Yes — and that is the shortest answer in this article. There are no restrictions based on citizenship. The rule that used to limit property purchases by foreigners — §17 of the devizový zákon (Foreign Exchange Act) — was repealed back in 2011. Since then, any individual of any nationality can buy an apartment or a house, including someone with no Czech residence permit at all.
You need no permit, no special status and no Czech shell company for this. You enter the deal on exactly the same footing as a Czech citizen.
The classic beginner's mistake is to budget by the price in the listing. On top of it comes a set of mandatory and near-mandatory costs.
| Cost item | How much | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| Registering ownership in the katastr nemovitostí (land registry) | 2 000 Kč | Yes — without it you are not the owner |
| Property acquisition tax | 0 Kč | Abolished by Act 386/2020 Sb. |
| Legal due diligence on the property and the contract | At the lawyer's rate | Formally no, in practice yes |
| Úschova — escrow for the purchase money | At the rate of the notary, lawyer or bank | No, but without it your money is at risk |
| Property valuation for the bank | At the appraiser's rate | Yes, if you take a mortgage |
| Real estate agency commission | 3–6% of the price plus 21% VAT | Depends on how the deal is structured |
The commission on a sale runs 3–6% of the property price, with 21% VAT added on top. The figure feels abstract until you plug in a real number: on an apartment priced at 5 million Kč, even at the lower end of 3%, the commission is around 150 thousand Kč; at the top of the range it is twice that, and VAT is added to either figure. This is not a rounding error in your budget but a separate, sizeable line item — agree on it upfront and be clear about who pays it and for what.
Out of the whole list, the state takes just 2 000 Kč from you — the fee for registering ownership in the katastr. Everything else is a market service, where the rate depends on the provider, the complexity of the property and the size of the deal. So ask your lawyer, and whoever holds the úschova, for a written quote before you sign anything.
You confirm your intention to buy and take the property off the market. At this stage you are already signing a document that creates obligations — the reservation agreement. Read it as carefully as the main contract: this is where the conditions under which your deposit is non-refundable are most often buried.
The core document of the deal. Before signing, it makes sense to order a legal review — of both the property itself and the wording of the contract. This is the service where cutting costs ends up costing more than the service.
The key protective mechanism of a Czech property deal. You do not transfer money to the seller directly. The sum is placed in escrow — with a notary, a lawyer or a bank. The seller receives it only once ownership has officially passed to you. This protects both sides: the buyer is not left without both money and apartment, and the seller does not hand over the apartment for free.
In the Czech Republic ownership arises not when the contract is signed, but when the transfer is recorded in the katastr nemovitostí. Filing costs 2 000 Kč. Until that entry is made you are legally not the owner, however thoroughly signed your contract may be.
Once the filing reaches the katastr, a protective period begins — 20 days from the date of filing. The pause is built into the system on purpose: it gives time to spot and challenge someone else's attempt to register a transfer of rights to your property. When planning your deal, block out those 20 days as a minimum — the entry will not happen sooner. Do not count on moving in two days after signing.
Daň z nabytí nemovitých věcí (property acquisition tax) was abolished by Act 386/2020 Sb. If someone advises you to set aside a separate percentage of the price for purchase tax, that advice is out of date. You do not have to pay it.
Daň z nemovitých věcí (annual real estate tax) is payable every year for as long as you own the property. The main thing to remember in year one: the return must be filed by 31 January of the year following the purchase. Buy an apartment this year and your return is due by 31 January next year. After that, if nothing about the property changes, you do not need to file a new return each year — but the tax itself is paid annually.
If you sell the property, the income from the sale is exempt from tax after 10 years of ownership — this rule applies to properties acquired from 2021 onwards. For anything bought earlier, the ownership test was 5 years.
The practical takeaway: if you are buying now as an investment and expect to sell in six or seven years, the old five-year rule will not help you. The exemption horizon is ten years of ownership, and you need to factor it into your return calculations from the start.
In the Czech Republic these are two separate products, and the names are similar just enough to cause confusion.
An owner normally needs both. If you buy with a mortgage, the bank will require insurance on the property itself — and it may require vinkulace, meaning the insurance payout is assigned in the bank's favour. That is standard banking practice, not a catch.
It is also worth looking at pojištění odpovědnosti — third-party liability insurance. It is often bundled into the household policy, and it is exactly what covers the classic scenario of flooding the neighbours below.
Specific premiums cannot be quoted in advance: they depend on floor area, location and the cover you choose. The numbers have to be run for your particular property.
This has to be said plainly, because an entire industry of promises is built on the myth. Buying property in the Czech Republic does not grant you a residence permit and has no bearing on the OAMP's decision on your application.
An apartment you own is an apartment you own. It is not a ground for residence, not an accelerating factor, not an argument that tips anything in your favour. Your status is determined by the ground you apply under — employment, business, study, family reunification — and a purchased property plays no part in that logic.
If someone is selling you an apartment with a hint that it will help with your paperwork, what they are selling you is not an apartment.
The easiest way to estimate your payment and work out how much of the sum is genuinely yours is the mortgage calculator in our real estate section. The same page has a consultation request form if you would rather go through a specific property and specific numbers than the general case.