Two things are worth knowing before you sign anything in Indonesia. First, Presidential Regulation 63 of 2019 requires an agreement involving an Indonesian party to be written in Indonesian and, where one party is foreign, also in English or that party’s own national language — so an English version is what the regulation contemplates, not a favour you are begging for. Second, a resident bank account normally waits on your KITAS: BCA’s published requirements are a passport plus a KITAS or KITAP, with a minimum opening deposit of Rp 500,000, about USD 28.
Together they describe where most foreign professionals stand in their first weeks in Jakarta: a contract they cannot read, and money moving before a local account exists. What follows applies to a kost — a furnished room rented by the month in a building of similar rooms — as much as to a flat.
Do you have a right to a rental contract in English?
Yes, and it is written down. Article 26 of Presidential Regulation 63 of 2019 provides that an agreement involving a state institution, a government agency, an Indonesian private institution or an Indonesian individual must use Indonesian, and that where a foreign party is involved it must also be written in that party’s national language and/or English.
The same article settles what happens when the versions disagree: the governing language is the one the parties agreed in the agreement itself. Find that clause before you look at the price. An Indonesian-only document handed to a foreign tenant in Jakarta is not what the regulation describes.
Three things follow in practice for a foreign tenant signing in Jakarta. The regulation shapes what you can reasonably ask for while the document is still a draft, what you should read before you look at the price, and which of the two versions in front of you decides an argument later. Take them in that order.
- Ask for the English version at first-draft stage, not on signing day.
- Read the language clause to find out which version governs. It may well be the Indonesian one.
- Do not accept “the English one is only a translation”. Ask to be shown the clause that says so.
What should the rental agreement say?
Length is not what matters in a tenancy agreement for a room in Jakarta; identifiers are. These are the details that tell you whom you are contracting with, at which address, and whom you would chase for a refund. Check that the document carries all of the following before you start discussing the price.
- The full legal address: kelurahan, kecamatan, city and postal code, not just a street and a building name.
- Your own name, spelled exactly as in your passport.
- Who the counterparty is, a company or an individual. That decides who you chase for a refund.
- The monthly amount, and an itemised statement of what it includes.
- The minimum term, the notice period, and what happens if your assignment ends early.
- The deposit: amount, written conditions and timeline for return, and the account it goes back to.
- Whether tax sits inside or outside the number quoted.
The address line deserves more attention than it gets. An Indonesian address is a hierarchy of RT, RW, kelurahan and kecamatan, and the levels your agreement omits are the ones you will be asked for later; our guide to reading an Indonesian address explains each level. If the kelurahan reads Bendungan Hilir, in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, our guide to living in Bendungan Hilir covers the neighbourhood.
What should you ask about the deposit?
This is where an honest page stops short. Operators publish their own terms: Arcelon Residence, which runs two co-living kost buildings in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, requires a security deposit and a minimum stay of one month. Beyond terms like those, no reliable current source could be found for what deposits cost in Jakarta, how long refunds take, or how disputes are settled.
Plenty of pages will hand you a confident figure for a Jakarta deposit anyway; treat those numbers as unsourced, because they are. What protects you is not knowing the average but pinning down this building’s terms. Ask questions specific enough that the answers become a record you can point back to.
- How much is the deposit, and is it separate from the first month’s rent?
- When is it returned — from the end of the term, or the day the room is handed back?
- On what conditions is it returned in full?
- What can be deducted, and who assesses the deduction?
- To which account is it paid back, and in which currency?
- Who signs the receipt, and in what capacity?
Then insist on a receipt for every payment: named, dated, itemised, stating what the payment is for and, for a deposit, the conditions under which it comes back. A signed document carrying the building’s name is what you want in your file.
How do you pay rent before you have an Indonesian bank account?
The sequencing is the problem. BCA’s published requirements for an individual Tahapan account list, for foreign citizens domiciled in Indonesia, a passport plus a stay permit — a KITAS or a KITAP — with additional anti-money-laundering documents for those not domiciled here, and a minimum initial deposit of Rp 500,000. That is about USD 28 at Bank Indonesia’s JISDOR reference rate of Rp 17,703 to the US dollar on 28 August 2026, the rate used throughout this article. Those are BCA’s terms for its own product, not a description of the market.
The permit follows arrival rather than preceding it. Immigration’s official FAQ, last updated 11 January 2024, states that a limited stay permit must be applied for within 30 days of the entry stamp — confirm the current position with your sponsor. UU 23/2006 Article 20 then gives you 14 days from the issuance of the ITAS to register your address and receive an SKTT. Our article on KITAS address registration and the SKTT works through that sequence.
Plan for a gap of some weeks between arrival in Jakarta and a working Indonesian account, during which rent still falls due. The permit, the account and the tenancy do not arrive in a convenient order, so the method by which the first month or two will be paid is something to settle in writing while you can still take your time over it.
