A flat inherited from parents that none of the siblings needs, or a house in which neither partner lives after they have separated, is often offered to let. With a single owner the matter is simple: the owner signs the lease and the rent belongs to that owner. With co-ownership in shares, every step comes with the question who decides on it and who has to sign it. A mistake does not show up at once, but only in the first dispute, when one of the co-owners objects that he did not agree to the lease, or when the tenant has to be given notice.
Two rules in a single section
The Civil Code distinguishes two situations:
(1) All co-owners are jointly and severally entitled and obliged under legal acts concerning the common property.
(2) Co-owners decide on the management of the common property by a majority calculated according to the size of their shares. In the event of a tie, or if no majority or agreement is reached, the court decides on the application of any co-owner.
— Section 139(1) and (2) of Act No. 40/1964 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
The majority is calculated by shares, not by the number of people. A co-owner with two thirds outvotes two siblings with one sixth each; where two co-owners each hold a half, no majority can ever arise and, failing agreement, the court must decide. Where an important change to the common property is involved, outvoted co-owners may request the court to decide on it (Section 139(3)).
Who should sign the lease
The decision to let a flat or a house may be management of the common property, for which a majority suffices. The lease itself, however, is a legal act concerning the common property, under which all co-owners are entitled and obliged pursuant to the first subsection. Both the landlords and the tenant are therefore best protected by a lease signed by all the co-owners. Where that is not practicable, for instance because one of them lives abroad, the lease should be signed by the majority and accompanied by the written decision of the majority and by a power of attorney making clear who is acting for the landlords.
The same applies to everything that follows from the lease later on: taking a deposit, increasing the rent, consenting to a sublease and, above all, giving notice. The lease should designate one co-owner or an administrator who receives documents on behalf of all and deals with the tenant. Without this, the tenant may argue that notice was given by only one of several landlords. With a flat, the choice of regime also matters. A short-term lease under Act No. 98/2014 Coll. is subject to strict formal conditions, and compliance with them must be secured for everyone acting as landlord; the details are set out in the question on short-term leases of flats.
How the rent and the costs are divided
A share expresses the extent to which the co-owners participate in the rights and obligations relating to the common property (Section 137(1)). Unless they agree otherwise, the rent belongs to them in proportion to their shares, and in the same proportion they bear the costs of repairs, contributions to the operation, maintenance and repair fund, and insurance. In practice it works well for the tenant to pay into a single account, with the co-owners agreeing in writing who administers it, when the proceeds are distributed and how the costs are deducted. If one co-owner collects the whole rent and does not distribute it, the others may claim their share.
The position is similar where, instead of being let, the flat is used by one of the co-owners. A co-owner excluded from use without agreement may claim monetary compensation for the part corresponding to his share; the amount is usually derived in such disputes from the rent a tenant would pay for comparable premises in that place and at that time.
When the co-owners disagree
Where there is deadlock, each co-owner has the right to ask the court to decide on the management of the property (Section 139(2)). The court’s decision, however, concerns only the specific management question on which the co-owners disagreed. A co-owner who does not wish to remain in co-ownership may sell his share, subject to the pre-emption right of the others (Section 140), or seek the dissolution and settlement of the co-ownership, which the court carries out where there is disagreement (Section 142). The court may award the flat to one co-owner against compensation or order its sale; the procedure is described in the question on dissolving co-ownership against a co-owner’s will.
A change in the circle of co-owners does not terminate an existing lease. An acquirer of a share, as of the whole property, steps into the position of landlord, and only the tenant may terminate the lease on account of the change of ownership of the property itself (Section 680(2) and (3)). Anyone buying a share in a let flat buys it together with the tenant; what follows from that is discussed in the article on buying a let flat.
How this will work under the new Civil Code
On 1 October 2026, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved the new Slovak Civil Code, which will take effect on 1 July 2027. The co-owners’ votes will still be counted according to the size of their shares, and the rent will be divided in proportion to them. The co-owners will be bound jointly and severally by legal acts concerning the common property, so the recommendation that all of them sign the lease continues to apply. New rules will, however, be added:
- Ordinary management will be decided by a majority of votes, and extraordinary management, that is, significant matters, by at least two thirds of the votes of all co-owners. The Act does not specify where letting belongs. In the case of a long-term lease, it cannot be ruled out that it will be extraordinary management.
- A decision will bind everyone only if all co-owners were notified of the need to decide, except in urgent matters.
- An outvoted co-owner will be able to turn to the court in matters of extraordinary management always, and in matters of ordinary management only if the decision threatens them with substantial damage, in each case within thirty days of the decision being adopted. The court may set the decision aside or change it and determine that a lease to be concluded on its basis is not effective against that co-owner.
- Each co-owner will be entitled to an account of how the common property, and thus also the rent, has been dealt with.
The Act on short-term tenancy of flats is being repealed. A new lease of a flat for three months or longer will be governed by the rules on leases of flats in the Civil Code. From 1 July 2027, the rules on management of common property will also apply to co-ownership that arose earlier. A lease concluded by 30 June 2027 will continue to be governed by the existing legislation.
In the co-owners’ written agreement on management, therefore, also set out how you will notify one another and vote (addresses, email, time limit for replies) and how often the rent will be accounted for.
Status as of 22 October 2026: the act has been approved and was signed by the President on 20 October 2026, but has not yet been promulgated in the Collection of Laws. Until 30 June 2027, the rules described above in this article apply.
How to set it up
Before the lease is signed, we recommend that the co-owners conclude a short written agreement on management: who decides on the choice of tenant, who acts for the landlords, how the proceeds and costs are divided, and what happens if someone wishes to sell a share. We prepare the lease for co-owners as part of our lease of a flat or house service. If joint management is not working and parting ways is the answer, we help with the settlement of co-ownership in shares.
This article provides general legal information as at 22 October 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.
