Don't Misunderstand! This Is the List of Lands That Can Be Seized by the State

Jakarta — Coverage of abandoned land has recently sparked a wave of public concern. Headlines such as ‘Freehold Land Can Be Seized by the State’ or ‘Prabowo Signs a New Regulation’ may give the impression that the government has created a tool to seize citizens’ assets. Before panic spreads, we should take a breath and dissect the legal facts clearly. The legal basis for the idea that abandoned land can be reclaimed by the state is not new; its roots are embedded in the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) of 1960. The UUPA explicitly states that Hak Milik (Freehold), Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB), and Hak Guna Usaha (HGU) can be extinguished if the land is abandoned. The regulatory journey was then detailed through various Government Regulations (PP), from PP No. 36/1998, PP No. 11/2010, to PP No. 20/2021 in the wake of the Omnibus Law (UU Cipta Kerja). The latest is PP No. 48 of 2025. “However, there is a different spirit in the 2025 rules, an ambition to accelerate bureaucratic processes previously deemed slow,” said Eddy to Kompas.com on Sunday (8 August 2026). Under the latest rules, the object of enforcement is divided clearly. For Abandoned Areas, the target is areas that have permits/concessions but are not being developed in practice, including: “Lantas, bagaimana dengan Hak Milik? Di sinilah letak poin krusial yang sering salah dipahami. Masyarakat pemilik sertifikat Hak Milik (SHM) boleh sedikit lebih tenang. PP 48/2025 menggunakan rumusan norma hukum yang bersifat ‘negatif’. Aturan ini menegaskan bahwa tanah Hak Milik tidak dapat menjadi obyek penertiban tanah telantar, kecuali jika terjadi kondisi ekstrem sebagai berikut: