Foreigners can buy a flat, a house or a building plot in Czechia on the same terms as Czechs, whatever their citizenship or residence status; the last restriction in the Foreign Exchange Act was lifted in July 2011. Buying gives you no right to live here, however, and a Czech bank will lend only to someone with residence and income in Czechia. Registration in the land registry costs CZK 2,000, and there has been no property acquisition tax since 2020.
The transfer works as it does for a Czech buyer: reservation, purchase agreement, escrow and entry in the land registry (katastr nemovitostí). On top of that, expect checks on your identity and the source of your money, a translator or interpreter and, without a mortgage, the whole price in cash.
Can a foreigner buy a flat, house or land in Czechia?
Yes. The restriction on foreigners acquiring real estate in § 17 of the Foreign Exchange Act (devizový zákon) was repealed by an amendment in force from 19 July 2011 (Act No. 206/2011 Coll.). You need neither Czech citizenship nor permanent residence nor a birth number (rodné číslo). If you have no birth number, the land registry records your date of birth instead, and your home address in place of a Czech permanent-residence address (§ 4 of the Cadastral Act).
The one exception is farmland owned by the state. The State Land Office (Státní pozemkový úřad) may transfer it only to natural persons who are citizens of Czechia, another EU or EEA state or Switzerland, to agricultural businesses, and to municipalities and regions (§ 9 of Act No. 503/2012 Coll.). A field bought from a private owner carries no such restriction.
The differences between foreign buyers begin with the financing:
| Buyer | May buy | Mortgage from a Czech bank | LTV in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU citizen | yes | on the same terms as a Czech | 80 %, 90 % under 36 |
| Non-EU, permanent or long-term residence with an address and income in Czechia | yes | depends on the bank | often 70–80 % |
| Temporary protection | yes | only a few banks, with extended protection and Czech income | often 70–80 % |
| No residence or income in Czechia | yes | as a rule, no | paid in cash |
For a flat bought to let, the ČNB has recommended since 1 April 2026 that banks lend at most 70 % LTV, wherever the buyer comes from.
Does buying a flat in Czechia give you residency?
It does not. Buying property is not among the purposes of long-term residence that the Interior Ministry's Information Portal for Foreigners lists for non-EU nationals. The only “investment” residence is designed for entrepreneurs who invest at least CZK 75 million and create at least 20 new jobs for at least 2 years.
Your own flat becomes useful once you apply for residence on other grounds, such as work. With few exceptions the application must include proof of accommodation, and owning a flat or house is one way to provide it.
How to buy property in Czechia, step by step
- Check the property. You can view the title sheet (list vlastnictví) free of charge in the ČÚZK online viewer (Nahlížení do katastru); look for liens, easements and a pending-change flag (plomba). If you are buying with a mortgage, get pre-approval first. Banks deal with it within days.
- Reservation agreement. The reservation period should cover loan approval, which usually takes 2–4 weeks once the bank has a complete set of documents.
- Identity and source of funds. The estate agent and the attorney or notary holding the escrow are both obliged entities under the anti-money-laundering act. They will check your ID and may look into where the money comes from, so have bank statements or the contract the funds came from ready.
- Purchase agreement and escrow. The land registry works in Czech and wants foreign-language documents with an officially certified translation (§ 16 of the Administrative Procedure Code), so you sign the agreement in Czech, with an interpreter if needed. Have the signatures officially certified, or the applicant must prove they are genuine within 30 days (§ 8 of the Cadastral Act). The money goes into attorney, notary or bank escrow.
- Application for registration (návrh na vklad). You file it on the ČÚZK form for CZK 2,000. The registry marks a plomba and may allow the registration no sooner than 20 days after notifying the owner of it; in August and September 2026 registration took 22 days on average.
- Payout and handover. The escrow holder releases the money to the seller once the title sheet shows you as the owner.
- Property tax. File the return by 31 January of the following year.
