Can a Deed of Sale and Purchase (AJB) Be Challenged in Court?

The Deed of Sale and Purchase (AJB) is an important document in land and building transactions. AJB is made in the presence of a Land Deed Official (PPAT) as proof that the transfer of land rights from the seller to the buyer has legally occurred. However, many people wonder whether AJB can be challenged in court. Legal practitioner Adyanisa Septya Yuslandari, S.H., M.Kn, explains that AJB can indeed be challenged in court, even though this document is an authentic deed for land rights transfer transactions. This document can still be challenged if there are suspicions of legal defects, procedural violations, or elements of unlawful acts in its creation process. She stated that AJB is indeed an authentic deed because it is made by an authorised official, namely the PPAT. As an authentic deed, AJB has evidentiary power regarding what is written in it. Some examples of cases where AJB documents are challenged include document or identity forgery. For instance, the seller using a fake identity, fake certificate, or supporting documents that were falsified during the sale and purchase process. Or other cases, where the seller is not the legitimate owner. AJB can be challenged if it turns out that the party selling is not the legitimate owner of the land, or does not have the authority to conduct the transaction. For example, inherited land sold without the approval of all heirs. AJB made over land that is actually in legal dispute, seized, or blocked, also has the potential to be challenged. “AJB is only proof that a sale and purchase transaction has occurred, not proof of ownership,” she said. The AJB document contains information on the seller, buyer, land object, transaction price, up to a statement that the land rights have been transferred. Adyanisa stated that AJB is one of the important requirements in the process of changing the name of the land certificate at the land office. Although valid as proof of a sale and purchase transaction, AJB does not automatically make someone the legitimate owner of the land according to Indonesian agrarian law. AJB only records the rights transfer process. Meanwhile, the proof of ownership recognised by law is the land rights certificate that has been registered in the name of the new owner at the National Land Agency (BPN). “The strong proof of ownership is the land certificate registered at the BPN. AJB’s nature is only a rights transfer,” said Adyanisa.