Tenant not paying rent: a step-by-step guide for landlords and tenants
When rent is due, a written demand, late-payment interest, an instalment plan and acknowledgement of debt, termination without notice after three months of arrears, what the landlord must not do, and how the tenant can defend themselves.
The rent hasn't arrived again this month and the tenant isn't answering. At this point landlords often change the lock — and end up in trouble themselves. The law offers a clear procedure, but it only works if the steps and formalities are followed in order.
1. When rent is due
The tenant pays rent in advance for each month, no later than the fifth day of the month unless a later day was agreed, together with the service advances (Section 2251(1) of the Civil Code, Act No. 89/2012 Coll.). From the next day the tenant is in default and the landlord may claim late-payment interest (Section 1970 OZ) — per year, the Czech National Bank repo rate valid on the first day of the calendar half-year in which the default began, plus 8 percentage points (Section 2 of Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll.).
2. Step one: a written demand
Send the tenant a written demand: how much is owed and for which months, by when and to which account it must be paid, and that the tenant must remedy the breach. The demand matters twice over. Without it you cannot later terminate without a notice period — such a termination is disregarded (Section 2291(3) OZ). And if you send it at least 7 days before filing a claim, the court will also award you the costs of proceedings (Section 142a of the Code of Civil Procedure). Send it by registered post with advice of delivery or to a data box.
3. Instalment agreement and acknowledgement of debt
- If the tenant wants to pay, have them sign a written acknowledgement of the debt as to its grounds and amount — the debt is then presumed to exist to that extent (Section 2053 OZ).
- A debt acknowledged in writing becomes time-barred only after ten years (Section 639 OZ).
- Agree that if any instalment is missed, the whole remaining debt becomes due; you must exercise this right no later than the due date of the next instalment (Section 1931 OZ).
- On top of the instalments, the tenant must keep paying the current rent and advances.
4. Terminating the lease over arrears
- If the tenant owes rent and service charges for at least three months, this is a particularly serious breach and the landlord may terminate without a notice period; the tenant then hands back the flat without undue delay, within one month at the latest (Section 2291(1) OZ and Section 2291(2) OZ).
- The notice must state what the breach consists of, and the tenant must have been asked beforehand to remedy it — otherwise the notice is disregarded (Section 2291(3) OZ).
- With smaller arrears, it may be a gross breach and grounds for notice with a three-month notice period (Section 2288(1) OZ, letter (a)).
- The notice must be in writing and must reach the tenant; the landlord must inform the tenant of the right to object and ask a court to review the notice, otherwise it is invalid (Section 2286 OZ).
- The tenant can ask a court to review the notice within two months of receiving it (Section 2290 OZ).
5. What the landlord must not do
The law allows self-help only exceptionally — when an unlawful interference is imminent and the authorities would come too late (Section 14 OZ). Rent arrears are not such a situation. Changing the lock, entering the flat without the tenant's consent or removing their belongings may even be the crime of violating the privacy of the home (Section 178 of the Criminal Code, Act No. 40/2009 Coll.). If the tenant does not leave after the lease ends, the route is a court action for eviction. The landlord may set the deposit off against the debt only when the lease ends (Section 2254(2) OZ).
6. Advice for tenants
If you cannot pay, contact the landlord before the demand arrives and propose instalments — a written agreement protects you from termination better than silence. If you disagree with the amount of rent, you can deposit the disputed part with a notary and inform the landlord; the lease then cannot be terminated for non-payment (Section 2253(1) OZ). And read every notice carefully: if it lacks information about objections and court review, it is invalid (Section 2286(2) OZ).
