Letting a flat in the Czech Republic without an agent: what you handle yourself, what it costs and where the risks are

You can let your Czech flat yourself, without an estate agency. Czech law does not require an intermediary. You save the commission, but you take on everything the agent would otherwise do: setting the rent, advertising, viewings, choosing and screening the tenant, the tenancy agreement, the handover and then the day-to-day running of the tenancy.

Owners who let without an agent most often underestimate three things:

• Legal duties that apply whoever lets the flat: the energy rating in the advert, a written agreement, the cap on the security deposit, the rules on copying ID cards and the deadline for the service charge statement.
• Time. Answering messages, showing the flat and checking applicants easily adds up to dozens of hours, and more if you have to travel.
• Vacancy. Every month without a tenant costs a full month’s rent plus the service charges and building fees you keep paying yourself.

Letting without an agent pays off if you have time, live near the flat and are willing to learn the rules. If you do not, you do not have to hand over everything. You can outsource only the tenant search and handle the rest yourself.

Before you decide, be clear about which work you are taking on. In the Czech Republic a letting agent usually finds a tenant and prepares the agreement. A property manager then runs the whole tenancy. When you let yourself, all of it is yours:

We compare agents, managers and guaranteed rent in detail, including what the Czech Real Estate Brokerage Act says and how to compare fees, in our guide Letting a Czech flat through an agent. This article covers the opposite route: what you need to handle when you let yourself.

The commission is the only cost you save by letting without an agent. Other costs appear instead, or are simply less visible:

• Energy performance certificate (PENB). If the building does not have a valid one, it must be obtained. For a flat in a building with an owners’ association (SVJ), the owner requests it from the association (see the next section).
• Advertising. Some Czech listing portals offer a basic advert free of charge, others charge for publishing or highlighting it. Prices vary and change, so check them before you publish.
• Photos and preparation. Small repairs, cleaning, possibly a professional photographer.
• Your time. Writing the advert, dozens of messages and calls, viewings, checks, the agreement and the handover. If the flat is not in your city or country, travel as well.
• Vacancy. Until the flat is let, you pay the service charge advances, the repair fund and energy yourself and receive no rent.

How to calculate the cost of an empty flat

The calculation is simple. Take the monthly rent, add the monthly costs you pay yourself while the flat is empty and multiply by the number of empty months. An illustrative example: with a rent of CZK 20,000 and costs of CZK 4,000 a month, every month without a tenant costs CZK 24,000. Two extra weeks mean roughly CZK 12,000.

Compare this figure with the price of a tenant-finding service. If you would take longer to find a tenant yourself, or you are unsure about choosing one, the balance can quickly tip the other way. On the other hand, if your flat is in a popular area, the rent is realistic and you have time for viewings, letting without an agent will save you money. An overpriced flat stays empty longest.

An agent should take care of these duties for you. Without one, you need to know them yourself. They apply to private owners, not only to businesses, and they apply equally to foreign owners of Czech flats.

Energy rating in the advert (PENB)

Under section 7a(3) of the Czech Energy Management Act, the owner of a unit who lets it must:

• demonstrably request the energy performance certificate from the owners’ association, or from the building manager if there is no association,
• state the energy class in information and advertising materials, including the online advert,
• show the certificate or a copy to the prospective tenant before the tenancy agreement is concluded,
• hand the certificate or a copy to the tenant at the latest when the agreement is signed.

Failing to do so is an administrative offence dealt with by the State Energy Inspection. The only exception is for buildings completed before 1947 without a later major alteration, if both parties agree in writing (section 7a(10)). When a whole house is let, the building owner carries the duty under section 7a(2).

A written agreement and terms that do not count

A residential tenancy agreement must be in writing (section 2237 of the Civil Code). The landlord cannot rely on the missing written form against the tenant, so an oral deal mainly harms you. Czech law disregards some terms altogether:

• tenant obligations that are manifestly unreasonable in the circumstances (section 2239),
• terms that shorten the tenant’s statutory rights (section 2235),
• demands for payments other than rent and services, such as an extra “refundable deposit” on top of the security deposit or post-dated cheques (section 2251(2)).

Use a Czech-language agreement, or a bilingual one with Czech as the governing version. Czech courts and offices work in Czech, and a translation-only agreement causes delays in any dispute.

Security deposit

The security deposit and any contractual penalties together may not exceed three months’ rent (section 2254). Service charge advances do not count towards the limit. When the tenancy ends, you return the deposit and may deduct what the tenant owes. The tenant is entitled to interest on the deposit at least at the statutory rate. Keep the deposit separate from your everyday money, in an account from which you can return it.

