You’ve made the last payment on your KPR (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, a home loan). It feels like everything is done. But one step is often forgotten: removing the bank’s lien from your land certificate.

That step is called roya. Until it’s done, your certificate still shows a Hak Tanggungan (the mortgage lien) even though the debt is paid. It usually only becomes a problem years later, when the house is being sold or passed on.

This guide is for anyone who has just paid off a home loan, anyone who paid it off long ago and never got round to roya, and buyers who find an old lien on the certificate of a house they want.

What roya is and why it matters

When your loan was approved, the house became collateral through a Hak Tanggungan, the security right over land governed by UU No. 4 Tahun 1996. The lien was registered at the Kantor Pertanahan (the district land office) and noted on the certificate record.

A Hak Tanggungan gives the bank a strong position. If the borrower defaults, the bank can sell the collateral at public auction. Once the loan is repaid, that right ends, but the note only disappears from the land records after roya is filed at the land office.

Roya matters in three situations:

  • Selling the house. The buyer’s PPAT (Pejabat Pembuat Akta Tanah, the official who draws up land deeds) will check the certificate. A lien still on record has to be cleared before the sale can go ahead.
  • Taking a new loan. A new lender wants to register its own lien on a clean certificate.
  • Inheritance. If the owner dies before roya, the heirs have to deal with it, and tracking down old bank papers can be much harder.

If you’re a buyer and you find an old lien on the seller’s certificate, you don’t have to walk away. Ask the seller for the bank’s letter confirming the loan is paid and for roya to be done before the deed of sale, or ask the PPAT to arrange the order.

What the bank hands back

Once the payoff is processed, the bank returns the collateral documents to the borrower. These usually include:

  • The original land certificate the bank has been holding.
  • The original Sertifikat Hak Tanggungan (the lien certificate).
  • A paid-off letter (surat keterangan lunas) and a letter from the bank for roya, stating that the debt is settled and the bank agrees to the lien being removed.
  • Other documents you handed over, such as the building approval (PBG) or old IMB permit and a copy of the deed of sale, if the bank kept them.

Check everything before you leave the bank. Match the borrower’s name, the certificate number and the address. If anything is missing, ask the bank to note it in writing.

If your lien was registered electronically, the Sertifikat Hak Tanggungan is electronic too. So the documents you receive may look different from the list above.

How to clear the lien

The usual order:

  1. Pay off and get proof. Make sure there are no leftover charges, penalties or admin fees. Ask for the paid-off letter.
  2. Collect the collateral documents from the bank, as listed above.
  3. Ask who files the roya. Some banks file it themselves, some leave it to the borrower, and some use a notary or PPAT.
  4. Apply for roya at the Kantor Pertanahan where the land is registered. Bring the original certificate, the Sertifikat Hak Tanggungan, the bank’s letter, the owner’s ID card (KTP) and the application form. If someone applies for you, include a power of attorney.
  5. Pay the official fee according to the bill from the counter.
  6. Check the result. Make sure the lien no longer appears, both on the certificate and in Sentuh Tanahku, the official app of Kementerian ATR/BPN.

In offices that have started issuing electronic certificates, your paper certificate may be converted to an electronic one while the roya is processed.

Electronic roya and what to ask the bank

Much Hak Tanggungan processing is now electronic, known as HT-el. For a lien registered through this system, removal is generally filed electronically too, and the bank as creditor is usually involved in the application.

So don’t guess. Ask the bank directly:

  • Does the bank file the roya, or do I?
  • If the bank does, when will it be filed, and how can I check the result?
  • If I do, which documents do I get, and are they paper or electronic?
  • Does the bank or a notary charge anything for handling it?

Keep the bank’s answers in writing, for example a letter or an email from an official bank address.

The official fee for roya at the land office is PNBP (Penerimaan Negara Bukan Pajak, non-tax state revenue), with the tariff set by the government. If a notary or PPAT handles the roya, their service fee is separate. Ask for a breakdown before you hand over any documents.

If the bank has changed its name or documents are lost

Loans that are paid off after many years sometimes run into paperwork problems. Some examples:

  • The bank merged or changed its name. Go to the successor bank. Ask it for the roya letter, along with documents showing the name change or merger if the land office asks for them.
  • The bank lost the Sertifikat Hak Tanggungan. Ask the bank for an official statement about the loss. The land office will tell you what else it needs.
  • The land certificate is lost. If it went missing while the bank held it, ask the bank to take responsibility for arranging a replacement. If it was lost in your hands, a replacement certificate has to be sorted out first.
  • The bank no longer operates. This is harder. Ask the land office or a PPAT for guidance, because the route may need documents from whoever is winding up the bank’s affairs, or a court order.

If you paid off your loan long ago, don’t wait for a sale to deal with it. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to find the people who know your loan’s history and the papers that record it.

Houses bought through an informal takeover

Some houses were bought through an informal loan takeover. The buyer paid the original borrower a lump sum, then carried on with the instalments without any official process at the bank. In the bank’s records the borrower is still the original one, and the certificate is still in the seller’s name.

So when the loan is paid off, the bank releases the documents to the borrower on record, not to the person who has been paying. The original borrower has to take part. They collect the documents, file the roya, then sign a deed of sale before a PPAT so the house can be transferred to the buyer.

If the original borrower is hard to reach or has died, the matter passes to their heirs, and it can take much longer. That’s why a loan takeover should go through the bank, as explained in our guide on taking over a home loan safely.

What to do after the last instalment

An order you can follow:

  1. Get the paid-off letter and make sure nothing is still owed.
  2. Collect the original certificate, the Sertifikat Hak Tanggungan and the roya letter, and check the details.
  3. Ask the bank who files the roya and in what form.
  4. File or follow the roya at the land office until the lien no longer appears.
  5. Keep all originals somewhere safe, and make copies.

If you’re still planning the payoff, our guide to paying off a home loan early shows how to weigh it up. If you want to sell before the loan is paid off, read how to sell a house that still has a mortgage.

If you plan to sell the house once roya is done, you can start from Vorneo’s List Your Property page.