Staying in an Airbnb Villa in Bali: Legal, and Who Must Report?

Staying in a villa you booked on Airbnb or another booking platform in Bali is not illegal for you as a guest. Business permits, local tax and reporting foreign guests are the obligations of the villa owner or manager. Since 2025, though, the government has been cracking down on unlicensed accommodation, and booking one of those units carries real risks for guests. Here is the short version, checked October 2026.

Is Airbnb banned in Bali?

No. Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) denied reports of an Airbnb ban in December 2025 and said its target is unlicensed accommodation, not the platform. In February 2026 Bali Governor Wayan Koster met Airbnb management and asked that villas and tourism businesses without proper permits and tax payments be removed from the app. Airbnb said it would comply with Bali's regulations.

What changed in 2026?

The ministry gave villas, homestays and other alternative accommodation staged deadlines to get licensed: first 31 March 2026, then extended to 31 May 2026. At a press conference on 26 May 2026, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said around 1,600 unlicensed accommodation businesses were still being marketed on booking platforms, and that those without permits would be delisted from 1 August 2026. Platforms were also told to onboard only new partners holding an NIB (business identification number from the OSS licensing system) with the matching business classification code. Automated verification linked to OSS data is targeted to be fully running by June 2027.

In practice, a listing that is still online is not necessarily licensed, and a listing that disappeared may simply be mid-application. If your booking is cancelled because a listing was taken down, the ministry advises guests to check the cancellation policy with their booking platform.

Which permits should a rental villa have?

• An NIB with an accommodation business code, issued through OSS. This is the main requirement platforms now check.
• A building approval (PBG) from the regency or city. Public order officers (Satpol PP) in Badung and Gianyar have repeatedly inspected villas, and Badung regency once demolished 48 illegal buildings around Bingin Beach, including lodging businesses.
• Registration as a local taxpayer. Hotel and villa stays are subject to the regional goods and services tax (PBJT) on accommodation under Law 1/2022 on central and regional government finances, at a maximum of 10%, with the exact rate set by each regency or city.

What are the risks for guests?

You will not be prosecuted for staying there. The risks are practical:

• Your booking can be cancelled at short notice if the listing is removed or the building is sealed.
• No authority has checked safety basics such as pool fencing, escape routes or wiring.
• If there is a dispute over a deposit or damage, there is no registered business to report.
• Your passport details are probably not being reported to Immigration, even though that is the manager's duty.

Who has to report to Immigration, the guest or the owner?

The owner or manager. Article 72(1) and (2) of Law 6/2011 on Immigration, as last amended by Law 63/2024, requires owners or managers of lodging to provide data on foreign guests when an immigration officer requests it. Since March 2025 the Directorate General of Immigration has asked hotels and any other place that functions as lodging to submit this through APOA, its foreigner monitoring app. According to the directorate, managers who fail to comply face up to 3 months' detention or a fine of up to Rp25 million.

Travellers do not need to report themselves. All you will see is a request to photograph or scan your passport data page at check-in, which is normal. What is not normal is an owner holding on to your original passport during your stay. For when you actually need to carry the original, see whether tourists must carry their passport everywhere in Bali.

What about monthly rentals and Indonesian guests?

Renting by the month or year does not exempt the owner from the foreign-guest data duty. Immigration office letters on reporting foreigners are addressed to owners of hotels, inns, guesthouses, boarding houses, villas and other lodging, so a house you rent for a few months is covered too. For Indonesian guests APOA does not apply, but the cancellation, safety and deposit risks at an unlicensed villa are the same.

What should you check before booking?

• Ask for the NIB number or the name of the managing business. Licensed operators can usually tell you straight away.
• Make sure the price includes tax and that you can get an invoice in the business's name rather than only a transfer receipt.
• Decline offers to pay outside the app into a personal account for a "cheaper price". You lose the platform's cancellation protection.
• Ask whether your passport data will be reported to Immigration via APOA. A manager who knows the rules will say yes without hesitation.
• Read recent reviews. Complaints about sudden cancellations or a sealed villa are red flags.

Still weighing a private villa against a hotel? The cost comparison is in private villa vs hotel in Bali. If you would rather not deal with permit questions at all, AccessiaPass stay vouchers are used at hotels and resorts that operate officially, and you can still ask the hotel directly for a tax invoice.

One last note: the platform delisting rules are still evolving, with OSS-based verification only fully in place in 2027. Before paying for a villa for a 2027 trip, check the latest ministry announcements and your booking platform's help pages again.