Glossary
Glossary of Czech property, land register and zoning terms
Plain explanations of terms you meet in Czech property listings, the land register and property websites by nmvt - what they mean, how to read them and where to check them.
179 terms
0-9
- 3+kkA flat or house with three rooms, one of which - usually the living room - includes a kitchenette. There is no separate kitchen.
- 4+kkA flat or house with four rooms, one of which - usually the living room - includes a kitchenette. A common layout for family houses.
- 4G/5G coverageAn estimate of mobile signal strength at a location, calculated by the Czech telecoms regulator. A calculation, not a measurement.
A
- Above-ground floor (NP)A storey above ground, counted from the ground floor: 1st NP is the ground floor, 2nd NP the first floor. Plans, RÚIAN and zoning use NP.
- Accuracy classA number 1-5 for how precisely a network's position is known in the digital technical map (1 = centimetres). Class 9 = worse than 0.5 m or unknown.
- Active zoneThe part of a flood zone where floodwater is most dangerous. The Czech Water Act bans new buildings and fences there, with few exceptions.
- Agent's duty to discloseAn agent must tell a client buying or renting about defects and restrictions in public registers and any they knew or should have known of.
- Agreement on a future contractA contract obliging a party to conclude another contract later, typically a purchase. Without an agreed deadline the duty lasts one year.
- Apartment buildingA residential building in which more than half of the floor area is used for housing. Unlike a family house, it has no limit on flats or storeys.
- Arable landRegularly cultivated fields - a land type in the Czech land register and a crop category in LPIS. Near a house: open views, but dust and spraying.
B
- BH zoneZoning-plan code for multi-family housing, mainly apartment buildings with local amenities. Conditions and height are set by each municipality's plan.
- BI zoneZoning-plan code for individual housing, mainly family houses. Height, plot coverage and other conditions are set by each municipality's plan.
- Boundary accuracyČÚZK data on how precisely parcel boundaries are surveyed. Boundaries taken from 19th-century maps can be off by metres.
- Boundary stakingA surveyor marks a plot's boundary points on site according to the land register. Useful before buying, building a fence or in a dispute.
- BPEJA five-digit Czech code of farmland quality. It sets the official land price and the soil protection class - it is not a market price.
- Breaker and tariffThe main breaker (e.g. 3×25 A) limits power drawn at once; the distribution tariff (D02d, D57d…) sets the network price. Both are on the bill.
- Brown earthA fertile soil type formed mainly on loess in Czech lowlands and hills. It is among the best agricultural soils in the country.
- Building authorityThe Czech authority that permits buildings and checks their compliance with the zoning plan. It has the final say on how the plan applies to a project.
- Building footprintA building's footprint measured to the outer face of its walls. Not the same as the land type 'built-up area and courtyard' or as usable area.
- Building parcelA parcel recorded as “built-up area and courtyard”: the land under a building plus its yard. Its number is often preceded by “st.”.
- Building permitThe building authority's decision that sites and permits a building. The new Building Act calls it a project permit, replacing two earlier permits.
- Building rightA time-limited right in rem to have a building on someone else's land, for up to 99 years. A separate registered property that includes the building.
- Built-up areaThe built-up part of a municipality, set by the zoning plan or a separate measure. Its boundary follows parcels and affects what may be built.
- Built-up area and courtyardThe land type for a parcel with a building on it, including the yard, driveway and adjoining garden areas. Such a parcel is a building parcel.
- BV zoneZoning-plan code for rural housing: lower density with room for keeping animals and growing for own use. Conditions are set by each local plan.
C
- Cadastral areaThe basic territorial unit of the Czech land register, usually a village or part of a town. Parcel and LV numbers are unique only within one area.
- Cadastral mapThe official map of all parcels and buildings with parcel numbers. Digital almost everywhere, but boundary accuracy depends on the original survey.
- Cadastral officeA branch of the regional cadastral office that keeps the land register for its district: it handles registrations and issues extracts.