ID cards and applicants’ personal data

You may check an applicant’s identity by looking at their ID. Under section 39 of the Czech Identity Cards Act, however, you may only copy a Czech ID card, or process the data on it, with the holder’s consent. Screening applicants makes you a data controller under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In practice:

• collect only what you really need to choose a tenant and conclude the agreement,
• it is enough to see proof of income; you do not have to store it,
• delete the data of unsuccessful applicants once you have chosen,
• do not forward documents or leave them in shared folders.

Equal treatment in the advert

Housing offered to the public falls under the Czech Anti-Discrimination Act (section 1(1)(j)). Neither the advert nor your selection may exclude applicants because of race, ethnic origin, nationality or sex, for example. You may choose using objective criteria: income, payment history, number of occupants relative to the size of the flat, moving-in date or pets.

Service charge statement

If the tenant pays service charge advances through you, you must settle them once a year. Under section 7 of the Czech Act on Services Connected with the Use of Flats, you deliver the statement within 4 months of the end of the billing period, and the balance is settled within 4 months of delivery. The tenant has 30 days to ask for supporting documents or raise objections (section 8). Late delivery of the statement can cost up to CZK 50 for each day of delay (section 13).

1. Set the rent. Compare similar flats in the same area, not your expectations or your mortgage payment. What counts is what flats actually let for, not what they are advertised at.
2. Prepare the flat and the documents. Fix small defects, check the appliances, request the energy certificate and prepare an inventory.
3. Publish the advert with everything listed in the box above. Say how applicants should contact you and what you want to know from them in advance.
4. Pre-select. Before inviting anyone to a viewing, ask about the number of occupants, moving-in date, employment and pets. It saves time for you and for them.
5. Hold viewings. Agree specific times, ideally back to back on one day. Do not lend keys to anyone and do not leave the flat open unattended.
6. Screen the chosen applicant. Identity, income, previous housing and any debts. Our page on tenant screening in the Czech Republic explains which registers and documents to check.
7. Sign the agreement and collect the payments. Hand over the keys only after the deposit and first rent have actually arrived in your account.
8. Hand over the flat with a report. Record meter readings, furnishings and defects and attach photos.

Organising viewings

Viewings take more time than any other part of letting without an agent. It helps to concentrate them into one or two days and invite applicants every half hour. You save journeys and applicants can see the flat is in demand. Before a viewing, air the flat, switch on the lights and prepare answers to the usual questions: service charge advances and the last annual statement, energy costs, internet, parking and house rules.

Bring the inventory and a copy of the energy certificate to show applicants. Never hand over keys “to try the flat” and never leave strangers alone inside. If you cannot attend, ask someone you trust and agree in advance what they may tell applicants.

Choosing between several applicants

When several people are interested, use the same criteria for everyone. Write them down in advance so that you do not decide on first impressions:

• Income and its stability. A rule of thumb many landlords use: rent plus service charges should not exceed roughly a third of the household’s net income. It is a guideline, not a legal limit.
• Previous housing. How long the applicant lived in their last flat and why they are moving. Contact details of a previous landlord are stronger evidence than any assurance.
• Number of occupants and size of the flat. A small flat for a large household means faster wear and higher consumption.
• Moving-in date and length of stay. An applicant who can move in only in two months costs you two months of vacancy.
• Pets and smoking, if they matter to you. Put them in the advert and the agreement.

Reply briefly to unsuccessful applicants, even though the law does not require it. People who get an answer do not call again, and you keep a good reputation for your next advert.

If you live in another city or another country, letting without an agent is considerably harder. Viewings, handovers and emergencies all require someone on site. Before you start, arrange:

• A local contact who can let in a tradesperson, take back the flat or check it after a reported problem.
• A list of reliable tradespeople for plumbing, electrics and locks. In an emergency there is no time to search.
• A clear way of delivering notices. Notice of termination, reminders and service charge statements must reach the other party. The Civil Code states that a clause providing for delivery through Czech data boxes (datová schránka) is presumed to be reasonable (section 2239(2)). If both parties have one, agree on it in the contract. Otherwise give a Czech delivery address.
• A Czech bank account or reliable transfers in CZK, so that the tenant’s payments and the deposit are easy to track and to return.
• A plan for handover and return, including meter readings and photos, even if you cannot be there in person.

Owners who live far away therefore often choose a combination: a professional finds the tenant and prepares the agreement, or a property manager takes over the whole tenancy.

A payment screenshot instead of money

A screenshot from online banking or a “payment sent” confirmation is not a payment. Hand over the keys only when you see the money in your account. Accept a cash deposit only against a written receipt signed by both parties.

Someone else lives in the flat

One person signs the agreement, but other people live in the flat, or the tenant sublets it without your consent, for example to tourists. State in the agreement who will live in the flat. Subletting the whole flat when the tenant does not live there requires your written consent (section 2275), and the tenant must notify you of any increase in the number of occupants (section 2272).

