Taking meter readings in a Prague rental

The landlord hands you the keys, the sun is out and you want to unpack. The last thing on your mind is a grey box in the corridor with numbers on it. Yet that box is the starting line for every bill you will ever get from the flat. Read it, photograph it and write it down while nobody can argue about it.

This guide goes deeper than our general move-in checklist. It is about the meters themselves.

Which meters a Prague flat usually has

Not every flat has all of these, and the lease should say which apply.

• Electricity. A meter inside the flat or in a shared cabinet in the corridor or cellar. Digital ones show the reading on a small screen, sometimes with two tariffs (high and low).
• Gas. Where a flat has a gas boiler or hob, there is a separate gas meter, often near the boiler or in a cabinet.
• Cold and hot water. Two small meters, often with blue (cold) and red (hot) markings, under the sink, in the bathroom or in a shaft. Read each one.
• Heat. Flats on district heating may have a heat meter or radiator allocators, which are small devices that measure each radiator's use. These are read by a billing company once a year.

If you cannot find a meter, ask the landlord to show you. A missing or unreadable one is a reason to write down that fact in the protocol, not to guess.

How to read them

A water meter shows cubic metres, one of which is a thousand litres. Gas meters also read in cubic metres, which the supplier then converts to energy on the bill. Electricity is in kilowatt-hours. Do not try to convert anything yourself on the day.

Who needs the figures

The protocol (předávací protokol) records what you read, and the landlord keeps a copy. The numbers are then used in two ways.

For electricity and gas, the supplier needs a start reading when the contract moves into your name. Normally you sign a new contract with a supplier, or you take over the existing one; either way the old tenant's contract ends on the day you move in. Suppliers send the bill to the person named on the contract, so a missing transfer means the previous tenant gets your bill, or you get theirs. The Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) explains consumers' rights when changing supplier.

For water and heating, the services are usually billed through the landlord or the owners' association as monthly advances, then settled once a year in a statement (vyúčtování). Your readings at the start give the landlord a clear dividing line between you and the previous tenant. Our guide to who pays what in a Prague rental explains how the advances work.

Mistakes that cost money

Reading only the last digits. A photo that cuts off the first digit proves nothing.

Forgetting the second water meter. Hot and cold water are billed separately, and the hot one costs more because it includes heating.

No transfer of the energy contract. The flat keeps drawing power and the bill goes to someone else. That's a fine mess when you leave.

Trusting the estimate. If a supplier asks for an estimated reading or sets an advance from a guess, give them the real figure. A bill built from an invented number turns into a large correction later.

Skipping the exit reading. On your last day, repeat the whole exercise with the landlord. Our guide to ending a rental in Prague shows how the final handover ties into your deposit.

When the numbers do not add up

Sometimes a final statement looks wrong: the heating cost doubled, or the water use looks like a swimming pool. Ask the landlord for the meter readings and the documents behind the statement. Compare them with your own photos. If the dispute is about how costs were split in a building, ask a tenant adviser or a lawyer before you pay or refuse. For a consumer dispute with a supplier, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) and the ERÚ handle complaints in their areas. Keep copies of everything.

You can also read the electricity and gas meters yourself a month into the tenancy and compare with the supplier's first statement, which catches a wrong starting figure while it's still easy to fix. If you plan to rent a new-build flat, you may find smart or remote-read meters, and the landlord or manager can explain how those report to the supplier.

Older buildings and shared cabinets

In older blocks the electricity meters often sit together in a cabinet on the landing or in the cellar, and the cabinet may be locked. Ask the landlord for the key or for the name of the person who has it, and check that the meter you are reading is the one with your flat's number on it. Neighbouring meters look identical, and photographing the wrong one is an easy mistake.

Mechanical meters with a row of rotating dials are read left to right, and the last dial is often a different colour. Digital ones may cycle through several screens, so press the button until you find the total in kilowatt-hours. Never touch the seals on a meter. A broken seal is treated as tampering, and the bill can be estimated against you.

If a radiator has an allocator, do not remove it or cover it. If a meter looks damaged, loose or stopped, say so in the protocol on the day you move in, with a photo, so the problem cannot be blamed on you later.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to read the meters myself?

On move-in and move-out you should, together with the landlord. Between those dates, suppliers and billing firms read or ask for readings on their own schedule.

What if the previous tenant's contract is still running?

Ask the landlord to confirm who ended it. You need your own contract from the day you move in, backed by your start reading.

Are heat allocators the same as meters?

No. Allocators measure relative use on each radiator, and a billing firm turns that into costs. You usually cannot read a useful figure from them yourself.

Can the landlord charge me for repairs to a faulty meter?

A meter that fails through normal use is usually the owner's matter. Check the lease and ask for the cause in writing.

Next move-in day, read the meters before the boxes come in.