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What to do about a problem with your landlord in Czechia

Most disputes with a landlord are settled in writing: write the problem down, ask for it to be put right by a date, and keep proof your letter arrived. If that fails, get free advice, try mediation, and only then go to an authority or a court.

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Most problems with a landlord are settled in writing. Write the problem down, ask for it to be put right by a date, and keep proof that your letter arrived. If that fails, get free advice, try mediation, and only then go to an authority or a court. If you're locked out or threatened, call the police on 158 first.

What should you do first?

  1. Write it down. Note what happened and when, take dated photos and videos, and keep every message, the lease, the handover record and proof of what you've paid. A neighbour who saw it can be a witness.
  2. Ask in writing. Describe the problem, say what you want done and give a reasonable date. Keep a copy. A message is a start; a letter is better evidence.
  3. Send a formal demand. If nothing happens, send a demand (předžalobní výzva): what's owed or must be done, why, and a date to do it by. Send it at least seven days before you go to court: without it you get no costs back even if you win, except in exceptional cases.1

Send letters that matter by registered post with a delivery note (doporučeně s dodejkou), to a data box (datová schránka), or by hand against a signature. A posted letter that arrives is presumed to have arrived on the third working day after posting, or the fifteenth working day if it was sent abroad.2

Bytky's tools print these letters in Czech, with English to check them by: the repair check for a defect, the service-charge check for the bills, the rent increase check for your reply to a rise and end of lease for the deposit.

When should you get advice or try mediation?

Get free advice as soon as the first letter doesn't work, and at once if you've received a notice or a court letter. The housing contact points at the town halls, the integration centres for foreigners and non-profits such as the tenants' association advise for free: free legal help lists them with who each one is for.

Try mediation if you'd both rather agree than fight. A registered mediator (zapsaný mediátor) helps you reach an agreement you both sign. It's paid: you agree the fee with the mediator, and unless you agree otherwise you and your landlord split it equally.3

If a case is already in court, the judge can order a first meeting with a mediator of up to three hours and pause the case for up to three months.4 Since 1 January 2026 that meeting costs 1,000 Kč for each hour or part of one, plus VAT if the mediator pays it, split equally between the two of you.4

The Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) helps you and a business you paid for goods or a service, such as an estate agency, reach an agreement for free. It can't decide the dispute, and leases aren't covered.5

When do you go to an authority or a court?

When the problem is a crime, a danger, or a right you can only enforce in court.

ProblemWho to contactWhat they can do
A lockout, someone entering your home, threatsPolice, 158Investigate. You can report a crime at any police station.6
Damp, mould or a defect that endangers health or safetyBuilding office (stavební úřad)Order the owner to repair or secure the building. Anyone can report it.7
An agent's handling of money held in escrow (úschova)Trade licensing office (živnostenský úřad)Check how the agent holds clients' money in escrow.8
Being refused a flat for who you arePublic Defender of RightsHelp you file a claim, and if it finds discrimination, it may find a lawyer to act for you for free.9
Unfair practices by an agencyČOIInspect the agency, and help you and the agency reach an agreement for free.5

For money, such as a deposit or an overpayment, the court route is a payment order (platební rozkaz), issued without a hearing. The landlord then has 15 days to pay or to object.10 The fee for a money claim is set by the Court Fees Act:11

Amount you claimOrdinary claimElectronic payment order
Up to 10,000 Kč1,000 Kč400 Kč
Over 10,000 Kč, up to 20,000 Kč1,000 Kč800 Kč
Over 20,000 Kč5 %4 %

A claim over discrimination costs 1,000 Kč.11 A court can let you off fees, in part as a rule and in full only exceptionally, and appoint you a representative, a lawyer if your case needs one.12 For a claim against your landlord, you go to the district court (okresní soud) for where they live, or where a company has its seat.13 Getting your deposit back covers a deposit claim in full.

Which right covers your problem?

ProblemYour rightOn BytkyDeadlineWho helps
Deposit not returnedBack when the lease ends, with interest, less what you owe from the lease14Getting your deposit backDue when the lease ends; three years to sueFree advice, then a payment order
Repairs, damp and mouldThe landlord keeps the flat fit to live in; you can fix a substantial defect and claim the cost, or ask for a rent discount15Repair checkReport without undue delay; claim a discount within six monthsFree advice; the building office if it's a danger
A rent riseOnly as the lease says, or in writing, up to the usual rent and by no more than 20 % over three years16Rent increase checkTwo months to agree in writing; silence isn't agreementFree advice; the tenants' association
The service chargesA settlement within four months, the bills behind it, and answers to objections17Service-charge check30 days from receiving it to ask and objectFree advice; the tenants' association
Entering without consentVisits only after notice in good time, unless it's an emergency18Your rights as a tenantNote each visit, and write at oncePolice on 158 if it's happening now
A notice or an eviction orderA reason the law names, in writing, with a note on your right to court review19End of leaseTwo months to ask a court to review a notice; 15 days to object to an eviction orderFree advice at once
Locked out or utilities cut offUndisturbed use of the flat; no self-help by the landlord20Your rights as a tenantSix weeks to sue from learning of it and who did it, a year at most; the court decides in 15 daysPolice on 158, then a court
DiscriminationEqual treatment in housing offered to the public21Free legal helpAct soon, and keep the advert and messagesPublic Defender of Rights
An agent's feeA written contract; the fee due no earlier than the lease unless the contract warns you otherwise; an advance of at most two thirds8Renting as a foreignerBefore you pay anythingTrade licensing office; ČOI

