In short. A monthly place comes in four types: a kost (a room in a house with a shared kitchen, the cheapest), a guesthouse with a Balinese family, a villa with a kitchen and sometimes a pool, and an apartment with security and a generator. Areas: Canggu and Pererenan are pricey and crowded, Seminyak is closer to the airport, Sanur is quiet with calm sea, Ubud has rice fields and an hour to the sea, Bukit has cliffs and is far from everything, Denpasar is local life with lower prices. Book the first two or three nights ahead, then look for a monthly place on foot, by the "Disewakan" and "Kost" signs and in rental groups, and view it only in person or by video call. Before paying, check water, internet, power and its capacity, the air conditioner and screens, the sounds in the morning and evening, the road in the rain and who does repairs. Pay a deposit only after a viewing and a contract, and do not sign for a year ahead in the first week. A kost and a room in a guesthouse are the cheapest: with air conditioning and a private bathroom a room costs Rp 6–10 million a month.
What there is. A monthly place falls into four types:
- Kost. A room with a bathroom in a house with several rooms, often with a shared kitchen. Usually the cheapest option for a month. Young Indonesians from Java live this way, and so do many newcomers in their first month.
- Guesthouse and homestay. A room or a small house with a Balinese family, usually with breakfast, cleaning and the hosts in the yard. A good start: the hosts will advise on the area, the bike and the water.
- Villa. A separate house with a kitchen, sometimes with a pool. For a month or longer it is better value than nightly rates. Electricity, internet and cleaning are agreed separately.
- Apartments. Flats in complexes with security and a pool, increasingly common in Canggu and Seminyak. Convenient if you work from home: internet and a generator are usually there.
Areas in brief. Six areas in a few words:
- Canggu and Pererenan. Surf, cafes, traffic, the highest prices.
- Seminyak and Legian. Closer to the airport, beaches, noise.
- Sanur. Quiet, families, calm sea with almost no waves.
- Ubud. Rice fields, yoga, about an hour to the sea.
- Bukit and Uluwatu. Cliffs and beaches, far from everything.
- Denpasar. Local life and noticeably lower prices.
Where to look. Four steps:
- Step 1. Book the first two or three nights ahead. Any booking service will do, and choose the area where you want to live. This is your base while you look for a monthly place.
- Step 2. Search on foot. "Disewakan" (for rent) and "Kost" signs hang on fences: walk in, look, ask the monthly price. This is how people find places that are not online.
- Step 3. Try groups. Rental groups on social media: write the area, term and budget. Offers arrive in private messages, so view them only in person or on a video call with someone standing in that room.
- Step 4. Bring in an agent if you want to save days. They take a commission from the owner or from you. Check their name in search and in reviews and see when the account was created.
What to check before paying. Seven things:
- Water. Pressure in the shower, hot water (often there is none or it comes from a small boiler) and the cleanliness of tap water. Ask whether the water turns yellow in the rain.
- Internet. Which provider and which plan, and measure the speed on site by day and in the evening. "There is Wi-Fi" can mean ten megabits shared among five villas.
- Power. Whether electricity is included in the price or you buy the token yourself, what capacity the connection has and what happens during outages. Photograph the meter on move-in day.
- Air conditioner and screens. The air conditioner in the bedroom works and does not leak, and the windows have mosquito screens. The dengue mosquito lives indoors, under the bed and in the bathroom.
- Sounds. Roosters, dogs, construction behind the fence, the road, a temple with ceremonies, a bar. Come at seven in the morning and at ten in the evening before you pay for a month.
- The road to the house. Whether a bike and a car can get through, how well the lane is lit at night, whether it floods in the rain: marks on the walls show it.
- Who is nearby. Whether the owner lives in the yard or in another city, who repairs things when they break and how many hours they take to come.
Contract, deposit and move-out. For a month the contract may be a WhatsApp conversation, and for six months or longer it is written on paper. In any case, record the term and price, what is included (electricity, water, internet, cleaning, pool, changing of bed linen), the size of the deposit and the conditions for its return, who repairs appliances, whether you can move out early and what happens to the money then. Attach to the contract a copy of the owner's passport or KTP, the Indonesian ID card. Photograph every corner on move-in day, and when you leave take the same corners and the meter readings: if the owner claims something is damaged or unpaid, you will have photos of both days.
Long contracts for a year ahead with prepayment are a local norm for villas, and there is no rush: live for the first month on a short term, understand the area, and then negotiate for a year.
Where people go wrong. Two common mistakes:
- They transfer a villa deposit based on photos because "otherwise it will be taken". Beautiful photos, a price below the market and urgency make a scheme that repeats every month. Pay a deposit only after a viewing and a contract with a copy of the owner's passport.
- They sign for a year in the first week because it is "cheap". A month later it turns out that the road to the villa becomes a river in the rain and a neighbour is building a hotel. Money paid for a year is usually not returned.
What this means for you. In the first month live on a short term: book two or three nights ahead and look for a monthly place in person, by the signs on fences and in groups. Before paying, check water, internet, power and sounds, record the contract terms in writing and the condition of the rooms in photos. Do not pay a deposit or a year ahead based on photos or in the first week.