Legal Q&A · 11

Ownership, Land & Lease — questions and answers.

33 answered questions on a subject we work on. Find related services in the catalogue: Ownership, Land & Lease.

Answered by , Czech and Slovak attorney, admitted to the Slovak and Czech Bars (SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654).

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Questions about Ownership, Land & Lease

  1. Is authorisation of an easement agreement by a lawyer sufficient, or do we need an officially certified signature? It is not sufficient for a standalone easement agreement. Authorisation by a lawyer replaces signature certification only for an agreement transferring real estate. When an easement is created, the signature of the burdened party must therefore be officially certified, unless a party is, for example, a municipality or a state authority, and the land registry will review the agreement in full within 30 days. If the easement forms part of a transfer agreement, for example a gift with a lifetime right of use, ÚGKK did not require certification in its earlier interpretation from 2009.
  2. Is a creditor’s written waiver sufficient to have a security interest removed? Yes, if it is a unilateral written declaration by the creditor waiving the security interest. The security interest is thereby extinguished, and according to ÚGKK’s interpretation, the cadastre records its removal by a declaratory entry. If the parties instead conclude an agreement to discharge the security interest, this is a contract and its removal is effected by constitutive registration. Waiving the security interest does not extinguish the debt; it extinguishes only the security for it.
  3. We are selling a property with payment in instalments. Can we take a security interest over it? Yes, but the security provider must be the buyer, not the seller. A security interest may also be granted over property that the security provider will acquire in the future, and it arises when the buyer becomes the owner. ÚGKK confirms that the cadastre may approve both registrations if the purchase agreement and security agreement are contained in a single document and a single application seeks registration of both ownership and the security interest. According to ÚGKK, an agreement under which the seller grants security over their own property in their own favour cannot be registered.
  4. How can we buy out our neighbour's right-of-way easement over our land? By entering into an agreement terminating the easement with your neighbour as the beneficiary and agreeing compensation in that agreement. The easement ends only when the agreement is registered in the Land Register. Signing it or paying compensation alone is not sufficient. According to ÚGKK, no new survey plan is needed if the easement is being terminated over the entire registered route. If it is being terminated over only part of the route, you will need one. Under ÚGKK's interpretation, a buyout for a predetermined amount can be agreed in the agreement creating the easement.
  5. The lease of our land has ended, but it is still listed on the ownership record. How do we have it removed? By applying for its removal and enclosing a document proving that the lease has ended, such as an agreement with the tenant or the tenant’s written confirmation. According to ÚGKK, the cadastre will not automatically remove a lease registered on the basis of a contract merely because the agreed term has expired. Before applying, check whether the lease has been renewed by operation of law or converted into a lease for an indefinite term. If the tenant refuses to cooperate, the court will decide.
  6. A house should have formed part of the estate, but someone else is registered as its owner. How can we bring it into the estate? First, bring an action for a declaration that the property belonged to the deceased at the date of death or that it forms part of the estate. All heirs should be parties to the proceedings, as claimants or defendants, together with the registered owner. If the judgment is binding on the registered owner, ÚGKK’s position is that the land registry will enter the deceased as owner by a declaratory entry. The court, acting through a notary, will then deal with the property in inheritance proceedings. If those proceedings have already concluded, it will deal with the property in supplementary proceedings.
  7. Can a foreign national from outside the EU buy agricultural land in Slovakia? They cannot buy it or receive it as a gift if they come from a state that does not allow Slovaks to acquire agricultural land and no exception applies to them. The prohibition does not apply to EU or EEA states, Switzerland or states covered by an international treaty to that effect, their citizens, or persons resident or having their registered office in those states. In 2024, ÚGKK concluded that reciprocity was absent for the United Kingdom, Russia and Ukraine. The prohibition does not cover inheritance or land that the Act does not classify as agricultural, such as a garden or land within a municipality’s built-up area.
  8. Our house or garage stands on land administered by the Slovak Land Fund. Can we buy the land? Generally, yes. However, the law merely permits a sale and gives you no entitlement to one. The Slovak Land Fund may sell both state-owned land and land belonging to an unidentified owner to regularise ownership of land occupied by another owner's building and adjacent land forming a functional unit with it. For land belonging to an unidentified owner, the adjacent land must also have been used by the building's owner over a long period. The sale price must be at least the price determined under the applicable pricing regulation, and the transfer is considered by the Fund's Council. The first step is to check the title sheet to establish who owns the land and whether the building is registered in your name.
  9. Part of our house or our fence stands on our neighbour's land. Can the neighbour demand that we demolish it? Yes, your neighbour may ask the court to order you to remove the encroaching structure at your own expense. The court will order removal only if it is appropriate. Otherwise, it may transfer ownership of the structure to the neighbour for compensation, if the neighbour consents, or resolve the parties' legal relationship in another way, particularly by creating an easement for compensation. The neighbour may also seek monetary compensation for your use of their land to date.