From signing to registration, allow about a month, and longer with a mortgage because of drawdown. If you cannot travel, an attorney-in-fact can act for you, but the power of attorney needs an officially certified signature (§ 15 of the Cadastral Act). At a Czech embassy or consulate certification costs CZK 500 per signature, at an office in Czechia CZK 50. How the payout from escrow is safeguarded is explained in purchase agreement and escrow.
What does buying a CZK 5 million flat cost on top of the price?
State fees come to a few thousand crowns. The services whose price you negotiate yourself cost more, and with a mortgage so do your own funds.
| Item | Cash | With a mortgage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property acquisition tax | CZK 0 | CZK 0 | abolished in 2020 |
| Registration of ownership | CZK 2,000 | CZK 2,000 | administrative fee for the application for registration |
| Registration of the bank's lien | – | CZK 2,000 | the same fee for the lien |
| Valuation (odhad) | – | CZK 3,000–6,000 | banks often value standard flats online, free or cheaply |
| Signature certification | CZK 50 per signature | CZK 50 per signature | CZK 500 at an embassy or consulate |
| Extract from the title sheet | CZK 100 | CZK 100 | official extract via remote access; viewing is free |
| Attorney or notary, escrow, interpreter | per price list | per price list | agree in advance and in writing |
| Own funds | CZK 5,000,000 | CZK 1,000,000–1,500,000 | at 80 % or 70 % LTV |
| Property tax | yearly | yearly | a 50 m² flat in Prague: CZK 961 before coefficients |
Property tax is then multiplied by an inflation coefficient and a local coefficient. An estate agency's commission depends on your brokerage agreement.
Paying cash or taking a mortgage
One flat at CZK 5,000,000, three buyers. Assumptions: a rate of 5.00 % (ČBA average for new mortgages, August 2026), a 30-year term, annuity repayments, no other debts, and the usual internal bank limit of 45 % of net income going on repayments.
- A Slovak woman working in Prague, bank lending at 80 % LTV: loan CZK 4,000,000, payment CZK 21,473, own funds CZK 1,000,000, net income of at least CZK 47,718.
- An American on an employee card, bank lending at 70 % LTV: loan CZK 3,500,000, payment CZK 18,789, own funds CZK 1,500,000, net income of at least CZK 41,754.
- A buyer with no residence in Czechia: the full CZK 5,000,000 from their own money, with no valuation and no lien to register.
The CZK 500,000 gap in own funds between the first two buyers comes from the banks' rules, not from the law. Ask at least two banks before you sign a reservation.
A cash purchase is quicker, with no valuation, no loan approval and no wait for drawdown. Documents and conditions by type of residence are covered in mortgage for foreigners.
What taxes does a foreigner pay after buying?
None on the purchase, because the property acquisition tax was abolished in 2020. After that you pay property tax (daň z nemovitých věcí) every year. File the return by 31 January of the year after the purchase or, if the registry makes the entry after 31 December, by the end of the third month after the month of registration. Tax of up to CZK 5,000 is payable by 31 May.
Rent and gains from selling Czech property are taxed in Czechia even for non-residents (§ 22 of the Income Tax Act); the calculation is in rental income tax. A sale is exempt after 10 years of ownership, and sooner only if you lived in the flat for 2 years or put the money towards your own housing.
Sources
- Act No. 206/2011 Coll., amending the Foreign Exchange Act (repeal of § 17, in force from 19 July 2011)
- Act No. 503/2012 Coll., on the State Land Office, § 9 (who may acquire state-owned farmland)
- Ministry of the Interior, Information Portal for Foreigners: residence for the purpose of investment, proof of accommodation
- Act No. 256/2013 Coll., Cadastral Act, § 4, 8 and 15; Act No. 634/2004 Coll., on Administrative Fees, items 5, 120 and 150
- Act No. 253/2008 Coll., on certain measures against the legitimisation of proceeds of crime (anti-money-laundering act), § 2 and 9; Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Procedure Code, § 16