- Catchment schoolThe municipal nursery or primary school that must give priority to children from its district, up to capacity. Permanent residence decides.
- CATVFixed internet over the coaxial wiring of a cable TV network, with a cable modem at the user's end.
- Central and district heatingCentral heating has one heat source in the building; district heating (CZT) brings heat from a plant via a network. Costs are split between flats.
- Cesspit and treatment plantWaste water solutions without a sewer. A cesspit only collects water and is emptied; a household plant treats it and discharges it under a permit.
- Change alertsA ČÚZK service that alerts owners by e-mail, SMS or data box when something happens to their property in the land register.
- Children's groupNon-profit childcare from 6 months until school age, outside the nursery school network, for up to 24 children. Registered by the Labour Ministry.
- Chimney inspectionAn expert check of a chimney and flue when built or altered, after a fuel or appliance change or a chimney fire. In between it is cleaned and checked.
- Climate normalsThirty-year averages of temperature and rainfall for 1991-2020, mapped by the Czech weather service. They describe typical climate, not one year.
- Climatic regionThe first digit of the Czech BPEJ soil code. It describes temperature, rainfall and drought on a scale from 0 (very warm, dry) to 9 (cold, wet).
- Co-ownership shareA share in property owned jointly with others, usually shown as a fraction on the LV. For a flat, it is the share in the building's common parts.
- Connecting solar panelsA plant up to 10.8 kW only needs notifying to the distributor; up to 100 kW for own use needs no licence. Distributor maps hint at export.
- Construction typeThe material of a building's load-bearing walls as recorded in RÚIAN, e.g. brick and blocks, stone, wall panels or timber. It hints at age and qualities.
- Cooperative flatA flat owned by a housing cooperative and rented by a member. The buyer acquires a cooperative share, not real estate registered in their name.
Č
D
- Demolition siteA land-use code for a building parcel whose building was demolished or is a ruin. It stays recorded as built-up area and courtyard.
- Development areaAn area a Czech zoning plan designates for new construction. It shows where new buildings may appear in the future, including next to a house.
- Digital technical map (DTM)Each region's digital technical map records utility and transport networks. The DMVS portal gives access; its 'semafor' lists operators in an area.
- DiscrepancyA ČÚZK cadastral map layer showing mismatches between the register and reality left unresolved after a revision, e.g. an unrecorded building.
- DMR 5G and DMP 1GCzech elevation data from ČÚZK. DMR 5G shows bare terrain; the surface model (DMP 1G and its successor) adds buildings and trees.
- Dog feeA local fee for keeping a dog older than 3 months. The municipality sets the rate by ordinance; the law caps it at CZK 1,500 a year.
E
- EasementSomeone else's right over a property, e.g. a cable line, a right of way or a right to live there. It is registered and passes with the property.
- EIAOfficial assessment of how a large project (motorway, railway, industry, big farm) affects the area. It ends in a binding opinion valid for 7 years.
- Electric heatingHeating with electricity - direct or storage heaters, an electric boiler or floor cables. Costs depend mainly on the distribution tariff and breaker.
- Electrical inspectionAn inspection, tests and measurements of an electrical installation by a certified technician, ending in a report on whether it is safe to operate.
- Energy performance certificate (PENB)The Czech energy performance certificate rates a building or flat from A to G. It is required for a sale or rental and the class must be in the listing.
- Entry by recordA type of land register entry for rights derived from ownership, such as the right to manage state property. Unlike registration, it needs no decision.
- EPC class GThe worst EPC class. Agents must also state it when they have not received the certificate, so it may not reflect the building's real consumption.
- EPC classes A-GThe Czech EPC scale from A (extremely efficient) to G (extremely inefficient). Each class compares the building with a same-size reference building.
- Erosion riskHow likely soil is to be washed or blown away. For sloping fields above a house it means a risk of mud washing down in heavy downpours.
- Expert valuation reportA report by an expert listed by the Czech Ministry of Justice, with seal and expert clause. Overviews of public data do not replace it.