  10. The tenant left the apartment damaged when they moved out. How long do I have to claim compensation? You must bring a claim in court for damage to or excessive wear and tear of the apartment within 6 months of its return; otherwise, the claim is extinguished. The period runs from the handover of the apartment, not from discovery of the damage, and demands or negotiations with the tenant do not stop it. The court takes expiry of the period into account even if the tenant does not raise it. The tenant is not liable for ordinary wear and tear consistent with the agreed use.
  11. The tenant has not paid for months and refuses to leave. Can I change the locks or disconnect the utilities? No. While the lease remains in force, you must not prevent the tenant from using the apartment or deny them utility supplies, whether in Slovakia or Czechia. Changing the locks may constitute a criminal offence, and the tenant may seek both restoration of access to the apartment and damages. Non-payment is, however, a ground for terminating the lease by notice, and both rent arrears and recovery of possession of the apartment can be pursued through the courts.
  12. I want to let my apartment through Airbnb. Can the other owners in the building prohibit this? In our interpretation, the other owners cannot prohibit you from providing short-term accommodation in your apartment by voting at a meeting. The Slovak Apartment Ownership Act does not expressly give them that power, and the Czech Supreme Court has held that an owners’ association cannot restrict owners’ use of their apartments through its articles of association. However, you are responsible for your guests’ behaviour, and neighbours may seek protection in court if disturbances persist. Short-term accommodation is generally not a tenancy and entails additional obligations, including, in Slovakia, local accommodation tax if the municipality has introduced it.
  13. We have invested a substantial amount in our leased business premises. Will we recover anything when the lease ends? You may recover something only if the landlord consented to the alterations. If the landlord undertook to reimburse their cost, you can generally claim those costs after the lease ends, less depreciation through use. If the landlord merely consented, you are entitled to compensation for the increase in the value of the premises. You must remove alterations made without consent at your own expense when the lease ends. The claim is against whoever is the landlord on the date the lease ends, and it is subject to a limitation period.
  14. Part of our land is being expropriated for a road. What happens to compensation and encumbrances? On the date the decision becomes final, ownership passes to the expropriating party and security rights, including enforcement and tax security rights, easements other than statutory easements, rights of pre-emption with proprietary effect and the land tenancy end. The Land Register deletes these rights. If you disagree with the compensation amount, you must bring a claim within 30 days of finality, and a missed deadline cannot be excused.
  15. Our company is buying agricultural land. What restrictions apply today? The familiar restrictions, mandatory publication of an offer, three years of farming in the municipality and priority for local buyers, no longer apply. In judgment PL. ÚS 20/2014 of 14 November 2018, the Constitutional Court declared them unconstitutional, and the Act no longer contains them. Obstacles remain, however: pre-emption rights, common-property rules and whether the plot qualifies as agricultural land under the Act.
  16. We are selling a share in an urbarial land community. Must we offer it to the other shareholders first? Yes, when transferring to a third party. The Land Communities Act requires the owner of a share to offer it to the other owners of shares in the common property; the offer may be made through the committee. Only if they express no interest may the share be transferred to a third party. The general right of pre-emption does not apply to transfers between co-owners. Transferring a share in only some of the plots forming common property is prohibited altogether.
  17. An investor wants to buy building land from an urbarial land community. What is the procedure? Through a resolution of the assembly, not through individual shareholders. A newly created plot may be separated from land forming common property only on the basis of a decision by the co-owners at the assembly, and the separated part ceases to be common property only upon registration in the Land Register. The law prohibits transferring a share in only some of the plots forming common property, so bypassing the assembly by approaching shareholders directly will not lead to a valid registration.
  18. We are creating an easement for utilities. How should it be surveyed? The scope of each right must be definite. If an easement burdens only part of a plot, that part must be delineated by a survey plan. Installation of a utility may be limited to a surveyed strip, while access for maintenance may cover the whole clearly identified plot. That difference is not in itself a defect: the agreement must clearly distinguish the individual rights and define their spatial and substantive scope.
  19. We are dividing land using a survey plan. Do all co-owners need to consent? It depends on what the survey plan is intended to achieve. The plan itself is a technical document and recording it does not change rights. However, if it creates a new parcel from parts subject to different legal interests, it can be recorded only together with registration of ownership of all those parts. A legal act is then needed, and all co-owners are jointly and severally entitled and bound by legal acts concerning the jointly owned property.
  20. A co-owner refuses to sell. Can co-ownership be ended against their wishes? Yes. If no agreement is reached, the court terminates and settles co-ownership on the application of any co-owner. It follows an order: first it considers whether the property can feasibly be divided; if not, it awards the property to one or more co-owners against reasonable compensation; if nobody wants it, it orders a sale and divides the proceeds according to shares. An agreement terminating and settling co-ownership of immovable property must be in writing.
  21. A co-ownership share is mortgaged. Can the co-ownership still be settled? Yes, but settlement does not remove the encumbrances. The law expressly states that ending and settling co-ownership cannot prejudice persons holding rights over the property. The bank’s mortgage therefore does not disappear on settlement and continues to burden the property given as security. It must be dealt with separately with the creditor, usually before signing the agreement.
