Registering a foreigner's address in a rented flat: duties of tenant and landlord
Deadlines for registering your address and reporting a change, proof of accommodation, the landlord's duty as an “accommodation provider” to report a foreign tenant to the police within 3 working days, the house register, fines and temporary protection.
You've signed the lease and you're moving in. For a foreigner, though, the paperwork doesn't end there: the new address must be reported to the authorities, and the deadlines are short. And a landlord who lets a flat to a foreigner has a reporting duty of their own that they often don't know about.
1. Registering your address on arrival
- A third-country national registers their address with the police within 3 working days of entering the country (Section 93(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreigners).
- An EU citizen registers within 30 days of entry if staying longer than 30 days; the same applies to their family member (Section 93(2) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
- You don't need to go to the police if you have registered with the accommodation provider, i.e. filled in and signed their registration form (Section 93(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
- Registering your address gives you no rights to the flat or against its owner (Section 93(3) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
2. Moving? Reporting a change of address
- Long-term visa or long-term residence permit: report the change to the Ministry of the Interior within 30 days if you will live at the new address for more than 30 days (Section 98(3) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
- Residence card of an EU citizen's family member, EU citizen registration certificate or an EU citizen's permanent residence: within 30 working days if the change will last more than 180 days (Section 98(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
- Temporary stay without a visa: to the police within 30 days if the change will last more than 90 days (Section 98(4) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
- Temporary protection: report the change to the Ministry of the Interior within 3 working days if it will last more than 15 days, with proof of accommodation; you can also do this online (Section 6(10) of Act No. 65/2022 Coll.).
3. Proof of accommodation
The authorities want to see that you are entitled to live in the flat. Proof is a document of ownership, a document showing your right to use the flat (typically the lease), or a written confirmation from the owner or authorised user, with an officially verified signature, consenting to your accommodation (Section 31(5) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.). The accommodation must be in a building with a descriptive or registration number intended for housing, accommodation or recreation. For temporary protection, the authority may expressly require a confirmation with an officially verified signature (Section 6(1) of Act No. 65/2022 Coll.).
4. The landlord as an “accommodation provider”
Many landlords don't know this: under the Foreigners' Residence Act, anyone who provides accommodation for payment is an accommodation provider, and accommodation includes a relationship under a lease or sublease (Section 99 of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.). If you let a flat to a foreigner, you must report their accommodation to the police within 3 working days (Section 102(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.) and keep a house register, for example as a set of signed registration forms (Section 101 of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.). This does not apply if you and the accommodated foreigner are close persons (Section 99(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.).
5. Fines
- A foreigner who fails to register their address or a change of address (Sections 93 and 98 of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.): a fine of up to CZK 3,000 (Section 156(1) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., letter (d), with (5)).
- An individual acting as an accommodation provider who fails to meet their duties, e.g. does not report the accommodation or keep a house register: a fine of up to CZK 50,000 (Section 156(2) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., with (5)).
6. The tenant has moved out but is still registered at your address?
If the foreigner holds permanent residence, or is an EU citizen or their family member, and their right to use the flat has ended and they no longer live there, the owner or authorised user can ask the Ministry of the Interior to cancel the registered address; they must prove the reason (Section 98a of Act No. 326/1999 Coll.). A handover record for the returned flat and proof that the lease has ended will help.
