In the first three articles of this mini-series, we focused on the suitability of a property for long-term and short-term lease, on practical issues and landlord’s limitations when negotiating a lease agreement, on matters connected with services and their billing, as well as the matters of liability of the parties within the lease relationship. In this fourth and final part, we will focus on an issue that troubles many landlords – the termination of a lease and the vacating of an apartment or house. In particular, we will focus on how to terminate a lease correctly and what a landlord cannot do when terminating a lease or vacating a property.
The lease of residential premises under Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code (hereinafter the “CC“), does not distinguish between whether an apartment or a house is being leased. These articles will follow the same approach. If a particular conclusion differs depending on whether the rental concerns an apartment or a house, this will be explicitly stated in the text. Otherwise, the conclusions presented apply equally to both types of property.
Options for terminating a lease
In general, both apartment and house leases end upon expiry of the term. Therefore, if the lease agreement is concluded for a fixed term and the landlord does not extend the lease agreement with the tenant, the lease will end on the last day of the agreed lease term.
In practice, there is often misunderstanding about which specific day is the last day of the lease and when the apartment should be vacated. If the landlord and tenant agree on a lease from 1 November 2025 for a fixed term of one year, the lease will end on 1 November 2026. In such a case, the tenant still has the right to use the apartment on that day and is obliged to pay the landlord the proportional rent for one day in November 2026, as well as the proportional part of the advance payments for services. To make landlord’s administration easier, it is therefore advisable to agree on the lease with an exact date. In this case, for example, from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. At the same time, however, the leased property must be vacated and handed over to the landlord on the same day (the last day of the lease), unless the contracting parties agree on a different (longer) period for vacating the property.
The lease may also be terminated by agreement. The legal regulations are quite lenient in this regard, and the contracting parties may agree that the lease will terminate on the same day or in one month. The agreement to terminate the lease should be in writing and should include the signatures of both the landlord and the tenant.
Landlords should not forget that if the tenant continues to use the property for at least three months after the end of the lease and the landlord does not ask the tenant to vacate the property during this period, the lease is deemed to have been renewed for the same period as before, but for a maximum of two years (Section 2285 of the Civil Code). Apart from the mandatory written form, the law does not impose any further requirements on the request, but its content must make it clear that the landlord is not interested in the tenant continuing to remain in the leased property. However, this provision is dispositive, and landlords may therefore stipulate in the lease agreement that they exclude Section 2285 of the Civil Code.
The most common reason for early termination of a lease is, of course, termination of the lease or unilateral withdrawal from the lease agreement. Termination of the lease may be submitted by either the landlord or the tenant, with the law distinguishing between whether the termination is submitted for a fixed-term or indefinite-term lease.
In the case of an indefinite-term lease, the tenant is not limited by the Civil Code and may give notice without stating a reason with a three-month notice period and/or without a notice period if the subject of the lease becomes unusable for the agreed or usual purpose for reasons not attributable to the tenant, if the landlord breaches their obligations in a particularly serious manner and thereby causes the tenant considerable damage, or if the landlord fails to repair damage or defects to the apartment for which the tenant is not responsible, even within an additional period set by the tenant.
In the case of a fixed-term lease, the tenant may terminate the lease agreement without notice for the same reasons, but it is not possible to terminate the lease without giving a reason. The tenant may terminate a fixed-term lease only on the grounds that the circumstances on which the parties apparently based their commitment to the lease agreement have changed to such an extent that the tenant cannot reasonably be expected to continue the lease (Section 2287 of the CC). An example of this would be a situation where the lease was agreed in Prague and the tenant was transferred (against their will) to Ostrava as part of their employment.
For the above reasons, it is fundamentally true that the contracting parties cannot exclude or otherwise restrict these grounds for termination by the tenant in the lease agreement.
