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Selling a flat in Czechia while living abroad: power of attorney, signatures, land registry and tax

How to sell a flat in Prague without travelling to Czechia: what the power of attorney must contain, where to certify your signature abroad, how land registry entry works and which taxes apply once you no longer live in Czechia.

Own a flat in Prague but live elsewhere? You do not have to travel to Czechia for every step of the sale. You need a power of attorney for your representative, properly certified signatures and a plan for tax. Here is the process under current Czech law.

1. A representative signs for you

A representative, such as a family member or a lawyer, can sign the purchase contract for you. Transferring a flat requires written form (Section 560 OZ), so the power of attorney must be written too. The power of attorney states the scope of the authority (Section 441(2) OZ).

• Identify the flat exactly as in the land registry: unit number, building and cadastral area.
• List what the representative may sign: the reservation and purchase contracts, the escrow agreement (úschova), the application for entry in the land registry and the handover protocol.
• State the minimum sale price and the account number to which the money must be paid.
• Limit the power of attorney to the time the sale needs.

2. Have your signature certified abroad

If the signatures on a private document are not officially certified, the applicant must prove they are genuine within 30 days of filing, otherwise the land registry office stops the proceedings or returns the document (Section 7(2) of Act No. 256/2013 Coll.). Treat a certified signature as a must.

• At a Czech embassy or consulate: the diplomatic mission performs legalisation, i.e. certification of your signature (Section 18(3) of Act No. 150/2017 Coll.). Book an appointment in advance.
• At a local notary: a document issued by a notary abroad that counts as a public document there has the evidential force of a public document in Czechia too, if it bears the prescribed certification (Section 12(1) of Act No. 91/2012 Coll.). Which one, for example an apostille, depends on the country where you sign. Find out before you go to the notary.
• A party submits a document in a foreign language in the original together with an officially certified Czech translation, unless the authority says it does not require one (Section 16(2) of Act No. 500/2004 Coll.). A power of attorney written in Czech or in two languages causes the fewest problems.

3. Land registry: a foreign address and at least 20 days

• For a foreign national, the application for entry (návrh na vklad) states the address of residence abroad (Section 14(1) of Act No. 256/2013 Coll.).
• The land registry office sends you a notice to this address or to your data box that a change concerning the flat is pending. On request, it also notifies you by e-mail or text message (Section 16(1) of Act No. 256/2013 Coll.).
• The office allows the entry no earlier than 20 days after sending this notice (Section 18(1) of Act No. 256/2013 Coll.). The buyer becomes the owner only upon entry in the land registry (Section 1105 OZ).
• If a representative acts for you, the land registry office also informs you directly once the entry is made (Section 18(3) of Act No. 256/2013 Coll.).

4. Money and documents from a distance

• The safe way is to place the purchase price in escrow (úschova) with a lawyer, a notary or a bank, released after the buyer is entered in the land registry. An estate agent may not offer escrow or arrange it with anyone other than a bank, a notary, a lawyer or a court bailiff (Section 4(1) of Act No. 39/2020 Coll.).
• You give the buyer a confirmation from the owners’ association (SVJ) of any debts for building management and services. With your consent, the SVJ also issues it to the buyer (Section 1186(3) OZ). Debts the buyer could have found out pass to the buyer, and you remain liable for them as guarantor (Section 1186(2) OZ). Ask for the confirmation by e-mail well in advance.
• Request the energy performance certificate (PENB) from the SVJ. You show it to the buyer before the contracts are concluded and hand it over at the latest when the purchase contract is signed (Section 7a(3) of Act No. 406/2000 Coll.).
• Under the anti-money-laundering act, the estate agency must identify you (Section 7 and Section 8 of Act No. 253/2008 Coll.). Agree in advance how this will work while you are outside Czechia.

5. Tax once you no longer live in Czechia

• A tax non-resident pays Czech tax on income from Czech sources, which includes income from transferring real estate located in Czechia (Section 2(3) and Section 22(1) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll.).
• The residence exemption requires that you lived in the flat immediately before the sale (Section 4(1) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., letter a). If you have already moved away, this condition may not be met.
• Two routes to the exemption remain: more than 10 years pass between acquisition and sale, or you use the money for your own housing needs (Section 4(1) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., letter b). For a flat acquired before 1 January 2021 the test is 5 years (Act No. 386/2020 Coll., Article IV point 2). Exceptions, for example for business assets, are explained in our article on tax on selling a flat or house.
• If you are not a tax resident of an EU or EEA state, a buyer resident or seated in Czechia must withhold a 10% tax security from the price (Section 38c(1) and Section 38e(1) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll.). The amount is transferred to your personal tax account. If you do not file a tax return, the tax office may treat it as your tax (Section 38e(7) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll.).
• By law, the tax security concerns taxable income. Discuss how to proceed with an exempt sale with a tax adviser before the purchase contract is signed.

This article is general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Updated 21 Oct 2026 in line with the laws in force. — 777 PRODUCTION s.r.o.