Ending a rental in Prague: notice, deposit and handover

Most tenants spend a week choosing a flat and a minute reading how to leave it. Then the keys go back and the deposit finds out what it is worth. Three things decide how that goes: when your notice lands, what the protocol says and how well you kept your paperwork.

Notice: the clock that surprises people

Tenancy notice does not work like employment notice. For an open-ended lease, a tenant may end it without a reason. The period is three months and it starts on the first day of the month after the notice is delivered (§ 2286 of the Civil Code). The landlord, by contrast, can end an open-ended lease only on the grounds listed in the law (§ 2288), also with three months' notice, and the notice must tell you that you can object to a court within two months.

A hypothetical example. You deliver written notice on 12 January. The period begins on 1 February and runs for three months, so the lease ends on 30 April. Deliver it on 2 February instead and it begins on 1 March and ends on 31 May. A week's delay costs a month's rent.

Fixed-term leases end on the date named, and you cannot normally leave early without the landlord's agreement or a legal reason. If you need to go, ask for a written agreement to end the lease and negotiate the date. Read the termination clause in your contract before you start the conversation.

Delivery is where notices go wrong. Send yours in a way you can prove: a registered letter, a data box (datová schránka) message or a signed copy handed over. A message the landlord says never arrived is not a notice. Check whether your lease sets delivery rules of its own.

The deposit

The deposit (jistota) is capped at three months' rent. At the end of the lease the landlord returns it with at least statutory interest, less claims for unpaid rent or services or for damage beyond normal wear (§ 2254). The law sets no fixed number of days, and many leases name a period, so check yours.

Normal wear is not damage. Faded paint after three years, small marks on a floor and a tired sofa are what living in a flat looks like. A hole in a door, a burn on a worktop or a smashed window is damage.

Handover day

Your move-in checklist is the first half of this one. The signed protocol from day one is what proves the flat's condition. Without it, an argument rests on memory.

Closing the accounts

Tell your electricity and gas supplier the end date and the final reading, and ask them to close the contract. Cancel internet and anything else in your name. If you reported your address, update it: an EU citizen reports a new place of stay as the rules require, and a permit holder reports an address change to the Ministry of the Interior (OAMP), not the police (as of 2026; check mvcr.cz). Water and heating advances are settled in the landlord's annual statement, so ask when to expect it and leave a forwarding address. The mechanics are in who pays what in a Prague rental.

If the deposit does not come back

Write to the landlord, politely, asking for the money and for the reasons for any deduction, with a date. Keep the protocol, photos and bank records together. If nothing happens, a formal demand letter is the next step and a court claim the last. A dispute with a private landlord is a civil matter, so a lawyer or tenant adviser is usually the sensible call; our guide to finding an English-speaking lawyer helps.

Moving to another flat in the city? Moving within Prague covers the overlap.

Mistakes that cost money

The commonest is late notice. Because the clock starts on the first of the next month, a letter delivered on the second costs an extra month. Send it early and prove delivery.

The second is leaving without a protocol. With no signed record, the landlord's description is the only one on paper.

The third is announcing that the last month's rent comes out of the deposit. The deposit is a guarantee, not a prepayment, and a landlord can treat unpaid rent as a breach.

The fourth is forgetting the small things: the cellar key, the internet contract, a forwarding address and an account number for the refund. Write a checklist with a date beside each line.

Frequently asked questions

Can a tenant end a lease at any time?

For an open-ended lease, yes, with three months' notice that starts on the first day of the next month. Fixed-term leases need the landlord's agreement or a legal reason.

How soon must the deposit be returned?

The law sets no fixed number of days. Check your lease for a stated period.

Can the landlord keep the deposit for repainting?

Not for normal wear and tear. Damage beyond that can justify a deduction, backed by evidence.

Who can I ask for advice?

A lawyer, or the Ministry of Regional Development's housing information. This page cannot advise on your case.

Keep every email and photo for a year after the lease ends. It costs nothing and it is the cheapest insurance in renting.

This is a general explainer, not legal or tax advice.