Renting a villa in Bali for a year, what it costs, what you pay up front and how to pay less

The price of a year

These are the 220 villas currently listed with a price per year. Owners quote the full year and expect it paid in advance. Dollar figures use a rate of Rp 17,900.

“Middle half” means that half of the villas fall between the two figures, a quarter are cheaper and a quarter more expensive. It is a better guide to your budget than the median alone. We do not publish a median for one bedroom villas because few of them are offered by the year. They are mostly rented by the month.

A yearly villa is a family home. Most have a private pool and most are furnished. Two bedrooms is the size most couples and remote workers take, three is the size for families.

Price by area

The same villa costs very different amounts depending on where it stands. Yearly medians by area, for villas posted by the year:

“Not enough listings” means fewer than three villas of that size are posted by the year at the moment. Treat the small samples with care: a median built on four villas moves a lot when one is rented.

The pattern is the same as for monthly rent. The coast between Canggu and Umalas is expensive, and Kerobokan, Tumbak Bayuh and Tabanan give the most villa for the money. The rent prices index has the monthly figures for each area, and the guide on where expats live in Bali explains who lives where.

How much cheaper than monthly

Yearly rent is the biggest discount you can get in Bali, and it is not as large as the headline numbers suggest.

Compare medians and the gap looks huge. A two bedroom villa is Rp 30M a month when rented by the month, and Rp 20.8M a month on a yearly contract. But the monthly pool is full of newer, better located villas, so that comparison flatters the yearly price.

A cleaner test: 330 owners quote both a monthly price and a yearly price for the same villa. Across them, the yearly price is 17 percent lower per month at the median. A villa at Rp 30M a month would be about Rp 25M a month on a yearly contract.

So the discount you can expect on the same villa is about 17 percent, and the rest of the gap comes from the type of villa that is offered by the year.

Two consequences:

• The break-even is about 10 months. If you plan to stay less than that, rent by the month. If you stay a year or more, the yearly contract is cheaper.
• Do not expect half off. An owner who quotes Rp 30M a month will not drop to Rp 15M for a yearly lease. If you see that, ask what is wrong with the villa.

The monthly rentals and the long term rentals are the two lists to compare.

What you pay on day one

The price per month is misleading, because the owner wants the year in one payment.

For the median two bedroom villa, day one looks like this:

That is a large transfer to someone you have just met, so be careful. The rental scams guide lists the signs, and the short version is: visit the villa, check that the person signing is the owner, and pay against a signed contract.

Some owners accept two instalments, half at signing and half after six months. Ask. Others, especially for new villas, want the full year. The deposit is returned at the end if nothing is broken. Some owners ask for a fixed sum rather than months of rent.

For food, transport, insurance and the rest of household spending, use the full-year living budget. It keeps refundable deposits separate from spending.

The real cost of a year

Rent is not the bill. On a yearly lease almost nothing is included, and you pay the running costs yourself. For a two bedroom villa with a pool, count roughly:

So a year in the median two bedroom villa costs about Rp 328M, around $18,320, which is Rp 27.3M a month. The deposit comes on top in the first year and is returned at the end. Read the contract for who pays when the pool pump breaks.

These running costs are our estimates, in line with the ones in the cost of living in Bali. Ask the owner for last month’s electricity bill. An old air conditioning unit in every bedroom can add Rp 2M a month.

What changes the price

Two villas of the same size can be Rp 100M apart over a year. Owners charge for:

• Distance to the beach and the cafes. Walking distance to the beach costs a premium. Ten minutes inland by scooter costs much less.
• Age and finish. A new villa with an enclosed, air conditioned living room costs more than an older open-air one.
• Furnishing. Many yearly villas are unfurnished or lightly furnished. A fully equipped villa costs more, but you save the cost of furnishing one yourself.
• View and surroundings. A rice field view adds to the price, and a building site next door should take a lot off.
• Owner or agent. A villa posted by its owner can be cheaper than the same one through an agent.
• Length of the contract. Ask what a second year would cost.
• Start date. Owners with an empty villa in the low season negotiate more.

How to pay less

1. Ask for two years. Owners like certainty. Some will lower the yearly price for a two-year contract. Get the rent of the second year fixed in writing.
2. Go one area further out. Kerobokan, Tumbak Bayuh and Tabanan cost much less than Canggu and Umalas for a similar villa.
3. Take it unfurnished. If you have your own furniture, or plan to buy, you can pay less.
4. Offer to pay in full. An owner who needs cash will take a lower price for the whole year up front. Only do it against a signed contract.
5. Look in the low season. January to March and November are the months when owners with an empty villa say yes. See Bali rent by season.
6. Compare the same villa across posts. The same place is often posted twice at two prices. We merge duplicates in the listings.

A polite offer of 5 to 10 percent under the asking price is normal. Do not start much lower than that: good villas are rented quickly.

Before you sign

A yearly lease is a legal commitment, so a few things matter more than the price.

• The contract. It should state the dates, the rent, the deposit, who pays for repairs and what happens if either side ends early. For a contract of several years, use a notary. The steps are in how to rent in Bali.
• Your stay permit. A year in a villa needs a visa that lets you stay a year. A visit visa does not. The long stay visas guide compares the options.
• The owner. Check that the person signing owns the villa or holds a lease that allows subletting.
• The neighbourhood. Visit in the rain and at 5pm.

If the villa is more than you need, a cheaper way to stay a long time is a house or an apartment. See the houses for rent in Bali and the apartments. And if you are unsure about a full year, start with a monthly rental and switch.

Where the numbers come from

Owners and agents post their rentals in Facebook groups. We collect the public posts, extract the price, the area and the number of bedrooms, merge duplicates, and compute a median when at least three listings exist for a category. These are asking prices, not signed contracts. The sibling guide, how much it costs to rent a villa in Bali, has the monthly prices.

To see what a year costs against home, read Bali against the US.