Buying property in the Czech Republic
By Tomas Chrobak
Tomas Chrobak is a director of Spolecnosti Online s.r.o. (Companies Online), a provider of corporate services and the largest firm offering ready-made companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Any foreigner interested in the acquisition of real estate in the Czech Republic finds out very quickly that local legislation prevents him from buying property directly on his behalf. The limitation on buying real estate for foreign citizens and entities is a result of the exception from the EU common rules granted for the Czech Republic for the period of five years since it entered the European Union. In other words, from May, 2004 until May, 2009. This limitation is intended to ensure that real estate is acquired only by foreign individuals wishing to do business or work here while residing here. In spite of such precautions, it is possible for all foreigners (including those living abroad and/or buying property for investment reasons) to circumvent the legal obstacles.
An exhaustive summary of options for purchasing real estate as a foreigner was published in the first issue of Lifestyles, in an article called ‘Practical advice for real estate purchases by foreign citizens’. The following article omits the alternatives that are not typically available to foreigners (such as direct succession or joint ownership with a Czech spouse) and focuses on the two most popular options used by EU citizens:
1. Obtaining a residence permit
2. Purchasing property through a special purpose vehicle
(such as a newly formed or acquired Czech company)
Full version of this article can be found here.
