KTP, such as a passport and stay permit or a PT PMA’s NIB and deed. In Mataram, the city’s Dinas PUPR runs the PBG service at the public service mall (MPP Kota Mataram).

Plans are checked architecture first, then structure, then mechanical, electrical and plumbing (Art. 255). Kampar regency’s checklist, an example rather than Lombok’s list, adds the environmental document, a planning letter (KRK), neighbor setback consent, village and district recommendations and a licensed architect. SIMBG’s FAQ says a soil investigation (sondir) is needed for buildings of more than two floors or on unstable ground.

The review and its legal clocks

• Consultation is free (Art. 253(8)). Single houses up to 72 m² on one floor or 90 m² on two go to a technical assessment team (TPT), with a 5-working-day review (Art. 254(3), 257(1)).
• Everything else goes to an expert panel (TPA): at most 5 rounds within 28 working days, with the first round within 3 working days (Art. 254(8) and (9)).
• Each round’s comments must be complete, and reviewers cannot add new ones later (Art. 255(5)). Ask your architect for the minutes (berita acara) after every round.
• Pass, and you get a compliance statement and the levy calculation. Fail, and you re-register, continuing from the previous minutes (Art. 256).
• The Dinas sets the levy, you pay, and the DPMPTSP issues the PBG once it receives proof of payment (Art. 261).

Elapsed time runs longer. ILA Global estimates about 75 working days from KKPR to PBG, or three to four months. That is a practitioner estimate, not a legal limit.

After the PBG: start within the window

Before work starts, tell the Dinas your construction start date through SIMBG. If you don’t, the office asks up to twice within 6 months, then revokes the PBG and you have to register again (Art. 263(3) to (8)).

The Dinas inspects at set stages (foundations, basement, superstructure and MEP, testing) and must come within 3 working days of your notice, or you may carry on (Art. 265).

Design changes that alter the function, number of floors, floor area, facade or safety-relevant components need a revised PBG (Art. 262(2)). Routine maintenance does not (Art. 262(3)).

What the PBG fee really costs in Lombok

The levy follows a formula set in the PP 16/2021 annex, laid out in the Finance Ministry’s DJPK briefing deck and adopted in Lombok Tengah’s Perda 1/2024, Annex III:

Levy = floor area × (local index × SHST) × integrated index × built-building index

• SHST is the ceiling unit cost for simple state buildings, set with a Public Works ministry tool.
• Local index (Ilo) is capped at 0.5%. Lombok Tengah sets it at 0.5%, the maximum.
• Integrated index = function index × Σ(parameter weight × parameter index) × ownership factor. In Lombok Tengah’s table, the function index is 0.15 for housing and 0.7 for business. The weights are 0.3 for complexity, 0.2 for permanence and 0.5 for height. The ownership factor is 1 for both individuals and companies.

The bylaw gives two worked examples, both using an SHST of Rp4,830,000:

Bylaw example	Calculation	Levy
36 m², one-story new house	36 × (0.5% × Rp4,830,000) × 0.18 × 1	Rp156,492
738 m², three-story new restaurant (business)	738 × (0.5% × Rp4,830,000) × 1.092 × 1	About Rp19.5 million

Our own illustration, using the bylaw’s formula and example SHST (not a regency quote), for a 200 m², two-story, permanent villa classed “not simple”:

• Σ = 0.3 × 2 + 0.2 × 2 + 0.5 × 1.09 = 1.545
• Housing integrated index = 0.15 × 1.545 = 0.232
• Business integrated index = 0.7 × 1.545 = 1.082
• Base = 200 × 0.5% × Rp4,830,000 = Rp4,830,000
• Levy as housing: about Rp1.12 million. Levy as business: about Rp5.22 million.

Same building, and the fee more than quadruples once it counts as a business. Your regency’s current SHST may differ from the bylaw’s example, and other Lombok regencies set their own indexes, so ask the Dinas for the figures and payment deadline that apply to you.

The levy is the small part. Drawings and studies cost more, so get written quotes. Our cost guide budgets $11,000 to $21,000 for legal structuring and permits, including entity setup, on standard projects. See cost to build a villa in Lombok for how that fits the full build.

Step 3: The SLF, and why a rental villa renews faster

The owner must hold the SLF before the building is used (PP 16/2021 Art. 274(2)). It is issued together with the building ownership certificate (SBKBG) within 3 working days of the fitness statement being uploaded, and it is free (Art. 276). The construction supervisor signs the fitness statement, based on the inspections and tests during the build.

