Indonesia's Supreme Court has one sentence on land and houses bought in someone else's name. Supreme Court Circular (SEMA) No. 10 of 2020, Civil Chamber formulation number 4, reads: “Pemilik sebidang tanah adalah pihak yang namanya tercantum dalam sertifikat, meskipun tanah tersebut dibeli menggunakan uang/harta/aset milik WNA/pihak lain.” In English: the owner of a plot of land is the party whose name is on the certificate, even if the land was bought with money or assets belonging to a foreigner or another party.
The rule sits under the heading on borrowed names (nominee arrangements) and is usually discussed in the context of foreigners using an Indonesian's name. But “another party” is broad enough to cover a child who buys a house in a parent's name, a younger sibling who uses an older sibling's name because their own payslip falls short, or an unmarried couple who put the house in one partner's name.
This is common with first homes, and the reasons usually make sense: your own income doesn't pass the bank's calculation yet, your credit record has a problem, or you're still on a contract. Few people ask who owns the house if something changes along the way.
1. In Law, the House Belongs to the Name on the Certificate
SEMA 10/2020 was issued on 18 December 2020 as guidance for judges. The court looks at the name on the certificate, not at whose account paid the down payment and instalments.
If you pay every instalment but the certificate and the mortgage (KPR) agreement are in your older brother's name, then legally:
- Your brother owns the house and is the bank's debtor.
- Only your brother can sell, mortgage, or gift the house, and if he bought it after marrying, he needs his spouse's consent.
- Transfer receipts from your account do not make you the owner.
Receipts and transfer records prove the money came from you. But the SEMA shuts down a claim that the house itself is yours. In a dispute, what is usually left is a claim over money, and even that has to be proven in court.
2. Four Events That Bring the Problem to the Surface
While everyone gets along, a borrowed name rarely causes trouble. These four events are what usually set it off.
The named owner dies
The house becomes part of the named owner's estate and is divided among all their heirs. If it is in your father's name, you are not the only one entitled: so are your mother and all your siblings. If it is in the name of a brother who has a wife and children, his heirs are his wife and children, not you. Mortgage life insurance can pay off the remaining KPR, but paying it off doesn't change who owns the house. How that insurance claim works is covered in when a KPR borrower dies.
The named owner is, or gets, married
The Marriage Law (UU 1/1974) Article 35(1) makes property acquired during a marriage joint marital property. Article 36(1) says a husband or wife may act on joint property with the consent of both. So if the house is bought in the name of a married brother, your sister-in-law has a say too. Selling or transferring it later needs her signature, and if your brother divorces, the house can end up in the division of joint property.
If the house was bought before your brother married, it is his separate property (Article 35(2)), not joint property. Once he marries, his spouse also becomes one of his heirs.
The named owner has debts
The named owner's creditors look at assets registered in that person's name. The house whose instalments you pay can be seized if the named owner is sued and loses.
The relationship breaks down
This last one is the hardest to untangle. Siblings fall out over something else, and the house becomes a bargaining chip. The named owner refuses to sign the transfer deed, and you have no way to force it through an ownership claim.
3. Moving the Name Later Means Paying the Tax Twice
Many families plan to “switch the name once the KPR is paid off”. That can work, as long as everyone still agrees and the named owner is still alive. But every transfer is a new transaction, and it triggers the land and building acquisition duty (BPHTB) again.
Kota Bekasi Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 1 of 2024 sets BPHTB at 5% (Article 17). The deduction, called NPOPTKP, is Rp 80 million for a taxpayer's first acquisition in Kota Bekasi (Article 16(4)). The Rp 300 million deduction in Article 16(5) only applies to inheritance and testamentary gifts to blood relatives one degree up or down in a direct line, including a spouse. It does not cover an ordinary gift made while the giver is alive. The amending regulation, Perda 9/2025, leaves both articles unchanged.
