A Czech flat's layout (dispozice) is written as a number, a plus sign and either "kk" or another number. The first number counts the rooms you live in, the living room included. "kk" means the kitchen is a kitchenette in one of those rooms (kuchyňský kout), and "+1" means a separate kitchen. The bathroom, the toilet, the hall and any storage room don't count. So a 2+kk is a living room with a kitchenette and one bedroom: what English calls a one-bedroom flat.
What does the number count?
It counts the habitable rooms (pokoje): the living room, the bedrooms and any study or children's room. It leaves out everything else: the bathroom (koupelna), the toilet (WC), the entrance hall (předsíň), corridors, a storage room (komora), the balcony and the cellar.
That's why a Czech room count looks bigger than an English one. A 3+kk has three rooms, but one of them is the living room with the kitchen in it, so it has two bedrooms. A 3+1 also has three rooms, plus a kitchen with a door.
The code is a convention of Czech listings, and owners and agencies don't always count alike. A small walk-through room, or a large hall with a window, can turn up as a room in one listing and not in another. When the count matters to you, ask for the floor plan (půdorys).
What do "kk" and "+1" mean?
kk stands for kuchyňský kout, a kitchenette. The kitchen is a line of units along one wall of a room, usually the living room, with no wall or door between the cooking and the sofa.
+1 means a separate kitchen (samostatná kuchyně), a room of its own, often with space for a table. It's common in older buildings, while many new builds come as kk.
Neither is better. A kitchenette gives a bigger living room in the same floor area. A separate kitchen keeps cooking smells and noise out of where you sit, and works better for flatmates, since the living room can become another bedroom.
What each layout means in English terms
| Layout | What you get | In English terms | Who it usually suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| garsoniéra | One room with a kitchenette or kitchen niche | Studio | One person |
| 1+kk | One room with a kitchenette | Studio | One person |
| 1+1 | One room and a separate kitchen | Studio with a separate kitchen | One person or a couple |
| 2+kk | A living room with a kitchenette, one bedroom | One-bedroom flat | A couple |
| 2+1 | Two rooms and a separate kitchen | One-bedroom flat with a kitchen, or two bedrooms | A couple or two flatmates |
| 3+kk | A living room with a kitchenette, two bedrooms | Two-bedroom flat | A small family or flatmates |
| 3+1 | Three rooms and a separate kitchen | Two-bedroom flat with a kitchen | A family |
| 4+kk, 4+1 and up | Four rooms or more | Three bedrooms or more | A larger family |
Bytky reads the layout from every listing and lets you pick several at once, so a search for a one-bedroom flat can take in both 2+kk and 2+1.
Is a garsoniéra the same as a 1+kk?
Nearly. Garsoniéra (or garsonka) is the older word for a one-room flat, often with a small kitchen niche rather than a full kitchenette. A 1+kk is the same idea, often in a newer or rebuilt building. Listings use both words, so search for both. These are the newest one-room flats to rent in Prague:
And a listing marked as a room (pokoj) isn't a flat at all: it's one room in a shared flat, with the kitchen and the bathroom shared too.
What are a mezonet, a podkroví and an atypical layout?
A few words turn up beside the code, and each changes what the floor area means.
- Mezonet is a maisonette: a flat on two floors joined by stairs inside it. Its official floor area counts the rooms on both floors, but the stairs only once.1
- Galerie is a gallery, an upper level open to the room below. It counts as floor area only if it has at least 230 cm of headroom. If not, only the room below counts.1
- Podkroví is an attic flat under the roof. The official floor area counts the whole floor of each room, even where the sloping ceiling leaves no room to stand, so look hard at the photos and the plan.1
- Atypický (atypical) is a flat that doesn't fit the code at all, such as an open loft or a flat built into an old attic or shop. Bytky lets you search for these on their own.
How do you compare floor areas?
The floor area on a listing (užitná plocha) is the figure the owner or agency gives. It may or may not include the balcony, the terrace or the cellar, and two listings in the same building can count differently.
The official floor area of a flat in a building split into units counts the rooms, including the inside walls and the built-in cupboards and bath. It doesn't include balconies, loggias or terraces: those are shared parts of the building, even when only your flat reaches them and they're yours alone to use. A cellar compartment is a shared part too, unless it's defined as part of the flat.2
Why do small flats cost more per m²?
Every flat needs a kitchen, a bathroom and an entrance whatever its size, so a small flat packs more of what's costly into each square metre, and small flats usually ask more per m². The two charts follow the median asking rent per m² in Prague for one-room flats and for three-room flats, since Bytky began recording them:
This is why comparing on the code alone can mislead you. A small 3+kk and a large 2+kk can have the same floor area and different rents, and a 2+kk with a big living room can feel larger than a 3+kk with small bedrooms. Compare the floor area, the price per m² and the total monthly cost, then the plan.
Bytky's fair price does this for you. It compares every flat with similar ones nearby, about the same floor area and a room more or fewer at most, so a 2+kk is never judged against a 4+1. The guide to fair prices explains how.
If you're a couple, you'll probably start with a 2+kk. These are the newest ones to rent in Prague:
Find a layout on the map
The map shows every three-room flat to rent in Prague, kitchenette or separate kitchen. Change the layout in the filters to see the others.
Every other word you'll meet on a listing, from kauce to SVJ, is explained in the property glossary.
Is a 2+kk a two-bedroom flat?
No. A 2+kk has two rooms, and one of them is the living room with the kitchenette in it. It's a one-bedroom flat. A two-bedroom flat is a 3+kk or a 3+1.
Does the bathroom count as a room?
No. The number counts only the rooms you live in. The bathroom, the toilet, the hall, the storage room and the balcony never count.
What's the difference between a 2+kk and a 2+1?
The kitchen. In a 2+kk it's a kitchenette in the living room. In a 2+1 it's a separate room, so both of the other rooms can be bedrooms.
Is a garsoniéra the same as a studio?
Yes, near enough. It's a one-room flat with a kitchenette or a kitchen niche, much like a 1+kk.
Does the floor area include the balcony?
The official floor area of a flat doesn't: a balcony reached only from the flat is a shared part of the building, kept for the flat's sole use. A listing's figure may include it, so ask how the area was measured.
