Property developers, through the Indonesian Real Estate Organization (REI), are urging an adjustment or reduction in apartment service charges or environmental maintenance fees (IPL), especially for units priced below IDR 1 billion.
The Chairman of the REI BPO, Paulus Totok Lusida, proposed adjusting the rates to around IDR 12,000 to IDR 14,000 per square meter. The goal is to attract middle-income earners (MBT) to purchase and live in vertical housing.
In addition to the high IPL, Soelaeman Soemawinata (Honorary Chairman of REI) highlighted the issue of daily necessities such as clean water and electricity, which are set at the same rates as commercial buildings. This situation is considered to make the cost of living in apartments significantly higher than in landed houses and is the biggest obstacle to the recovery of the vertical property market. Developers are urging the government to intervene, believing that increasing interest in apartment living will help solve urban problems such as traffic congestion.
Need to be Clarified: Who Really Determines IPL Prices?
Regarding developers' demands for reduced IPL fees, this narrative needs to be clarified so that readers, especially apartment owners, have a proper understanding of pricing:
Many apartment owners and readers still assume that the developer (the developer) is the one who creates and determines the IPL/Service Charge.
In fact, the facts are clearly regulated in the legal umbrella for Apartments:
This is where transparency is crucial:
If an apartment unit has a legitimate PPPSRS (Association of Apartment Owners and Tenants) and has accepted the management handover, the IPL/Service Charge is determined by the PPPSRS Management, through an approval mechanism at the General Meeting of Members (RUA), and the IPL is no longer the responsibility of the developer.
In determining electricity and water rates, the PPPSRS Management plays a crucial role in advocating for the conversion of utility (water and electricity) rates from commercial to residential rates, as demanded by the developers in the news.
Implications for Owners:
When the IPL seems expensive, owners have the right and obligation to:
Ask "Why is it so expensive?" and demand transparency in financial documents and details of the IPL components from the PPPSRS (Operating, Maintenance, and Reserve Fund Costs).
The right to vote, which means using their voting rights (based on the NPP) at the General Meeting of Shareholders (RUA) to determine, approve, or reject the proposed IPL price increase submitted by the PPPSRS Management.
This education is important so that owners realize that the responsibility for control and transparency of management now lies in the hands of their own organization, namely PPPSRS, not the developer.
Quoted from :
CNBC Indonesia, Original Title: Apartments Struggling to Sell, Developers Demand Service Charge Cuts.
Publication Date: November 5, 2025, Time: 8:40 PM WIB. Author: Ferry Sandi
