End of a fixed-term lease: when the lease renews itself and how to prevent it
A fixed-term lease of a flat ends when the term expires, but if the tenant stays for three months and the landlord does not ask them in writing to leave, the lease renews for up to two years (Section 2285 OZ). How to extend the lease by an amendment, when it can end early and what applies on handover day.
The contract ends on 31 December, nobody does anything and the tenant keeps paying. Three months later it may turn out that the lease runs for another year or two, although nobody planned it.
1. The lease ends by itself, without notice
A lease of a flat agreed for a fixed term ends when the term expires. Nobody has to give notice or sign anything. The tenant hands the flat over to the landlord on the day the lease ends (Section 2292 of the Civil Code, Act No. 89/2012 Coll., “OZ”). The rules in this article apply to a lease of a flat or house for living, not for holidays or another clearly short-term purpose (Section 2235(2) OZ).
2. The three-month rule (Section 2285 OZ)
- The tenant keeps living in the flat for at least three months after the day the lease was due to end.
- During that time the landlord does not ask them in writing to leave.
- The lease is then deemed agreed again for the same term as before, but for no more than two years (Section 2285 OZ). A one-year contract renews for a year, a three-year contract for two years only.
- The law allows the parties to agree otherwise (Section 2285 OZ). Look for such a clause in your contract.
Example: a one-year lease ended on 31 December 2026. The tenant stayed and keeps paying. If the landlord does not ask them in writing to leave by 31 March 2027, the lease renews for another year.
3. Landlord: a request to leave the flat
- The request must be in writing (Section 2285 OZ). A verbal arrangement or a text message will not prevent the renewal.
- Send it within three months after the lease ends, ideally in the first few days.
- State which flat and which contract, the day the lease ended and the date by which the tenant must leave the flat and return the keys.
- Deliver it in a way that proves receipt: in person against a signature on a copy, by registered post with advice of delivery, or to a data box.
- If the tenant keeps paying after the lease has ended, state in the request that you accept the payments as compensation for use of the flat (Section 2295 OZ), not as rent.
4. Want to continue? Sign an amendment
Do not rely on automatic renewal. Renewal only extends the lease for the same term, for no more than two years (Section 2285 OZ). It does not give you a new rent or other new terms. Agree the extension before the lease ends in a written amendment to the contract. A lease contract must be in writing (Section 2237 OZ).
5. Ending before the term expires
- An agreement to end the lease can end it at any time and on any day.
- The tenant may terminate a fixed-term lease only if circumstances have changed so much that the tenant cannot reasonably be expected to continue the lease (Section 2287 OZ).
- The landlord may terminate a fixed-term lease only on the grounds in Section 2288(1) OZ (for example, a gross breach of the tenant's duties) or without a notice period for a particularly serious breach (Section 2291 OZ). Needing the flat for themselves or a relative is a ground only for a lease of indefinite duration (Section 2288(2) OZ).
- We cover deadlines, the required instruction and delivery in detail in the article “Terminating a flat lease in Czechia: notice periods, grounds and delivery”.
6. Handover day
- The flat is handed over when the landlord has the keys and nothing prevents them from accessing and using it (Section 2292 OZ).
- The tenant returns the flat in the condition in which they received it, apart from normal wear and tear and defects the landlord must remedy (Section 2293(1) OZ). Record the condition in a handover protocol and take photos.
- If the tenant does not hand the flat over on the day the lease ends, the landlord is entitled to compensation equal to the agreed rent until the actual handover (Section 2295 OZ).
- At the end of the lease the landlord returns the deposit with interest, setting off anything the tenant owes under the lease (Section 2254(2) OZ).
- Changing the locks or removing belongings without agreement is not the answer. The law allows self-help only exceptionally (Section 14 OZ). If the tenant does not leave, what remains is an agreement or the court.
