Important changes to the Czech Civil Code

There are a few important changes in the Civil Code

The legislators prepared an amendment to the Civil Code which will come into effect as of July 1, 2020 and will bring about several essential changes. Let’s go through them now.

Statutory pre-emption right

The statutory pre-emption right of the co-owners to the real estate will be canceled as of July 1, 2020. Exceptions include situations where the co-owners weren´t able to influence their rights and obligations from the beginning – such as the inheritance of the share – there is a pre-emption right for a period of 6 months after which it also expires. I wrote more about this topic in my article here.

Contractual penalty in the rental of an apartment

Newly, it will be possible to arrange a contractual penalty for the tenant for the breach of their obligations resulting from the rental agreement. The total amount of the contractual penalty will then be limited by threefold monthly rent and the agreed deposit as follows: The contractual penalty and deposit may not exceed in total the threefold of the monthly rent.

Changes in the owners association

It will be possible to establish an owners association by approving the statutes by a majority vote in the form of a notarial record, however, a notarial record will no longer be necessary to amend the statutes.

To change the purpose of use of the shared parts of the building, a majority of votes of all co-owners of the building will newly be sufficient.

The obligation to establish an owners association will newly arise when there are 5 units owned by 4 different persons in one building.

The debts of the seller of the unit for the use of the shared parts and for the administration of the building  pass as always onto the purchaser if „the purchaser should and could have found out about them“.