Debt assumption (převzetí dluhu)
A new debtor takes the place of the original one and carries on repaying the debt. Under § 1888 of the Civil Code this needs the creditor's consent, which for a mortgage means the bank's, and the bank assesses the new debtor like any new applicant. Accession to a debt (přistoupení k dluhu, § 1892) is different: there the original debtor stays and the new one merely joins.
Example
After a divorce, the wife keeps the flat and the mortgage, originally CZK 4,000,000, of which about CZK 3,543,000 remains after five years, with a payment of CZK 23,384. For the bank to agree to the assumption, she must show sufficient income on her own: at the usual internal threshold of 45 %, roughly CZK 52,000 net a month, with no other loans.
In practice
You ask the bank for the assumption as a change to the contract. The new debtor documents their income, the bank checks the registers again and usually charges a fee under its rate sheet. Spouses often settle in their divorce agreement who will take over the mortgage, but if the bank does not consent, that agreement does not bind it and both still owe the money. Refinancing with another bank then remains an option.
How it differs
In a release of a co-borrower, one of two debtors leaves and the other stays; in an assumption, someone new steps in. Compared with refinancing, the loan agreement stays the same, including the rate and the fixed period.
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