Taking on a property is the moment when the agency accepts it into its portfolio, photographs it and prepares the listing. If an obstacle comes to light only when the purchase agreement is being drafted, or at the Land Register, the transaction stalls: the reservation is cancelled, the fee is refunded, the buyer loses their mortgage deadline and the agency is dealing with dissatisfied clients on both sides. A large proportion of such obstacles can be discovered before the property appears in the portfolio at all.
Why this is the agency’s duty
Where the agency’s client is an entrepreneur, the Commercial Code imposes an express duty of information on the broker:
The broker is obliged to notify the principal without undue delay of circumstances important for the principal’s decision on concluding the brokered contract, and the principal is obliged to notify the broker of facts that are of decisive significance for them in concluding that contract.
— Section 643 of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Where the client is a consumer, the agency as a trader must provide the service in a safe manner and with professional care (Section 4(1)(i) of Act No. 108/2024 Coll.). An agent who offers a property without having looked at who may sell it and what encumbers it will struggle to justify that care. The parties will in any event learn of the obstacle, because before approving registration the Land Register examines whether the transferor is entitled to dispose of the property and whether that right of disposal is not restricted (Section 31(1) of Act No. 162/1995 Coll.).
What to check on the title deed straight away
A current title deed has three parts and each answers a different question when taking the property on; their content is explained in detail in what can be read from a title deed.
Part A: what is actually being sold. The details in the contract must match the Land Register: land by parcel numbers, buildings by registration number and parcel, and for a flat, the flat number, floor, entrance and share in the common parts and in the land (Section 42(2)(c)). Compare them with reality during the viewing. A garage, an extension or a cellar not on the title deed is dealt with before the listing goes out, as shown in buildings not on the title deed when selling; what exactly goes with a flat is explained in what am I buying together with the flat.
Part B: who must sign. Where there is co-ownership, all must sell, or, when selling a share, the pre-emption right of the other co-owners must be respected unless the transfer is to a close person (Section 140 of the Civil Code). Where the property is in the undivided co-ownership of spouses, a sale is not an ordinary matter and requires the consent of both (Section 145(1)). If the agency reckons only with the signature of one of the spouses, or only of some of the co-owners, it endangers both the validity of the contract and approval of the registration; the details are examined in a spouse’s consent to a sale and co-owners’ pre-emption right.
Part C and the notes: what encumbers the property. A bank’s charge can be dealt with on a sale, but the buyer must know in advance how; the procedure is described in the article on buying a flat with the seller’s mortgage. An enforcement charge or a prohibition on disposal may block the sale, and where the right of disposal is restricted the Land Register suspends the registration proceedings (Section 31a(e) and (f)); see selling a property subject to enforcement. Attention is also due to notes on the title deed and to the pending-entry marker, which means that other proceedings concerning the property are under way.
What the title deed does not show
A title deed shows the current state of the entries. It does not show on the basis of which instrument the owner acquired the property and whether the acquisition title will stand, who uses the property and under what contract, or debts owed to the building manager. For a flat, therefore, request the manager’s confirmation of arrears in good time, because it is a statutory annex to the contract, as explained in the manager’s confirmation when selling a flat. If the property has been declared a cultural monument, you must reckon with the duty to offer it first to the state, which is described in selling a cultural monument.
Where the agent ends and the legal check begins
The agent establishes facts: obtains the title deed, compares it with reality, asks the owner questions and records the answers. Assessing whether an obstacle can be removed, how to deal with it in the contract and whether the title will stand is already legal analysis and legal advice, and where it is done systematically and for a fee, it constitutes legal services provided by lawyers (Section 1(2) and paragraph (3) of Act No. 586/2003 Coll.). The line between an agent’s service and a legal service in contract matters is examined in may an estate agency draw up contracts.
A simple rule may serve agencies: what can be verified in a register, the agent verifies; what needs to be evaluated goes to the lawyer. Signals to hand the matter over are an encumbrance that must be deleted before the transfer, a co-owner or spouse who does not want to sign, a seller who acquired the property recently or on an unusual title, a selling company, land designated for development, or a tenant who is staying in the property.
How we can help
For agents we prepare an internal listing intake checklist tailored to your typical transactions and teach them how to work with it, as part of agent training and internal checklists. When the checklist reveals a problem, we check the property in depth as part of a legal property check and reflect the findings in the transaction contracts as part of legal services for estate agencies.
This article provides general legal information as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or advice on your specific matter. Laws change and the details of your situation may differ. Check the appropriate course of action or contact us before making a decision.
