What was enacted
Bali province has enacted Regulation (Perda) No. 4 of 2026. It controls the conversion of productive land and prohibits transferring land rights through a nominee, meaning a front owner.
The aim is to protect LP2B land (protected farmland) and the traditional subak irrigation system from development and investment pressure.
Where the nominee issue came from
In September 2025, Deputy Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta described the preparation of the document and the problems it targets.
These included foreign investors putting assets in the names of Indonesian citizens and land being converted with foreign money under local names. Officials also cited lost provincial tax revenue and contract marriages used to get around restrictions.
Expert doubts
Gede Wirata, a lecturer at Ngurah Rai University, welcomed the move but worries the document will become rules without firm enforcement.
Public policy analyst Umar Ibnu Alkhatab says it can only be judged by how it is applied. RRI describes the regulation as a response to rising development pressure on Bali's farmland.
The article does not set out the text in detail or list its sanctions and enforcement steps, so its practical effect should be assessed case by case.
How the regulation is being used
In July 2026 the province cited Regulation No. 4/2026 when it announced faster LP2B designation across all regencies.
In September 2026 Governor Wayan Koster personally oversaw the demolition of a villa in a Buleleng forest zone, where officials suspected a foreign investor had used a local name. He cited the regional regulation on controlling land conversion.