F
- Family houseA residential building with at most three flats, two above-ground storeys, one underground storey and an attic, as defined by the Czech Building Act.
- FibreInternet over optical fibre. FTTH brings fibre all the way to the user's flat or house, FTTB to the building, with internal wiring from there.
- Fireplace with heat exchangerA fireplace or stove that passes part of its heat into the water of the heating system, warming radiators, underfloor heating or hot water.
- First refusalA person's right to buy a property first if the owner decides to sell. It arises by contract or by law; as a property right it is registered.
- Flash floodA flood from intense rain, when water runs off slopes and fields away from rivers. Where runoff enters built-up areas, critical points are mapped.
- Flood zoneLand that a natural flood may inundate. The water authority designates it; its boundary is the extent of the 100-year flood (Q100).
- Floor areaThe sum of room areas measured to the inner face of the walls. For a flat it is in the owner's declaration, for a building in the RÚIAN register.
- FluvisolSoil formed from river deposits in a floodplain. Usually fertile, but it signals a nearby watercourse and possible flood risk.
- Forest land (PUPFL)Land protected by the Czech Forest Act, mainly forest. Other uses such as building need removal; building within 30 m of a forest needs approval.
- Freehold flat (OV)A flat registered as a unit with a share in the building's common parts and land. The owner can sell or mortgage it, unlike a cooperative flat.
G
- Gas pressure levelsGas pipelines are low (NTL), medium (STL) or high pressure (VTL). The pressure determines the width of the protection zone and any safety zone.
- Gleyed soilSoil in which water is temporarily held above a slowly permeable subsoil (e.g. gleyed brown earth). A strongly gleyed soil type is a stagnosol.
- Green zonesZoning-plan zones for non-forest vegetation: parks, gardens, orchards, protective buffer greenery. Buildings there must not significantly limit it.
- Gross rental yieldAnnual rent divided by the purchase price, as a percentage. It ignores costs, taxes and vacancies, so the real return is lower.
- GTFSAn open timetable format for counting actual departures from a stop. Czech national timetables are kept by the Ministry of Transport in CIS JŘ.
H
- Heat pumpA heat source that uses electricity to take heat from the air, ground or water for heating. It uses less electricity than the heat it supplies.
- Heat recovery ventilationMechanical ventilation that extracts stale air and supplies fresh air, passing much of the outgoing air's heat to the incoming air in an exchanger.
- Height limitA zoning-plan condition that caps the height of new buildings and extensions in a zone, usually in above-ground storeys or metres above ground.
- House numberA building number assigned by the municipality, unique within a part of the municipality. It differs from the street number.
I
- IDSPublic transport in a region or city where trains, buses and city transport of different operators share one tariff and one ticket covers transfers.
- IPPCA single permit from the regional authority to operate a large industrial or agricultural installation, setting conditions for air, water, soil and waste.
- IRZA public Ministry of the Environment register of pollutant releases and transfers reported by industry, large livestock farms and incinerators.
L
- Land drainageStructures for draining, irrigating or protecting land from erosion. Field drains are not shown in the land register, but building work can damage them.
- Land registerThe Czech public register of land, buildings, flats and building rights, with a map, owners and rights. Run by ČÚZK through cadastral offices.
- Land register noteA land register entry flagging an important fact such as enforcement, insolvency, a pending lawsuit or a ban on disposing of the property.
- Land reserveAn area or corridor a Czech zoning plan keeps free for a possible future railway, road or other use. Nothing that would hinder it is allowed there.
- Land typeThe land register category of a parcel, e.g. arable land, garden, built-up area or other area, refined by a land-use code.
- Land-use zoneThe basic unit of a Czech zoning plan: land is split into zones (housing, industry, greenery…), each with a code and rules on what may be built.
- LandslidesA Czech Geological Survey map shows how prone slopes are to sliding, a register lists landslides actually found. Susceptibility is not a landslide.
- Layout (2+kk, 3+1)Czech notation like 3+kk or 2+1: the number counts rooms, 'kk' is a kitchenette in a room, '+1' a separate kitchen. Bathrooms and halls don't count.
