Article 633 of the Indonesian Civil Code (KUHPerdata) says every wall used as a boundary between buildings, plots, gardens and yards is presumed to be a shared boundary wall, unless a title or a physical sign shows otherwise. If the two buildings are different heights, the wall is shared only up to the height of the lower one.
The article matters to a lot of cluster residents in Bekasi. Government Regulation No. 16 of 2021, which implements the Buildings Law, splits residential buildings into detached houses, row houses (rumah tinggal deret) and flats in its Elucidation of Article 5(1). Put simply, a row house shares its side with the house next door. In clusters with plots around 4.5 metres wide this layout is common, so one side wall can be the business of two households.
Do the neighbour articles still apply after the Agrarian Law?
The rules on neighbour relations sit in Articles 625 to 672 of the Civil Code, in Book II. The Basic Agrarian Law (Law No. 5 of 1960) revoked Book II of the Civil Code insofar as it concerns land, water and the natural resources in them, except for the mortgage provisions.
Practitioners read the effect differently. One answer from the Hukumonline legal clinic (2012) concluded that Articles 625–672 cannot be applied, including to the house-wall case it was asked about. Another answer from the same clinic (2015) still relied on Articles 640, 641 and 642 for a neighbour's rights over walls and fences, alongside Article 1365. So there's no certainty a judge will apply the boundary-wall articles.
Nobody disputes Article 1365 in Book III: anyone who, through their fault, commits an unlawful act that causes loss to another must compensate that loss. Article 1366 extends liability to loss caused by negligence. So the boundary-wall articles work best as common ground for talking it out, while a lawsuit still rests on Article 1365.
What the shared-wall rules say
| Civil Code article | Gist |
|---|---|
| 633 | A boundary wall is presumed shared unless a title or sign says otherwise. Where building heights differ, it's shared only up to the lower building. |
| 634 | Signs a wall isn't shared include it supporting a building on one side only, or ledges and projecting stones on one side only. |
| 635 | Repair costs are split in proportion to each owner's share. An owner can't opt out if the wall props up their own building or divides houses in a town, satellite town or village. |
| 636 | A co-owner (a fellow owner of the wall) may lean a structure on the wall and set beams or iron into it up to half its thickness, as long as the wall isn't damaged. Article 641 still requires the other owner's consent. |
| 637 | Whoever raises the wall pays for it, maintains the new part and compensates for the extra load. |
| 641 | No hole or cut in the shared wall, and no structure leaning on it, without the other owner's consent. For works under Articles 636 and 637 the neighbour may ask for an expert's plan first. Loss must be compensated, except loss to the wall's appearance. |
| 644 | No window or opening in a shared wall without the neighbour's consent. |
| 654 | A wall at risk of collapsing onto the neighbour's plot must be repaired or taken down at the neighbour's first warning. |
The three cases that come up most
Damp coming through from the neighbour's bathroom
Damp patches and bubbling paint on your side often come from a bathroom or pipe next door. Here the cause is the neighbour's plumbing, so the cost-sharing rule in Article 635 doesn't fit. Fixing the leak is on whoever owns the pipes, and damage on your side can be claimed under Articles 1365 and 1366 if there was fault or negligence. Bring evidence: photos of the stain, the date it appeared, and a tradesman's note pointing to where the water comes from.
The neighbour chases the wall for pipes, sockets or a built-in cabinet
Article 641 bars a co-owner from cutting into a shared wall without consent. Chasing a thin brick wall for pipework can break through to your side or weaken it. Ask the neighbour to tell you before work starts, and photograph your side of the wall before the builders arrive.
The neighbour adds a storey and builds onto the wall
Article 637 covers raising a shared wall: they pay, they maintain the new section, and they compensate for the added load. If the old wall can't take it, whoever wants the extra height rebuilds the whole wall at their own cost, and any extra thickness comes out of their own plot. Article 641 also lets you ask for an expert's plan before the work starts. Outside civil law, an extra storey also needs a Building Approval (PBG) and the estate manager's consent. The estate rules on renovation are covered in our guide to renovation rules in Bekasi clusters.
A sensible order of steps
- Find out what kind of wall it is. Check the developer's working drawings or the PBG documents. Row houses can be built with one shared wall, or with two walls side by side and a small gap. With the second type each house owns its own wall and Article 633 hardly comes into it.
- Document it. Photograph cracks, stains or chasing with a ruler for scale, and repeat weekly if the damage is spreading.
- Talk, with a concrete proposal. Bring a builder's quote, a suggested cost split and a schedule. An agreement written on one sheet and signed by both of you is easier to enforce than a verbal promise.
- Bring in the RT or the estate manager. If the conversation stalls, ask the RT to mediate. A fuller guide to neighbour mediation is in our article on neighbour disputes in a cluster.
- Court as the last resort. A tort claim under Article 1365 needs proof of loss and fault. The cost and time can exceed the price of fixing the wall.
Ask the developer before signing: is the side wall one shared wall or two separate walls, how thick is it, and does the wall carry on up through the roof space between the two units? Get the answer in writing or on the working drawings.
Why it matters when choosing a house
The side-wall question almost never appears in a brochure, yet the answer decides who else gets dragged in when that wall cracks or gets damp ten years from now. For the Emerald 70 house at Kingspoint Residence, Jl. Raya Perjuangan, North Bekasi, ask the sales team how the side walls are built before you pick a unit.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the wall between two row houses?
Article 633 of the Civil Code presumes a boundary wall is shared unless a title or sign says otherwise. Whether that article survived the Agrarian Law is still argued; Article 1365 is the undisputed basis for a claim. The developer's working drawings and the land certificate help place the wall relative to the plot boundary.
Who pays to repair a cracked shared wall?
Under Article 635 the cost is split in proportion to each owner's share. If the damage comes from one side's works or fittings, that side can be asked to compensate where there was fault or negligence (Civil Code Articles 1365–1366).
Can my neighbour cut into the shared wall without asking?
Article 641 of the Civil Code bars a co-owner from making a hole or cut in a shared wall without the other owner's consent. Talking it through, with the RT mediating, is usually faster than going to court.
References: Civil Code Articles 633–637, 641, 644, 654, 1365, 1366; Law No. 5 of 1960 (Basic Agrarian Law); Government Regulation No. 16 of 2021, Elucidation of Article 5(1); Hukumonline legal clinic, “Pembatas Dinding Rumah Dipakai Tetangga” (2012) and “Bermasalah dengan Pemasangan Tembok Tetangga” (2015). This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
Want to know how the Emerald 70 side walls are built?
Ask whether the side walls are shared or separate, and which Emerald 70 houses are still available on Jl. Raya Perjuangan, North Bekasi.
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