Under Art. 297, the SLF must be renewed every 20 years for single and row houses and every 5 years for other buildings, each time after a fitness inspection.

If the regency classes your rental villa as a business building, plan for an SLF inspection every 5 years, not 20. Put that cost in your rental model.

The SLF is not a business license. A PT PMA still needs its NIB and the risk-based license for its KBLI (PT PMA vs Hak Pakai).

Without an SLF, the building cannot legally be used. Sanctions under Art. 327 range from written warnings through halting use to freezing or revoking the PBG and SLF.

Buying a finished or off-plan villa: the permit checks

Ask the seller for:

• The PBG (or old IMB) and its approved drawings.
• The SLF, with its date and the building function it names.
• The SBKBG, if issued.

An old IMB stays valid if the building was finished and has not changed (SIMBG FAQ). Any alteration needs a PBG (PP 16/2021 Art. 262).

With no permit at all, an existing building needs a PBG issued together with an SLF for an existing building (Art. 262(1)(b) and (4)). Under PP 28/2025 Art. 123, a business whose building predates that regulation can apply straight for the SLF when it applies for or renews its license. A certified technical assessor (pengkaji teknis) must inspect (Art. 122), so get a quote before you agree a price.

Walk the property with the approved drawings. Added rooms, floors, a pool or a switch to rental all need a revised PBG. The function on the SLF should match your plan.

For off-plan purchases, the sale agreement should name who obtains the PBG and SLF, by when, and the penalty if they are late. Our Lombok contractor checklist covers who handles the PBG in your build contract.

Five mistakes that stall a Lombok build

1. Designing before KKPR. Zoning can kill drawings you already paid for.
2. Filing as a house, then renting it out. That is a function change, and Hak Pakai does not allow a rental business.
3. Starting work before the PBG is issued, or failing to notify the start date within 6 months.
4. Changing the design mid-build without a revised PBG.
5. Treating the SLF as a formality, then finding at handover that the as-built villa does not match the approved drawings.

Still deciding whether to build? See buy vs build a villa in Lombok and how to buy property in Lombok as a foreigner.

FAQ

What is the difference between PBG and SLF?

The PBG approves the design before construction starts. The SLF certifies the finished building is fit for its function before anyone occupies or rents it. You get the PBG first and the SLF at the end.

Is an IMB still valid in Lombok?

Yes, if the building was completed and has not been changed, according to the SIMBG FAQ. If you hold an IMB but have not started building, you apply for a PBG through SIMBG. Any alteration to an IMB building now needs a PBG.

Can a foreigner apply for a PBG in Lombok?

A Hak Pakai holder can file for a private house through SIMBG, and a PT PMA files through OSS for a business building. On leased land, the file needs a land-use agreement, so confirm with your regency DPMPTSP who signs.

How long does a PBG take in Lombok?

The review limit is 28 working days in five rounds at most, or 5 for small single houses (PP 16/2021 Art. 254), and 26 on the business route (PP 28/2025 Art. 113). ILA Global estimates about 75 working days from KKPR to PBG, so plan for months.

How much is the PBG fee in Lombok Tengah?

It is set by formula, with the local index at the 0.5% maximum. The bylaw’s examples are Rp156,492 for a 36 m² house and about Rp19.5 million for a 738 m² restaurant. On our illustration, a 200 m² two-story villa is about Rp1.12 million as housing or Rp5.22 million as a business.

Do I need KKPR for a private villa?

Yes. SIMBG’s FAQ lists a spatial-use document as a prerequisite for any PBG. Inside an OSS-integrated RDTR it can be issued automatically. Elsewhere it needs a manual assessment.

How often must an SLF be renewed?

Every 20 years for single and row houses, and every 5 years for other buildings, each after a fitness inspection (PP 16/2021 Art. 297). If your rental villa is classed as a business building, expect the 5-year cycle.

Does a villa inside the Mandalika SEZ follow different permit rules?

For business activities, yes: the SEZ Administrator issues the basic requirements, including KKPR and PBG/SLF (PP 28/2025 Art. 12(4)(a)). If you are building a private, non-business house there, ask the Administrator’s office which counter handles your file before you start.

The sequence, in one paragraph

Pick your structure first, since it decides who applies and where. Then secure KKPR and the environmental document, file the PBG and pay the levy, notify your start date, build through the stage inspections, and get the SLF before anyone moves in. If you plan to rent, add the business license and expect SLF renewal every 5 years. Run the numbers in our investment calculator, or book a Lombok investment call to talk through your plot.