Only 36.72% of Houses of Worship in Banten Hold Land Certificates as BPN Pushes for Acceleration

The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) has disclosed that only 36.72 per cent of houses of worship in Banten province hold land certificates, prompting the agency to push for an acceleration of the certification process.

According to official data, Banten province has 24,910 registered plots of land occupied by houses of worship. Of these, only 9,148 plots — approximately 36.72 per cent — have been certified. The majority of these places of worship are built on waqf land.

The BPN said it has undertaken a range of initiatives to address the issue, including inter-agency collaboration, the establishment of waqf adjudication hearings, and the creation of dedicated waqf service counters at land offices. The agency expressed hope that waqf land registration across Indonesia would be expedited.

“This is something we must push for together. The construction of mosques, prayer halls and other houses of worship continues apace, so waqf land certification must also be accelerated to keep up with the needs of the faithful,” said Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of BPN Nusron Wahid in the city of Serang on Friday (20 February 2026).

Nusron also handed over 13 waqf certificates for mosques, prayer halls and schools. He emphasised that waqf certificates provide legal certainty over community assets.

“Waqf belongs to the Muslim community. It represents the relinquishment of individual rights to the public, to the faithful. Therefore, the state is present to ensure that waqf land has legal certainty through certification. I urge that this be tackled collectively,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BPN Regional Office for Banten province has followed up on directives regarding the acceleration of waqf certification. A memorandum of understanding was signed between all land offices and Nahdlatul Ulama branch boards across Banten province.

“The signing of the MoU, witnessed directly by the Minister and the Governor of Banten, represents our commitment to ensuring that all waqf land in Banten is certified. Going forward, we will establish similar MoUs with other religious organisations,” said the Head of the BPN Regional Office for Banten Province, Harison Mocodompis.