---
title: "Buying a House Built on Someone Else's Land in Indonesia"
description: "A house on leased or borrowed land can look like a bargain. What documents to expect, the risks you take on, and when to walk away or price it in."
url: "https://vorneo.id/zh/artikel/rumah-di-atas-tanah-milik-orang-lain/"
lang: "zh"
image: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1628624747186-a941c476b7ef?auto=format&fit=crop&w=1280&q=70"
---

# Buying a House Built on Someone Else's Land in Indonesia

Vorneo Property · [法律与文件](https://vorneo.id/zh/artikel/topik/legalitas/) · 2026-10-25

The house is solid, it's close to a main road, and the asking price is well below everything around it. When you ask about the certificate, the seller explains that the land belongs to someone else. The house was built on leased land, or on family land whose owner once let them build there.

This isn't rare. There are houses on family land that was never subdivided, houses on land owned by a foundation or a company, and houses on riverbanks or river setback zones where the occupant doesn't own the ground. This guide helps you understand what you'd actually be buying, which documents might exist, and how to value it.

## Building and land can be owned separately

Indonesian land law follows a principle of horizontal separation (pemisahan horizontal). A building and the land beneath it can belong to different people. So selling a house without its land is possible in principle.

The problem is that in this kind of deal, you're only buying the building plus whatever right to use the land the seller still has. If that right is weak or unwritten, the building's value is weak too. A building with no right to stay where it stands isn't worth much.

## The forms you'll come across

Not every house on someone else's land carries the same risk. It depends on the underlying right.

- HGB or Hak Pakai over freehold land. The landowner grants a right to build (HGB, Hak Guna Bangunan) or a right of use (Hak Pakai) to someone else through a deed by a PPAT (Pejabat Pembuat Akta Tanah, the official who draws up land deeds), registered at the land office. This is the strongest form: there's a certificate in the holder's name and a clear term.
- A written land lease. There's an agreement with the landowner, ideally notarial, setting the term, the rent, and what happens to the building when the lease ends.
- Permission to build (izin menumpang). The landowner, often a relative, lets someone build without rent. Usually it's verbal, or a simple signed statement.
- Buildings on state land or restricted zones, such as river setbacks or agency land. The occupant may have tax receipts or a letter from the local office, but no right to the land.

Riverside homes come with their own considerations, covered in our guide to [riverside homes in Banjarmasin](/en/artikel/rumah-tepi-sungai-banjarmasin/).

## The risks you take on

- The lease or permission ends, and the landowner can ask for the land back.
- The land is sold, and the new owner doesn't feel bound by a verbal arrangement.
- The landowner dies, and the heirs don't know about, or won't honour, the permission.
- Clearance. Buildings on state land, river setbacks or land zoned for something else can be removed in a tidy-up.
- No bank financing. A home loan (KPR) generally needs a land right that can be mortgaged.
- Hard to resell. The next buyer faces the same questions you do, so the market is small.
- Limited renovation. Big changes may need the landowner's consent, and a building approval (PBG, Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung) needs proof of a right or permission over the land.

Many of these overlap with the disputes covered in our guide on [avoiding land disputes](/en/artikel/menghindari-sengketa-tanah/).

## Documents to ask for

1. The land certificate, so you know who really owns the land. Have a PPAT check it with the land office.
2. An HGB or Hak Pakai certificate in the seller's name, if there is one.
3. The lease or permission letter, with its term and what it says about the building when it ends.
4. Proof the agreement can be transferred to a buyer, or the landowner's willingness to sign a new one with you.
5. The latest rent receipts and the land and building tax notice (SPPT PBB). Note whose name it's in.
6. Building documents such as the old building permit (IMB) or a PBG, if any.

Above all, meet the landowner yourself. Whatever the seller agrees doesn't bind the landowner. Without the landowner's agreement, you're buying a hope.

## When the house sits on family land

The most common case is a house built on land owned by the occupant's parents or grandparents. Nobody minded at the time, because it was all family. Once the landowner dies, the land belongs jointly to all the heirs, including those who don't live there.

If the occupant of a house like this wants to sell, the land has to be sorted out first. That usually means dividing the estate, splitting the certificate, and then transferring that portion to the occupant, or straight to the buyer with every heir's consent. The process is explained in our guide to [splitting a land certificate](/en/artikel/pecah-sertifikat-tanah/). Buying before all that's done means stepping into someone else's family affairs.

## Better options than buying as is

Before deciding, see whether a safer route exists:

- Buy the land as well. If the landowner will sell, combine the land and building in one proper transaction before a PPAT.
- Get a registered HGB or Hak Pakai. The landowner grants you HGB or Hak Pakai over their freehold through a PPAT deed, with a clear term.
- Sign a new lease directly with the landowner, before a notary, with a long term, a right to extend, and terms for the building at the end.

If none of these is on offer, think hard about walking away.

## Working out a fair price

If you still want to buy, don't compare the price with titled houses nearby. Value what you actually get:

- The written lease or right term that's left.
- The building's depreciated value, not the cost of building new.
- Future land rent.
- The cost of demolition or clearing out if the lease isn't renewed.

A house with a short lease left and only verbal permission can be worth far less than the asking price. Our guide on [property below market price](/en/artikel/properti-harga-di-bawah-pasar/) explains why a cheap price always needs a reason.

## Wrapping up

A house on someone else's land isn't always a trap, but it's a different purchase from a titled home. Find out who owns the land, read the right or agreement it rests on, meet the landowner in person, and price it on the right you'll actually hold. If the arrangement is only verbal, it's best avoided. For the status of land at a specific location, confirm with the local land office or a PPAT.

If you've been offered a house like this in or around Banjarmasin, the Vorneo Property team can help you weigh the documents and your options.

## 常见问题

### Can I legally buy a house when the land belongs to someone else?

Yes. Indonesian land law allows a building and the land under it to be owned separately. But what you buy is the building and whatever right to use the land the seller has left, not the land. Without a written agreement with the landowner, your position is very weak.

### Can I get a mortgage on a house on leased land?

Usually not, because banks want a land title in the borrower's name or a right that can carry a mortgage. The exception is when a registered HGB or Hak Pakai has been issued over the land in the seller's name. Ask the bank directly.

### How do I work out a fair price for a house on someone else's land?

Base it on the written lease or permission term that's left, the depreciated value of the building, and the cost of clearing it if the lease isn't renewed. Don't compare it with titled houses nearby, because you're buying something different.

## 相关文章

- [AJB Costs and PPAT Fees: The Breakdown and Who Pays](https://vorneo.id/zh/artikel/biaya-ppat-dan-akta-jual-beli/)
- [KDB, KLB and GSB Explained: How Much Can You Build on Your Land](https://vorneo.id/zh/artikel/kdb-klb-dan-gsb/)
- [NJOP, Market Price and Bank Appraisal: The Difference and When Each Is Used](https://vorneo.id/zh/artikel/njop-harga-pasar-dan-appraisal/)

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