Before any money moves: confirm the person leasing to you actually holds the right to do it, get every term into a bilingual written agreement, and read the exit clauses as carefully as the price. Most Bali rental problems are visible in the paperwork before they happen in the villa.
Who are you actually renting from
Ask to see the land certificate and match the name on it to the person signing your lease. If the villa is itself held on a leasehold, ask how long that head lease runs: your tenancy cannot outlive it. Where an agent stands in between, establish in writing who holds your deposit and who is responsible when something breaks.
What must be in writing
The term and the exact price and currency. What is included: maintenance, pool, garden, staff, internet. The deposit amount and precisely what it can be withheld for. Renewal terms, so staying on is not a renegotiation from zero. Whether you may sublet or host paying guests. And an inventory with photographs, signed by both sides, on the day you get the keys.
In Indonesia the agreement should be bilingual, and for anything long or valuable, notarised. Both language versions must say the same thing; the Indonesian text is the one that governs.
Permits, for newer builds
New construction should hold its building permit, the PBG, and at completion the SLF, the certificate that the building is worthy of occupation. For a long lease on a new villa these are fair documents to ask about; a professional landlord will not be offended. At Core Villas the final purchase instalment is tied to the SLF being handed over, which is the standard we think tenants should quietly expect from their landlords too.
The clauses that bite
Early-exit terms that forfeit everything prepaid. Deposit deductions for normal wear. Price resets on renewal with no notice period. Maintenance obligations quietly shifted onto the tenant. None of these are exotic; all of them are negotiable before signing and none of them are after.