  22. We each own half a house. Can it be divided into two separate flats? Yes, if the building’s technical layout allows it. Undivided shares in the whole house are replaced by separate flats, each carrying a co-ownership share in the common parts, facilities and land. The agreement must meet the requirements of the Flat Ownership Act, and ownership is acquired only upon registration in the Land Register. A house with no more than three flats is also exempt from the obligation to arrange building management.
  23. We are creating an easement over land with several co-owners. Who has to sign? All co-owners. An easement is created by agreement by the owner of the property, and all co-owners are jointly and severally entitled and bound by legal acts concerning jointly owned property. A majority decision, sufficient for managing jointly owned property, is not enough here. Only one agreement may be attached to a registration application, so splitting the arrangement into separate agreements with individual co-owners complicates the proceedings.
  24. Two title sheets name different owners of the same land. How is this resolved? It depends on the duplication. If the entries are merely technically duplicated and both sheets show the same owners, the cadastre reconciles them through a correction record. If different people claim the land, all affected parties must agree a solution for registration, or ownership must be determined in court. The cadastre never chooses for itself which title sheet is correct.
  25. An old lifetime use easement remains on the title record. How do we remove it? It depends on whether the easement still legally exists. Lifetime use is a personal right and ends no later than the beneficiary’s death; an application for an entry by record supported by a death certificate is then sufficient. While the beneficiary is alive, the easement continues even without actual use and can generally be removed only by an agreement terminating it, registered in the Land Register by a constitutive entry.
  26. The land has no title sheet. Who owns it, and how can I acquire it? Land without a title sheet still has an owner. Unregistered land formerly held as public property passed to municipalities within built-up areas and remained state-owned outside them, administered by the Slovak Land Fund. The Fund only administers land of unidentified owners. Ownership can be acquired or resolved by purchase from the municipality or state, proving title in court or confirmation of acquisitive prescription.
  27. We want to divide land among our children. When will the Land Register refuse subdivision under the anti-fragmentation rules? The Land Register refuses registration if subdivision outside a municipality’s built-up area would create agricultural land smaller than 3,000 m² or forest land smaller than 5,000 m². A state levy applies to parts above those minimums but below 20,000 m². Dividing land among children therefore depends on designing compliant parts, using statutory exceptions, or one child taking the land and paying out the others.
  28. A cooperative farms our land without an agreement. How do we get it back for our own use? If the land is used without an agreement, serve the cooperative with a written demand for its return. It must return it within 30 days after harvesting, or by year-end if no crop was planted. If the land is inaccessible or cannot be used rationally, as is typical for shares in the middle of a cultivated field, request allocation of substitute subleased land under Section 12a. If the cooperative does not conclude an agreement within 60 days, the district office decides on creation of the sublease. Beware of inaction: an owner’s silence can create both a tenancy and a right of use.
  29. What rent should we receive for agricultural land, and what is the usual rent figure? For agricultural land leased to a business, the statutory minimum is 3% of its officially assessed value. The usual rent figure reflects local prices: district offices publish the average of actual agreed rents for each cadastral area by 30 June annually, in euros per hectare. This official figure supports negotiations on a new lease and unjust enrichment calculations where land is used without an agreement.
  30. The tenant keeps using the premises after the lease ends. Why must I act quickly to recover possession? Under the general lease rule in Section 676(2), continued use may renew the agreement unless the landlord applies to court for the return of the asset or possession within 30 days. Demands are insufficient, but the parties may exclude this renewal in the agreement. The statutory rule does not apply to residential leases; according to the Slovak Supreme Court, it also does not apply to fixed-term leases of non-residential premises under Act No. 116/1990 Coll. The type of lease and the terms of the agreement must therefore be determined first.
  31. We let out a family house. Do the same notice rules apply as for a flat? No. The protected regime with statutory grounds for notice, alternative accommodation and an action challenging the validity of notice applies to renting a flat. If the tenancy covers a family house as a whole, the general lease rules apply: notice needs no statutory ground, an indefinite tenancy has a three-month notice period, and there is no entitlement to alternative accommodation. Watch for renewal, however: if the tenant continues using the house after the tenancy ends and the landlord does not bring an eviction claim within 30 days, the tenancy renews. The first step in any dispute is therefore to establish precisely what was let.
  32. What is a short-term flat tenancy, and why is it more favourable for landlords? Under Act No. 98/2014 Coll., a short-term flat tenancy is fixed for up to two years and may be extended twice, to six years overall. It offers landlords agreed termination grounds, notice as short as fifteen days, no substitute housing and a shorter deadline to challenge termination without suspending its effect. A written agreement with all required terms is essential. Key benefits are lost without proof of the landlord’s tax registration.
  33. We are creating an easement. When should it benefit a person and when should it benefit land? It depends on whom the right is meant to serve. Access, vehicle passage and utilities should benefit whoever owns the land: they are created for the benefit of property (in rem) and pass to later acquirers. A lifetime right of residence serves a specific person: it is created for that person (in personam) and ends no later than their death. Both types arise only upon registration in the Land Register, and choosing the wrong one is difficult to put right later.

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