What if you're locked out right now?

Call the police on 158. It's free, runs day and night, and takes text messages too.6 Changing the locks or otherwise keeping a tenant out of their flat can be a crime, with up to two years in prison.22 Have your lease, your ID and proof of rent paid with you if you can.

A landlord who wants you out has to go to court. Since 1 January 2026 a court can issue an eviction order (rozkaz k vyklizení) after a lease has ended, giving 15 days to leave or to object. It can't be issued unless your landlord asked you in writing to leave at least 14 days before suing, nor while a court reviews a notice you challenged in time.23 In these cases court letters go to the flat's address, so keep collecting your post there.23

Can I stop paying rent until my landlord fixes a defect?

Not safely: three months of unpaid rent and charges is an especially serious breach, which lets a landlord end the lease without notice.24 Keep paying and claim a rent discount instead, setting off up to one month's rent.15 If you dispute the rent itself, paying the disputed part to a notary protects you from notice for not paying it.25

Is a WhatsApp message or an e-mail enough?

For everyday requests it's a start, and it's evidence. For anything with a deadline, such as an objection, a reply to a rent rise or a demand, send a signed letter by registered post or to a data box, so you can prove what you sent and the day it arrived.

My landlord threatens to keep my deposit if I complain. What now?

Keep complaining in writing. Your landlord can keep only what you owe from the lease, and a threat in writing is evidence in itself.

Do I need a lawyer to go to court?

Not for a payment order or a small claim: you can act for yourself. For a notice or an eviction, get advice first, and ask the court for a representative if you can't afford one.12

Sources

  1. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §142a. ↩

  2. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §573. ↩

  3. Mediation Act (Act 202/2012 Coll.), §2 and §10. ↩

  4. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §100(2); Mediation Act (Act 202/2012 Coll.), §10(3) and (4); Decree 277/2012 Coll., §15, as amended by Decree 488/2025 Coll.. ↩ ↩2

  5. Consumer Protection Act (Act 634/1992 Coll.), §20d and §20e; Czech Trade Inspection Authority, out-of-court dispute resolution. ↩ ↩2

  6. Police of the Czech Republic, emergency line 158 and reporting a crime. ↩ ↩2

  7. Building Act (Act 283/2021 Coll.), §167 and §295; Ministry for Regional Development, building inspection methodology, October 2025. ↩

  8. Real Estate Brokerage Act (Act 39/2020 Coll.), §4, §9, §19 and §20; Ministry for Regional Development, who checks estate agents. ↩ ↩2

  9. Public Defender of Rights Act (Act 349/1999 Coll.), §1a and §21d; Public Defender of Rights, leaflet on equal treatment, January 2026. ↩

  10. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §172 and §174a. ↩

  11. Court Fees Act (Act 549/1991 Coll.), tariff items 1, 2 and 40. ↩ ↩2

  12. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §30 and §138. ↩ ↩2

  13. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §84 and §85. ↩

  14. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2254. ↩

  15. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2208, §2257, §2264 and §2265. ↩ ↩2

  16. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2248 and §2249. ↩

  17. Services Act (Act 67/2013 Coll.), §7, §8 and §13. ↩

  18. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2219; Criminal Code (Act 40/2009 Coll.), §178. ↩

  19. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2286, §2288 and §2290. ↩

  20. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §14, §1003, §1007, §1008 and §2205; Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §176 and §177. ↩ ↩2

  21. Anti-discrimination Act (Act 198/2009 Coll.), §1(1)(j) and §10. ↩

  22. Criminal Code (Act 40/2009 Coll.), §208(2). ↩

  23. Civil Procedure Code (Act 99/1963 Coll.), §175a, §195 and §196, in force from 1 January 2026. ↩ ↩2

  24. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2291. ↩

  25. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2253. ↩

We check every fact against the law and official sources, but rules change and your case may differ. Before a decision that matters, ask the office in charge or a professional.

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