- LDSAn electricity distribution system not directly connected to the transmission grid, typically on an industrial site. Needs an ERÚ licence.
- Listing appointmentThe first meeting of an agent and a seller, where the agent pitches for the listing: viewing the property, suggested price, approach and contract.
- Local amenitiesSchools, health and social services, public offices, culture, sport, shops and services that serve residents. Legally „občanské vybavení“.
- Local tax coefficientA multiplier of Czech property tax that a municipality may set between 0.5 and 5.0. A coefficient of 2 doubles the tax, 0.5 halves it.
- Location analysisFacts about the area - amenities, transport, mobile signal, residents, sun and shade, zoning, schools. On nmvt websites, from official and open data.
- Location checkA private overview for agents from official registers and maps: floods, radon, landslides, contamination, land register and zoning, all with sources.
- LPISThe Czech Ministry of Agriculture's public land register. It shows land parcel blocks, their crop category (arable, grassland…), area and erosion risk.
- LVThe land register title sheet listing an owner's property, mortgages, easements and other encumbrances. The official extract is a public deed.
M
- Main gas valveThe valve where the gas service connection ends and the building's gas installation begins, usually in a box on the facade or in the fence.
- Management contributionA flat owner's regular payment towards managing, maintaining and repairing the building and land, often called the repair fund. Set by the SVJ.
- Meadows and pasturesFarmland under permanent grass that is mown or grazed. Both the Czech land register and the LPIS record it separately from arable land.
- Mixed residential zonesZones mixing housing with shops, services and quiet businesses. SU, SV, SM and SC mark the general, rural, urban and central types.
- Mortgage lienA creditor's right, usually a bank's, to be paid from the property if the debtor defaults. It is on the LV and stays after a sale.
N
- N-year floodA flood with an average return period of N years. Q5 comes on average once in 5 years, Q20 once in 20 - the lower the number, the more frequent.
- Nahlížení do KNČÚZK's free online viewer for finding a parcel, building or flat on the map and pending proceedings. For information only, not an official extract.
- Net migrationThe difference between people who moved into a municipality and those who moved out. A positive figure means migration adds residents.
- Network operatorA company or municipality that owns or runs a network: power or gas distributor, water utility, telecom. Provides network data, connects homes.
- NN, VN and VVNNN is low voltage, 400/230 V, used by households. VN (e.g. 22 or 35 kV) and VVN (110 kV and above) run between towns and regions.
- Noise limitsMaximum permitted noise at and in homes under Czech Government Regulation 272/2011. Outside a house the base is 50 dB by day, 40 at night.
- Noise mapA map of noise from major roads, railways and airports in 5 dB bands, made by the Czech Ministry of Health. Local traffic is not included.
O
- Occupancy approvalOfficial permission to use a completed building. Under the 2021 Building Act the building authority issues it as an occupancy decision.
- Official farmland priceThe base price of a Czech farmland plot by BPEJ code from the valuation decree. Used for statutory valuation and levies, not a market price.
- OrthophotoAn aerial photo corrected to fit a map exactly. Czechia is photographed in a two-year cycle and older years are kept in an archive.
- Other areaThe land type for land that is not farmland, forest, water or built-up: typically roads, greenery, sports grounds or barren land.
- OV zoneZoning-plan code for mostly non-commercial public amenities: schools, offices, healthcare, social care, culture. Conditions are set by the local plan.
- Owner's declarationThe deed by which an owner divides a building and land into units, defining flats, common parts and shares. It is kept in the land register.
- Owners' association (SVJ)A legal entity of the flat owners in a building that manages the building and land. Mandatory with 5 or more units owned by at least 4 owners.
- Ownership typeA ČÚZK cadastral map layer colouring land owned by the state, regions, municipalities and private owners. It shows no names.
- OZVA local regulation in which a Czech municipality sets local rules and fees - quiet hours, fireworks, waste and dog fees or the property tax coefficient.