- Agree the payment method in writing before you travel, not on arrival.
- Ask whether the operator can invoice and accept an international transfer, and in whose name the receiving account is held.
- Ask whether your employer can pay directly against an invoice. For many relocation packages that is cleanest.
- If anything is paid in cash, take the receipt at the moment of payment.
What is your building legally obliged to do about foreign residents?
More than most tenants realise, and the obligation makes a useful test. UU 6/2011 Article 72(2) obliges the owner or manager of lodging to provide data on foreigners staying there when an immigration officer requests it, and Article 117 penalises refusal with up to three months’ detention or a fine of up to Rp 25,000,000, roughly USD 1,410. The government’s APOA reporting application separately states that owners and managers of accommodation must report foreigners staying with them.
The two framings do not match: the statute describes a duty arising when an officer asks, APOA a standing obligation to report. No official deadline in hours could be found for either, so treat any page that gives you one as unreliable.
A building in Jakarta that has never heard of APOA has probably never housed a foreign resident — not a disqualification, but it means nothing about your paperwork will be routine there. Our checklist for vetting a Jakarta kost turns this into questions to ask on the viewing.
What should you ask a Jakarta landlord before transferring any money?
These are the questions to send a building in Jakarta before any money moves. Paste them into a message and send them as they stand. Written answers are worth more than a verbal reassurance given on a viewing, and the replies tell you quickly whether the people you are about to pay have handled a foreign resident before.
- Is there an English version of the agreement, and which language governs?
- Am I contracting with a company or an individual, and what is the registered name?
- What is the full legal address, including the kelurahan and postal code?
- What does the monthly price include, and is there a cap on electricity?
- What is the deposit, and what are the written conditions and timeline for its return?
- How many months are payable in advance?
- Can you invoice my employer, and accept an international transfer?
- Have you registered a foreign resident with Immigration before?
- Will you support a domicile letter when my permit is renewed next year?
The last two do the most work. Neither asks the building to issue an immigration document, because no building can. Both tell you whether the people you are about to pay have done this before. If you have not yet landed, our guide to the first 90 days in Jakarta shows where housing sits in the sequence.
A note on scope
This article covers what can be verified in published regulation and in a bank’s own published requirements. It is general information and not legal advice, and anyone with a high-value or complex tenancy should take local advice. Indonesian contract law under the Civil Code sits outside its scope, as do deposit conventions, notarisation and the enforceability of an informal room agreement.
Written and reviewed by [AUTHOR NAME], [ROLE]. Last reviewed 30 August 2026; next review [REVIEW DATE], when the regulations cited, BCA’s published requirements and the Bank Indonesia JISDOR reference rate are refreshed with the rest of this series on a single diary date.
Frequently asked questions about renting in Jakarta as a foreigner
Can a foreigner sign a rental contract in Indonesia?
Yes. Article 26 of Presidential Regulation 63 of 2019 assumes exactly that situation, requiring an agreement with a foreign party to be written in that party’s national language and/or English alongside Indonesian. Renting is separate from owning property, which this article does not cover.
Does my rental agreement have to be in English?
It has to be in Indonesian, and where one party is foreign, Article 26 of Presidential Regulation 63 of 2019 requires that it also be written in that party’s national language and/or English. Where the versions are read differently, the version named in the agreement governs.
How much deposit is normal for a kost in Jakarta?
No reliable current source for typical deposit sizes in Jakarta could be found, and this article will not invent one. Operators publish their own terms, and they vary. Ask the specific building, in writing, how much the deposit is and on what written conditions it comes back.
Can I rent in Jakarta before I have a KITAS?
Renting often happens before the permit exists, because the permit follows arrival: Immigration’s official FAQ, last updated 11 January 2024, states that a limited stay permit must be applied for within 30 days of the entry stamp. The constraint is payment rather than the tenancy — BCA, for example, requires a stay permit alongside a passport for foreign citizens domiciled in Indonesia.
Do I need an Indonesian bank account to pay rent?
Not necessarily, but you need a method agreed in advance. BCA’s published requirements for an individual account include a passport plus a KITAS or KITAP for foreign citizens domiciled in Indonesia, with a minimum initial deposit of Rp 500,000 — about USD 28 at Bank Indonesia’s JISDOR rate of Rp 17,703 on 28 August 2026.
Can my employer pay my rent directly and get an invoice?
Ask, because it removes the bank-account problem entirely. It depends on whether the building can invoice in a company’s name and whether your employer will pay a foreign supplier. Settle it in writing before you travel, and check the invoice carries the building’s full legal address.
What should be written on the rental receipt?
The date, the amount, and what the payment is for — rent for a named month, or the deposit. Then the full legal address, your passport name, and the name, role and signature of the person receiving the money. For a deposit, add the conditions for its return.