The most common problem on the Prague market is not a fraudster with a fake passport — it is someone who "sort of has the right" to rent the place out: a relative living here, the previous tenant, the owner's partner. A contract with that person is shaky at best and void at worst, and a month later the real owner rings the doorbell.
The check takes ten minutes and can be done before the viewing, as long as you know the address.
This is the official state portal; browsing is free and requires no registration. Pay attention to the domain: it ends in .gov.cz — anything else is not a government site. The old address nahlizenidokn.cuzk.cz now redirects, and lookalike names are exactly what scammers fake. Here is the procedure:
What exactly to look for:
The free view is just a screenshot from your screen and carries no legal weight, but for a check before signing it is enough. The official extract (výpis z katastru nemovitostí with a stamp) is issued for a fee at any Czech POINT — the post office, your úřad městské části, a notary, the Hospodářská komora (the current list of locations is at czechpoint.gov.cz) — and electronically through the ČÚZK dálkový přístup. It costs 100 Kč for the first page and 50 Kč for each additional one. Asking the landlord for the paid extract is perfectly normal: a genuine owner usually already has one.
On top of that, ask to see a passport or ID and compare the name with the registry. A conflict-free way to put it: "I need the name in the contract to match the one in the land registry, otherwise OAMP may not accept my proof of accommodation." That is true, and it takes the awkwardness out of the request.
Budget not for the monthly rent but for the amount you have to put on the table on signing day. According to Deloitte data for the second quarter of 2026, the average rate in Prague 7 is 493 Kč per m² and in Prague 9 it is 468 Kč per m², up 3.8% year on year. In other words, a 2+kk of 55 m² in Prague 9 works out at roughly 25,700 Kč a month excluding utilities.
| Item | Example amount (rent 25,000 Kč) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| First month's rent | 25,000 Kč | Paid in advance, usually by the 5th of the month |
| Services and utilities (advance payments) | 3,000–5,000 Kč | A guideline for a 55 m² flat; depends on the heating and the number of occupants |
| Deposit (jistota) | 25,000–50,000 Kč | By law, three months' rent is the maximum |
| Agency commission | 25,000 Kč + 21% VAT = 30,250 Kč | Renting directly from the owner, there is none at all |
Bottom line: moving into this flat directly from the owner costs 54,000–79,000 Kč, through an agency 84,000–109,000 Kč. Where you land inside the range depends on whether the jistota is one month's rent or two; the gap between "direct" and "through an agency" stays at around 30,000 Kč either way. That gap is why people go looking without an intermediary. In Czechia the commission on a rental is most often paid by the tenant, and that is legal — but only if the agency is genuinely providing you with a service.
Here the law is specific. Under §2254 of the občanský zákoník (Civil Code), the jistota together with any smluvní pokuta (contractual penalty) may not exceed three times the monthly rent. Not "three months of deposit plus a penalty on top" — three in total.
Second point: the law does grant a right to interest on the deposit — §2254 odst. 2 refers to interest "alespoň ve výši zákonné sazby" (at least at the statutory rate). But which rate counts as statutory in this case is not defined, in practice it is disputed, and the sums involved are symbolic. It is worth claiming the interest; it is not worth building your budget on it.
If you are asked for four months' rent, or for "three months of deposit plus the last month up front", calmly point to §2254. A clause above the cap does not make the whole contract void — you are entitled to demand the excess back. But it is far easier to settle it before signing: a reasonable owner knows the rule.
Written form is mandatory (§2237), but if there is no contract on paper the owner cannot invoke that against you — an oral tenancy is valid for the tenant, and using the flat in good faith for three years makes the contract properly concluded under §2238. For OAMP, however, an oral arrangement is useless, so insist on paper. Reading the whole thing in Czech is hard going, so focus on the clauses below — the rest is usually boilerplate.
A fixed-term contract (doba určitá, usually one year) is the Prague standard. Check what it says about renewal: is there an automatic extension, and on what terms? An open-ended contract is more flexible for the tenant, but owners rarely offer one.
That is what the notice period is called in the current Civil Code; older templates still use the outdated "výpovědní lhůta" — look for both words in your contract. Everything else depends on the type of tenancy you have.
The conclusion: the early-termination clause is negotiated before signing, not disputed afterwards. The absence of a right to leave early is not an anomaly but the normal regime of doba určitá, so ask for a clause you understand — an exit on three months' notice, say, or on providing a replacement tenant.
Since 1 January 2026, NV 493/2025 Sb. (amending NV 308/2015) applies: minor repairs paid by the tenant are capped at 1,500 Kč per individual case and 150 Kč per m² per year in total. For a 55 m² flat that is a ceiling of 8,250 Kč a year.
The regulation distinguishes between two concepts, and confusing them is expensive. Běžná údržba — cleaning, painting, descaling, keeping equipment in working order — is always on the tenant, and the limits do not apply to it. Drobné opravy are capped: if a single repair costs more than 1,500 Kč, the owner pays the whole thing. And there is the separate annual ceiling of 150 Kč per m²: once the year's minor repairs exceed it, further repairs that year no longer count as minor.
Check that the contract contains no clause along the lines of "the tenant bears all costs of repairs and maintenance". Wording like that contradicts the regulation.
The contract must make it clear which services are covered by the advance payment (water, heating, lift, waste collection, internet), who signs the contracts with the energy suppliers, and when the annual reconciliation happens. The landlord must provide you with the vyúčtování within four months of the end of the billing period. For a delay, §13 of Act No. 67/2013 Sb. provides a penalty: unless the parties have agreed a different amount in writing, it is 50 Kč for each day started of delay — check that no other figure has been written into your contract. The penalty is not automatic: it does not apply if performance on time could not fairly be required, or if the delay was your fault, for example because you failed to report the number of occupants.
A practical tip: on move-in day photograph every meter reading and enter them in the handover protocol (předávací protokol), signed by both parties. Most utility disputes die right there.
It all depends on whether the contract contains an indexation clause. If the parties have neither agreed nor excluded a procedure for raising the rent, the fallback rule of §2249 applies: the landlord may propose in writing to raise the rent to the level usual in that location, but by no more than 20% in total over three years. If the contract does contain an inflační doložka (inflation clause, §2248), §2249 is displaced and the 20% limit does not apply to that indexation. Then it is the clause itself you need to read: which index it is tied to (usually ČSÚ), from what date it applies, and whether there is a ceiling on the increase.
For a foreigner an address is not a formality but part of your legal stay. The deadlines depend on your status, and getting confused here is costly.
Hence a practical rule: before signing, ask outright whether the owner is willing to sign the potvrzení and have his signature verified. An answer like "I'll register you later" or "let's skip the registration, it's cheaper" means the person either has tax problems or is not the owner — and that he has no intention of meeting his §100 obligation. You are the one who will have to move out.
This is a common situation, and a solvable one. The order of play:
If in a year or two renting starts to feel expensive and you begin thinking about buying, our real estate section has payment calculators and a form for requesting a mortgage consultation. The logic of the checks is exactly the same there: the land registry first, everything else afterwards.