P
- Panel buildingAn apartment building made of large precast concrete wall panels, typical of Czech housing estates from the second half of the 20th century.
- ParcelA plot of land drawn in the cadastral map and labelled with a parcel number. One garden or yard often consists of several parcels.
- Parcel areaA parcel's area in m² as recorded in the land register. From old maps it may be approximate; the boundary is binding, not the figure.
- Parcel changeA split, merger, new survey or change of land type recorded for a parcel. Not a sale, but many changes in one place may signal new development.
- PlombaA land register flag saying that a proceeding is pending on the property, e.g. a new sale or mortgage, so the data may soon change.
- Production zonesZones for production, warehouses and farm sites whose impacts rule out placing them among homes. Codes V..., e.g. VD small-scale production.
- Property taxAn annual Czech tax on land, buildings and flats (Act No. 338/1992 Coll.), paid by the owner as of 1 January; revenue goes to the municipality.
- Protected areaLand protected by Czech law for its natural value: national park, protected landscape area, nature reserve or monument. Changes there are limited.
- Public benefit constructionPublic infrastructure (a road, utility line or public space) designated in a Czech zoning plan, for which land can even be expropriated.
- Public benefit measureA non-building measure in a Czech zoning plan, e.g. flood or erosion protection or a wildlife corridor. As with a VPS, land can be expropriated for it.
- Public spaceSquares, streets, pavements, parks and other places open to everyone, whoever owns them. In a Czech zoning plan, a PU zone.
- Purchase contractThe contract transferring a property to the buyer. It must be in writing, and the buyer becomes owner only once it is entered in the land register.
- Purchase price escrowThe buyer deposits the price with a lawyer, notary or bank, and the seller receives it only once the agreed conditions are met, typically registration.
Q
R
- Radon indexAn indicator of how easily radioactive radon gas can enter a house from the ground. Maps give a rough estimate; only measurement gives certainty.
- Real estate brokerA business that brokers the purchase or rental of property (estate agent, agency). It needs a licensed trade and compulsory liability insurance.
- Recorded priceThe purchase price recorded in the Czech land register since 2014. It cannot be seen in the free viewer; a specific price is available for a fee.
- Redevelopment areaBuilt-up land where the zoning plan proposes a new use, e.g. an old factory site for housing. The new Building Act calls it a transformation area.
- Regional development principlesThe zoning document of a Czech region. It sets areas and corridors of regional importance, e.g. bypasses and railways, and binds municipal plans.
- RegistrationEntry of ownership, mortgages, easements and other property rights into the land register. A buyer becomes owner only by registration.
- Regulatory planThe most detailed Czech zoning document. For a defined area it sets where and how large buildings may be, e.g. building lines and height.
- Removal from the ZPFConsent to use Czech farmland for another purpose, typically building. Granted by the land protection authority; a levy is usually paid.
- Rent price mapMarket rents in CZK per m² per month by municipality, cadastral area and flat size, published quarterly by the Czech Ministry of Finance.
- Reservation agreementAn agreement by which a buyer reserves a property with an agent for a time, usually for a fee. It must not oblige a consumer to buy.
- Road accessWhether a house or plot can be reached from a public road or only across someone else's land. Only the title sheet confirms legal access.
- RÚIANA public Czech register of addresses, buildings and parcels run by ČÚZK. It also lists building data, which may be incomplete or outdated.
S
- Second Military SurveyColour military maps from 1836-1852 at a scale of 1:28,800. They show the landscape around 1840 - fields, meadows, forests, roads and villages.
- SEKMThe Ministry of the Environment's database of contaminated and potentially contaminated sites, such as old landfills or former industrial sites.
- Service connectionSection of a network from the public main or line to the building. Water and sewer connections are separate structures, usually the owner's.
- ServitudeA type of easement: the owner must tolerate something or refrain from something, e.g. a neighbour's right of way or a utility line.
- Simplified recordsHow the digital technical map records networks with incomplete data, e.g. a missing owner or a position below accuracy class 3.