Termination of the lease by the landlord, its conditions and requirements
Landlords are subject to stricter conditions than tenants for their termination of the lease to be valid and effective. Termination must always be in writing and must be delivered to the tenant (Section 2286(1) of the CC). Landlords should therefore ideally deliver the notice of termination by post and prove delivery of the notice, ideally by delivery note. Unlike in other situations, it is not sufficient to simply send the notice of termination; it must be delivered to the tenant and the tenant must have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the notice. A functional and verifiable method is to deliver the notice in person and have the tenant sign a handover protocol or other confirmation of receipt. However, if the lease agreement specifies particular methods of delivery and communication, these must be followed.
If there are several tenants, such delivery must be made to all persons concerned. Similarly, the notice of termination must be delivered to both spouses if they live together in the leased property. At the same time, however, if there are several tenants, it is possible to terminate the agreement only with some of them and, conversely, it is not possible to terminate the lease agreement with all parties to the agreement if only one party breaches its contractual obligations. In this respect, too, the landlord should pay close attention to the definition of the contracting parties and, if necessary, negotiate special rules for the termination of the contract or the mutual liability of the tenants.
In addition to specifying the reason for termination by referring to the relevant legal provision and describing the facts of the case, the notice of termination must also include an obligation to inform the tenant of their right to object to the termination and the possibility of having the validity of the termination reviewed by a court (Section 2286(2) of the CC). This instruction must be expressly stated in the notice of termination itself. If this instruction is not stated (in particular the instruction on the possibility of judicial review), the same legal provision stipulates that such a notice of termination is absolutely invalid and the lease continues.
It is also important to note that if the landlord gives notice and subsequently files a motion to vacate the apartment, but at the same time the tenant files a motion to review the validity of the notice of termination of the lease within the meaning of Section 2290 of the CC, the court will first deal with the proceedings initiated by the tenant and the proceedings for eviction from the property will be suspended pursuant to Section 109(1)(c) of the Civil Procedure Code.[1]
Reasons for termination by the landlord
First of all, it is necessary to mention that the landlord is entitled to terminate a lease agreement for an apartment or house only for legal reasons. The general legal provision for indefinite agreements does not apply here, and, somewhat counterintuitively, it is not possible to terminate a lease for an apartment or house for an indefinite period without giving reasons. For this reason, in the vast majority of cases, a fixed-term contract is chosen, which gives the landlord at least some control over the duration of the lease.
The reasons for which a landlord may terminate a lease of an apartment or house are set out in particular in Section 2288 of the Civil Code. The cited provision distinguishes between situations where the lease is agreed for a fixed term and where it is agreed for an indefinite term. These include not only punitive reasons, such as breach of contract by the tenant or other serious reasons, but also selected personal reasons, such as when the landlord needs the leased property for themselves, their family or relatives. However, it is always necessary to specify the concrete reason for termination in the notice of termination.
Termination pursuant to the above provision of Section 2288 is subject to a notice period of three (3) months. In certain cases, the landlord is entitled to terminate the lease without a notice period, specifically in the event that the tenant breaches their obligations in a particularly serious manner (Section 2291(1) of the CC). Demonstratively, it is stated that a particularly serious breach of obligations is considered to be, for example, a situation where the tenant fails to pay rent and service charges for a period of at least three months, or if they damage the apartment or house in a serious or irreparable manner, or if they otherwise cause serious damage or difficulties to the landlord or persons living in the house, or if they use the apartment unlawfully in a manner or for a purpose other than that agreed (Section 2291(2) of the CC).
Before giving notice without a notice period, the landlord is obliged to send the tenant a written request to remedy the unlawful situation within a reasonable period of time. Otherwise, this notice shall not be taken into account (Section 2291(3) of the CC).
Vacating the property after the end of the lease
Upon termination of the lease (regardless of the reason), the tenant is obliged to return the apartment to the landlord in the condition in which they took it over, regardless of normal wear and tear from normal use and defects that the landlord is obliged to remedy.
If the tenant does not vacate the property voluntarily after the valid termination of the lease, the landlord has no choice but to go to court. In such a case, the landlord is entitled to file a motion for eviction, which will be decided by the court. Once the landlord has a final decision that the tenant is obliged to vacate the apartment, the landlord can effectively evict the tenant by enforcing this decision, i.e. through a court bailiff. However, such legal proceedings can often be very time-consuming and costly.
