Buying a house in Czechia: what to check before you sign
Buying property in Czechia is not unusually risky, but the checks that protect you are different from the ones you may be used to. There is no equivalent of a UK-style survey culture, and nobody will hand you a due diligence pack unless you ask.
What to ask the seller for
- PENB — the Energy Performance Certificate. The seller is legally required to produce one. If they claim not to have it, the property is advertised in the worst energy class by default, and that tells you something about how the rest has been handled.
- Inspection reports for the chimney, electrical installation, gas and lightning protection. Their absence is a warning sign in itself — it usually means nobody has been keeping records, and you will inherit that.
- Building documentation — plans, the completion certificate, and paperwork for any reconstruction. Both the buyer and the mortgage bank will want these.
What to check yourself
- The Land Registry extract (výpis z katastru) — confirm there is no mortgage lien, easement or enforcement order attached to the property. This is public and worth checking before you get emotionally committed.
- The electrical installation — in an older house, consider paying for your own inspection before purchase. Aluminium wiring and an ancient distribution board mean a rewire, which is a large and unavoidable cost.
- Damp, roof and foundations — a walk-round or a surveyor. Rising damp is the most common and most expensive hidden problem in Czech houses.
- Well and wastewater treatment plant — do they have valid permits? Abstracting groundwater without a permit is an offence, and the obligation transfers with the property.
With an older house, paying your own technician or surveyor for a pre-purchase inspection is the best few thousand crowns you will spend. It is nothing against discovering after you move in that the whole installation needs replacing.
Use a lawyer for the legal part
Contracts, escrow of the purchase price and the Land Registry filing should go through a Czech lawyer, not through the estate agent’s template. Money is normally held in attorney or notarial escrow, which protects both sides. A mistake in the contract or an overlooked lien can complicate a purchase badly, and this is not the place to save money.
And then the property is yours
From the day of the transfer, every obligation attached to the building becomes yours: the annual chimney inspection, the boiler check, the energy certificate when you eventually sell. Nobody will write to remind you. It is worth knowing the list before you own it rather than after.
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General information about Czech rules as of 2026, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your specific property and can change. Where it matters, follow the applicable regulations and consult a qualified professional.