- Soil protection classCzech farmland is ranked in five classes by quality (I most valuable, V least). The class decides how hard it is to take the land for building.
- Spatial analytical dataThe expert basis for Czech spatial planning: data on the state of an area, its values, limits and planned projects, plus an analysis of issues to solve.
- Spatial studyAn expert document testing solutions for an area, such as a new neighbourhood. A zoning plan may make building permits there depend on it.
- Stabilised areaA zone in a Czech zoning plan where the plan confirms the current use and proposes no change. New buildings must meet the zone's conditions.
- Supply pointThe point where electricity or gas is delivered to one customer's installation. Electricity uses an 18-digit EAN code, gas a 16-character EIC code.
- Survey planA surveyor's technical document used to split parcels, change boundaries, register a building or define part of a plot for an easement.
T
- Tax on property saleIncome tax on an individual's property sale, unless exempt: 2 years' residence, a 10-year (formerly 5-year) holding test or reinvestment in housing.
- Thermal insulationInsulating external walls, the roof or ceilings, for example with mineral wool or polystyrene. It cuts heat loss and improves the EPC class.
- Title of acquisitionThe legal ground and document under which an owner acquired a property, e.g. a purchase contract or probate decision. Shown in part E of the LV.
- TransferA change of owner of a property, usually by a purchase contract. Ownership passes only when the transfer is entered in the land register.
- Transport and utility zonesZones for roads, railways and car parks (codes D...) and for waterworks, sewage plants, substations or waste sites (codes T...).
U
- Underfloor heatingHeating through hot-water pipes or electric cables in the floor. It heats a large surface at a low temperature, which suits heat pumps.
- UnderminingLand where underground mining took place. Collapses or other hazards from old voids may occur; the Czech Geological Survey keeps records.
- Undeveloped areaLand outside the built-up area and development areas, typically countryside. Only selected structures, e.g. for farming, are allowed; no housing.
- UnitA flat or non-residential space registered as a separate property, together with a share in the common parts of the building and land.
- Usable areaThe area of a flat or house that can be used. With no single legal definition, listings count it differently, with or without balconies or cellars.
- Usual priceThe price at which the same or similar property sells in ordinary trading, without the influence of distress, personal ties or special preference.
- UtilitiesWater, sewer, electricity, gas, heat and telecom networks that a building connects to. The seller's documents are the best proof of connection.
- Utility existence statementA network owner's or operator's reply on whether its network runs in an area and what protection zones apply. It must tell anyone, free of charge.
- Utility protection zoneA strip along a line or pipe where building, digging or planting trees needs the operator's consent. Its width is set by law for each type of network.
W
- Waste feeA local fee covering waste collection, paid per registered resident (max. CZK 1,200 a year) or by the amount of waste from a property.
- Water and sewage chargesVodné is the charge for mains drinking water, stočné for removing and treating wastewater. The bill proves the connection and shows annual costs.
- Water hardnessCalcium and magnesium content of water. The decree recommends 2-3.5 mmol/l; harder water scales appliances more. 1 mmol/l is about 5.6 °dH.
- Water source protection zoneLand around a drinking water source where the authority bans or limits activities that could harm the water. Entry to grade I is prohibited.
- WellA private groundwater source. Under the Water Act it is a water works needing a building permit and a water abstraction permit. Testing is optional.
X
Z
- Zoning planThe binding municipal plan in Czechia that sets what may be built where and how land may be used. It is issued by the municipal council.
- Zoning plan amendmentCzech zoning plans are changed by numbered amendments. The consolidated version merges the plan and all its amendments into one document.
- ZPF (agricultural land fund)Farmland protected by Czech law - arable land, gardens, orchards, meadows and pastures. Building on it usually needs it taken out of the fund first.
- ZUŠA school teaching music, dance, visual arts and drama alongside regular school. It teaches children and adults, for a fee and after an aptitude test.
The explanation is general and informative, not legal advice. Binding are the land register, the zoning plan and other official sources.