What SHM, HGB and Hak Pakai mean

The certificate type tells you what kind of right is registered over the land, how long it lasts, and what has to happen to renew or transfer it. It is the first thing to check on any property listing, because everything else — price, permits, financing — follows from it.

Listings on Pasaran carry the certificate type as a filterable field. These are the labels and what they refer to.

• SHM (Sertifikat Hak Milik) — the ownership title, the strongest right registered in the land office and not time-limited in the way the others are.
• HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan) — a right to build and hold buildings on land for a fixed period, renewable through an application process.
• Hak Pakai — a right of use for a stated purpose and period, also renewable by application.
• Other — anything outside those three, including unregistered customary land, which needs specialist review.

HGB and Hak Pakai both run for a stated number of years and are extended by application rather than automatically. Always check the expiry date printed on the certificate and how long the current holder has left, the same way you would with a lease term.

A leasehold arrangement is a contract sitting on top of somebody else's certificate. The certificate type still matters in that case, because it determines what the landowner is able to grant and for how long.

Certificate details can be checked at the local land office (BPN) through a notary/PPAT. This article is informational and does not cover eligibility to hold any particular right — take independent advice from a licensed notary/PPAT for your own situation.