As an illustration, assuming an acquisition value of Rp 700 million and that each person is buying in Kota Bekasi for the first time:
| Transaction | BPHTB calculation | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Buy from the developer in a parent's name | 5% × (Rp 700m − Rp 80m) | Rp 31 million |
| Parent gifts it to the child, market value still Rp 700m | 5% × (Rp 700m − Rp 80m) | Another Rp 31 million |
| Buy directly in your own name | 5% × (Rp 700m − Rp 80m) | Rp 31 million, once |
For a gift, the tax base is the market value at the time of the gift, or the property-tax NJOP if the market value is lower. If the house has gone up in price, the second BPHTB goes up too. How to calculate and pay BPHTB on a first home is in our first-home BPHTB guide for Bekasi.
While the KPR is running, the bank holds the certificate under a mortgage right (hak tanggungan). In practice, the name can only move to you after the loan is repaid and the mortgage is lifted (roya), or with the bank's approval. “Later” can mean waiting until the end of the tenor, 15 or 20 years from now.
4. If You Still Have to Use Someone Else's Name
Sometimes there is no other option in the near term. If you go this way, reduce the risk from day one:
- Choose a named owner whose heirs include you. A house in a parent's name is safer than one in a brother-in-law's or a friend's, because if something happens, you are one of the heirs.
- Bring the named owner's spouse in from the start. If the named owner is married, ask the spouse to sign the family agreement too. If the house is bought during the marriage, it is their joint property, so that spouse's consent will matter most later.
- Put the money in writing. Record who paid the down payment and each instalment, how much, and from which account.
- Keep the instalment transfers separate. Pay from an account in your own name, never in cash. Every bank statement becomes a record.
- Set a date for the transfer. Agree when the name will be changed and who pays the second BPHTB.
Borrowing a name is not the same as being a co-borrower. If your income is combined with a spouse you are legally married to, both of you are recorded in the loan agreement, and the house can be in your name.
5. Start With the Credit Problem
People usually borrow a name for one of three reasons: their income doesn't meet the bank's calculation, their job isn't permanent yet, or their record in OJK's credit database (SLIK) still shows a problem. All three can be dealt with without putting the house in someone else's name, though it takes time:
- Freelancers and small-business owners can use bank statements and business reports as proof of income. What each bank accepts is in KPR for small businesses and freelancers without a payslip.
- A SLIK record can be improved by settling the debt and asking for the data to be updated. The rule changes are in OJK's SLIK relaxation and KPR approval.
- A unit with smaller instalments leaves room in the instalment-to-income ratio, so your own income is more likely to pass.
Putting the purchase off six months while you clean up your credit record feels slow, but a house registered in your own name isn't dragged in if the named owner dies, marries, divorces, or runs into debt.
If a seller of a resale house offers “just carry on the instalments, the certificate stays in my name for now”, that is the riskiest version of a borrowed name, because you don't even know the named owner. We cover the pattern in online property listing scams.
For a sense of instalment size: the Emerald 70 house at Kingspoint Private Residences, Jl. Raya Perjuangan, Bekasi Utara, is in the Rp 700 million range, with instalments from Rp 5 million a month. It is a two-storey house with 70 m² of floor area on a 47.25 m² plot, built on bored-pile foundations.
Frequently asked questions
If I pay the instalments but the house is in my parents' name, is it legally mine?
No. SEMA No. 10 of 2020 (Civil Chamber, point 4) states that the owner of land is the party named on the certificate, even if it was bought with another party's money. The house belongs to your parents and will later be divided among all their heirs.
Can a nominee agreement signed at a notary protect me?
A written agreement or record helps prove the money you paid, but it doesn't change the owner recorded on the certificate. The strongest protection is still buying in your own name, or transferring the name as soon as you can.
How much does it cost to move a house from a parent's name to a child's in Kota Bekasi?
A gift from parent to child is subject to BPHTB of 5% of market value (or the NJOP if higher) minus an NPOPTKP of Rp 80 million, if it is the child's first acquisition in Kota Bekasi (Kota Bekasi Perda 1/2024, Articles 16 and 17). For a Rp 700 million house, that is about Rp 31 million, before notary (PPAT) and title transfer fees.
Want to check whether the KPR can be in your own name?
The Kingspoint team can run an instalment simulation for the Emerald 70 house on Jl. Raya Perjuangan, Bekasi Utara, against your income before you decide to use someone else's name.
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