In order to speed up the process of evicting tenants from apartments and houses, a new Section 175a will be added to the Civil Procedure Code with effect from 1 January 2026, introducing a so-called eviction order. The court will be able to issue an eviction order immediately if the landlord proves their claim in the application itself, as is the case, for example, with electronic payment orders in actions for performance. If the tenant does not file an objection to the eviction order, the eviction order will become a final enforcement title, which will significantly speed up the entire eviction process for landlords. However, if the tenant files an objection, the eviction order will be cancelled without further ado and standard proceedings for eviction from the property will take place.
Alternatively, a clause with consent to direct enforceability can be concluded with the tenant in the form of a notarial deed.[2]
Evicting the tenant yourself
In practice, landlords are often discouraged by the fact that court proceedings for eviction from a property can take up to several years, especially when the unauthorised user (the original tenant) can use a number of available procedural means to delay the outcome of the dispute as much as possible. This is not helped by the fact that if the tenant files a motion to review the validity of the termination of the lease, this proceeding will take place first, and only then will the proceedings for eviction from the property take place.
In fact, several years may pass from the end of the lease before an actively defending tenant actually vacates the property. The landlord is, of course, entitled to lost rent or any other damages incurred during that time, but if the tenant is not solvent, the landlord often suffers a significant loss. In addition, for the entire period during which the tenant uses the property (albeit unlawfully), the landlord must, of course, pay advances for services related to the leased property, even if he does not actually receive advance payments from the tenant.
In such situations, many landlords resort to self-help defence, e.g. by changing the entrance locks, terminating energy supplies, etc. However, such action is not possible, and landlords would expose themselves to the risk of criminal prosecution, as such conduct may constitute the elements of the criminal offences of trespassing or unauthorised interference with the right to a house, apartment or non-residential space. The landlord is also not entitled to enter the tenant’s home without their prior knowledge or consent, even though they own the property themselves.
The legal system of the Czech Republic protects tenants and protects their domestic freedom, regardless of the fact that the tenant does not pay rent and/or uses the leased property even after the lease has ended. If the landlord finds themselves in a situation where the tenant continues to occupy the property despite the termination of the lease, the landlord has no choice but to turn to the court to obtain a final order requiring the tenant to vacate the property.
The aforementioned eviction order should significantly speed up the court proceedings. Similarly, in such cases, we recommend concluding a fixed-term lease agreement together with a directly enforceable eviction clause in the form of a notarial deed (see above).
Conclusion
Unfortunately, it is impossible to properly prepare for or predict problematic evictions and non-payment of rent. However, landlords can mitigate the risk of this situation by properly screening tenants before concluding a lease agreement or by not forgetting to negotiate a security deposit when signing the lease agreement, which can serve to at least partially cover the landlord’s losses in such cases.
In particular, it is advisable to check the insolvency register, which is accessible free of charge, not only for the current status but also for the person’s history. It is also possible to check the enforcement register on the website of the Chamber of Bailiffs of the Czech Republic. Although an extract from the enforcement register is subject to a fee (in the order of hundreds of Czech crowns), the knowledge gained will certainly outweigh any future problems.
The landlord is not in an easy position even when attempting to terminate the lease early, as they are very strictly limited by legal provisions. It is therefore necessary to proceed with caution and within the limits of these restrictions, otherwise the landlord exposes themselves to the risk of such early termination being potentially invalid.
If you have any questions regarding leases, lease termination, property clearance or other areas of civil law, we are at your disposal. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
[1] Act No. 99/1963 Coll., Civil Procedure Code, as amended.
[2] For more details, see our previous article: PEYTON legal | Notarial deed as an enforcement title to vacate a property
Mgr. Ondřej Růžička, attorney at law – ruzicka@plegal.cz
Mgr. Karel Janeba, junior lawyer – janeba@plegal.cz
16. 10. 2025