An applicant in a hurry without documents

An applicant who wants to sign immediately, without a viewing, will not show ID or offers to pay several months in advance in cash is not necessarily a fraudster. It is, however, a reason for more careful checks, not for shortcuts.

An agreement from an unknown template

Free templates are often outdated, written for another country or contain terms that Czech law disregards. A penalty above the statutory limit or a ban on normal use of the flat will not help you in a dispute, and may undermine the credibility of the whole agreement.

No clause on rent increases

If you do not agree on an annual rent increase in the agreement (section 2248), you can later increase the rent only through the procedure in section 2249, with its limits and deadlines: at most 20% over three years and no more than comparable local rent. An indexation clause is therefore best agreed at the start.

We cover other risks, from non-paying tenants to damage and long vacancies, and how to protect yourself in our guide How to let a flat in the Czech Republic without risk.

If nobody responds to the advert within two weeks, or applicants do not get back to you after viewings, the problem is almost always one of these:

1. Price. Compare your offer with similar flats currently advertised and with older adverts that have disappeared. If similar flats are cheaper, applicants notice before you do.
2. Photos. Dark, blurred or incomplete photos put people off before a viewing. Photograph in daylight, from the corner of the room, without personal belongings.
3. Advert text. If service charges, the moving-in date or conditions are missing, applicants click on a more complete offer.
4. Condition. If applicants do not get back to you after a viewing, ask them why. It is often a detail that can be fixed quickly and cheaply.
5. Availability. If you answer messages the next day and offer viewings only at weekends, some applicants find another flat in the meantime.

Reducing the rent by a few hundred crowns a month is usually cheaper than another month without a tenant. Check it with the formula from the cost section.

Finding a tenant is only the beginning. Without an agent or a manager, running the tenancy remains your job:

• Payments. Rent is paid in advance, by the fifth day of the month unless agreed otherwise (section 2251). Check payments every month and react to delays immediately with a written reminder.
• Repairs. The tenant pays only for routine maintenance and minor repairs (section 2257). Other repairs are yours, at night or at the weekend too, when water is leaking.
• Insurance. Check what the building insurance of the owners’ association covers, insure the furnishings you leave in the flat and make sure the policy covers a let property. Ask the tenant to take out their own contents and liability insurance.
• Tax. Rental income from a Czech flat is taxed in the Czech Republic under section 9 of the Czech Income Tax Act, even if you live abroad. You deduct a flat 30% or actual expenses, and you must file a Czech return when this and other secondary income exceeds CZK 50,000 a year. Non-residents can claim the basic personal tax credit of CZK 30,840 (section 35ba). How your home country treats the income depends on the double tax treaty.
• End of tenancy. A landlord’s notice must be in writing, reach the tenant and inform them of their right to object and to ask a court to review it (section 2286). Then comes the return of the flat, settling the deposit and finding the next tenant.

Owners often forget this part when they decide to go “without an agent”. An agent would not do it for you either. If you do not want to do it, you need a property manager, not a broker.

The choice is not only between doing everything yourself and handing everything to an agent. Depending on how much time you have and what risk you want to carry, there are intermediate options:

A good test: how many hours a month are you willing to spend on the letting, and what will you do if the tenant stops paying or calls at night about a burst pipe? If the answer is “I don’t know”, at least partial help is worth considering.

• I know the market rent of comparable flats in the area.
• I have the energy performance certificate or have requested it in writing from the owners’ association.
• The advert states the rent, service charges, deposit, energy class and moving-in date.
• Neither the advert nor my selection excludes applicants on discriminatory grounds.
• I copy ID cards only with consent and delete unsuccessful applicants’ data.
• The deposit and contractual penalties together do not exceed three months’ rent.
• The agreement is in writing, in Czech or bilingual, with a rent increase clause.
• I hand over the keys only after the deposit and first rent are in my account.
• The handover report includes meter readings, furnishings and photos.
• I know who will prepare the service charge statement and by when.
• I will declare the income in a Czech tax return.

This article reflects the legislation in force on the date of publication. Before an important decision, check for later amendments. The Czech statutes are available in Czech.

• Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.), sections 2235 to 2295: residential tenancy, written form, disregarded terms, rent, deposit, subletting, notice.
• Energy Management Act (Act No. 406/2000 Coll.), section 7a: energy performance certificate when letting.
• Act on Services Connected with the Use of Flats (Act No. 67/2013 Coll.), sections 7, 8 and 13: statements, objections, penalty for delay.
• Identity Cards Act (Act No. 269/2021 Coll.), section 39: copies only with the holder’s consent.
• Anti-Discrimination Act (Act No. 198/2009 Coll.), sections 1 and 2: equal treatment in access to housing.
• General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679).
• Income Tax Act (Act No. 586/1992 Coll.), sections 9, 35ba and 38g.

This is a general guide, not legal or tax advice for a specific case.