ASK AN EXPERT: What are the rules for subletting your apartment in Czechia?

Subletting a rented flat is legal in Czechia, but only if both parties agree on that and it’s part of the lease contract. In practice, though, most of the landlords on the market don’t allow it on their property, and standard lease contracts say it is forbidden. We asked Ondřej Hlaváč, head of residential rentals at Engel & Völkers to explain the ins and outs of subletting.

There are two basic types of subletting, and each raises different issues for all parties involved. The first type of sublet is a short-term rental, such as accommodations for tourists. This is typically done via Airbnb and other online platforms. The other type is long-term subletting, which more owners are willing to allow in their apartments.

With short-term sublets, even if a landlord agrees to let a renter sublet a problem with the neighbors could arise. The community of owners of housing units typically doesn’t appreciate someone in the building running short-term rentals with tenants changing after a few days or once per week.

This kind of subletting can even be forbidden by house rules, though when it comes to the law, it isn’t possible to forbid it if the owner allows subletting in their own apartment.  

On the other hand, tenants can create difficulties for tenants who rent to them for the short term, citing a law that says you can't run accommodation when the property is approved for use as a flat.

"Officially it should be property approval as an 'accommodation unit,' The other tenants can lodge complaints with the building authority office, and the subletting tenant can receive repeatedly fines from that office, however, many tenants continue to do this to earn money which is bigger than fines," Hlaváč said.

The government is likely to enforce stricter regulations about this issue to protect long-term tenants and other co-owners of apartment houses or other owners of single flats in the building.

As long-term subletting doesn’t cause as many problems with neighbors, more owners are willing to allow their apartments to be sublet.

Student housing or co-living is a common example of how long-term sublets are used in Czechia. It works the way that one student rents a 3+1 layout apartment alone and makes an agreement with the owner that they will find two more students and sublease two rooms.

“Some landlords allow that without any problems, while other landlords don’t like co-living, because they are afraid of noise and student parties,” Hlaváč said.

He added that he has one client who owns an apartment building near a high school and his house is full of co-living students. "He is happy with that and he personally lives in the building; he always says: the young people around me give me optimism and good mood."

When an apartment layout is suitable for co-living – typically 2+1, 3+1, or 4+1 with all rooms separated – and the owner is open to renting the apartment for co-living, it’s very attractive on the market and the owner can rent the apartment very quickly. It also usually means a slightly higher price.

“Co-living is popular not only in the student community but also with other people. Usually, the motivation is to save money because the price of rent in Prague’s city center is higher if you compare it with standard salaries,” Hlaváč said.