Abandoned land is not immediately expropriated by the state; three warnings issued

Abandoned land is not automatically seized by the state. The owner or holder of the land rights is given a series of warnings to utilise the land in accordance with its designated use. San Yuan Sirait, Head of the Land Acquisition and Procurement Section at the State Land Bank (Badan Bank Tanah), said that abandoned land generally refers to land that has been titled with rights such as Hak Guna Usaha (HGU) or Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB), but is not being used in line with the purpose of the rights granted. ‘Abandoned land is land on which rights have already been granted, for example HGU or HGB. If there is no land rights at all, that is not called abandoned land,’ he said at a BBT event in Jakarta, Friday, 6 March 2026.

Evaluation of land utilisation can be conducted two years after the land rights were issued. In this stage, the government checks the conformity of land use with the approved permit and conducts administrative verification and on-site checks. If the evaluation shows the land is not being used, the rights holder is first asked to utilise the land within a specified period. ‘After the evaluation, the rights holder is asked to utilise their land. If it is still not utilised, a warning is issued,’ he said.

San Yuan explained that the warnings are issued three times. Each warning has a 14-day deadline for the rights holder to utilise their land. ‘The first warning is 14 days, the second warning is 14 days, and the third warning is also 14 days,’ he said. He added that not all land that has not been developed is automatically classified as abandoned land. ‘If they have already demonstrated a master plan or development plan, usually it is not treated as abandoned land,’ he added. However, if after evaluation and three warnings the land remains unused and has no clear usage plan, the land may be designated as abandoned land.