Flat viewing checklist: what to check and what to ask

Check who owns the flat

Look the address up in the land registry: it's free, and the owner on the title deed (list vlastnictví) should be the person you'll sign with, or they should show you a power of attorney from the owner. A landlord who is abroad, can't show you the flat and wants a deposit to send the keys is the most common scam.

Ask

• Patří byt vám, nebo jednáte v zastoupení majitele?Is the flat yours, or are you acting for the owner?

Ask for the papers before you go

If you're renting, ask for the lease to read at home, not on the day you sign. If you're buying, ask for a current extract from the land registry, which shows the owner, any mortgage and any easement. Send the request in Czech with the questions below.

Ask

• Můžete mi předem poslat návrh nájemní smlouvy?Can you send me the draft lease in advance?

Ask how it's heated and what that costs

Central heating, a gas boiler or electric heaters make for very different winter bills. Ask what the last year cost, look at the windows and the radiators, and listen for noise: come back in the evening if you can.

Ask

• Jak se byt vytápí a kolik zhruba stojí topení za rok?How is the flat heated, and roughly what does heating cost a year?
• Je tu klid i večer a v noci?Is it quiet here in the evening and at night too?

Look for damp and mould

Check the corners of the outside walls, behind the furniture, around the windows and in the bathroom. Fresh paint on one patch of wall or a strong smell of air freshener can hide it. Ground floors and flats under the roof are the most at risk.

Ask

• Objevila se v bytě někdy vlhkost nebo plíseň?Has the flat ever had damp or mould?

Run the taps and look at the light

Turn on the taps and the shower to check the water pressure and how long hot water takes to come. Open and close the windows, and look at how much daylight the rooms get at the time of day you'll be home.

Check the internet and the phone signal

Test your phone's data in every room and ask which providers reach the building. The thick walls of old buildings can block the signal.

Ask

• Jaké je tu připojení k internetu a od kterého poskytovatele?What internet connection is there, and from which provider?

Find out what the service charges cover

Rent is usually quoted without the service charges (zálohy na služby): water, heating, the lift, cleaning the shared areas. They're advances: once a year the landlord settles them against the real costs, within 4 months of the billing period's end, and pays back the difference or asks for the rest. Ask what the last settlement came to, and whether electricity and gas will be in your name or the landlord's.

Ask

• Co zahrnují zálohy na služby a jak vyšlo poslední vyúčtování?What do the service charges cover, and what did the last settlement come to?
• Převedu si elektřinu a plyn na své jméno, nebo je budu platit přes vás?Will I put electricity and gas in my own name, or pay for them through you?

Agree the deposit and how you get it back

The deposit can be at most 3 months’ rent, without the service charges. When the lease ends, the landlord returns it with interest at least at the legal rate, less anything you owe. Agree in the lease how it comes back, and photograph the flat at the handover.

Ask

• Jak vysoká je kauce a kdy a jak mi ji po skončení nájmu vrátíte?How much is the deposit, and when and how will you return it when the lease ends?

Ask how long the lease runs

A lease has an end date or none. Without one, you can leave by giving notice, and the notice period is 3 months; with one, you're bound until then unless your circumstances change a lot. Either way, the landlord can end it early only for a reason the law lists.

Ask

• Na jak dlouho je nájemní smlouva a jaká je výpovědní doba?How long is the lease for, and what is the notice period?

Make sure you can report your address there

If you're not an EU citizen, the foreign police need a proof of accommodation signed by the owner, and everyone reports the address they live at. Ask before you sign whether the landlord will sign one: some won't, and without it you can't report the flat as your address.

Ask

• Mohu si na této adrese nahlásit pobyt a potvrdíte mi zajištění ubytování?Can I report this as my address, and will you sign a proof of accommodation for me?

Ask about pets

The law lets you keep an animal in a rented flat as long as it causes the landlord and the neighbours no more trouble than is usual in the building. Ask anyway, and get what you agree into the lease.

Ask

• Mohu v bytě chovat domácí zvíře?Can I keep a pet in the flat?

Ask for the energy certificate

The energy performance certificate (PENB) rates the building from A (very efficient) to G and estimates what heating and hot water take in a year. The owner needs one to sell or let the flat: ask to see it, not just the letter in the listing.

Ask

• Můžete mi ukázat průkaz energetické náročnosti budovy?Can you show me the building's energy performance certificate?

Look at the shared areas

Walk through the stairwell, the cellar and the room for bikes and prams. Clean shared spaces and an up-to-date notice board usually mean a building that runs well. Ask whether most flats are lived in by their owners or let out.

Ask

• Jací jsou tu sousedé? Bydlí tu spíš majitelé, nebo nájemníci?What are the neighbours like? Do mostly owners or tenants live here?

Walk the area

Walk from the flat to the nearest tram, metro or bus stop and time it, look for shops, a doctor and schools, and come back once after dark. Ask about parking: in Prague, many streets are paid zones where residents buy a permit.

Ask

• Jak je to tu s parkováním?What's parking like here?

Compare the price before you decide

Check the rent or the asking price against similar flats nearby. A price far below the area's is a warning sign, not a bargain.

Pay only once you've signed

Never pay a deposit or the first rent to hold a flat you haven't seen, or to someone who isn't on the title deed and has no power of attorney. At the handover, sign a handover record (předávací protokol) with the meter readings and photos of anything damaged.

Ask

• Sepíšeme při předání předávací protokol se stavy měřidel?Will we sign a handover record with the meter readings at the handover?