Access to the property from a public road

Access to a plot is legally secured if the property borders directly on land with a publicly accessible road, or if the route crosses someone else's land to which the house owner has a right. That can be a co-ownership share in a shared driveway or a registered road servitude.

Why it matters

Under the Czech Building Act, a building plot must always be defined so that it is connected to a publicly accessible road of sufficient capacity (Section 140 of Act No. 283/2021 Coll.). An application to split or merge plots must show access from a public road to all plots, either directly, through land of the same owner or by a property right over someone else's land (Section 216).

A risky situation is access across a neighbour's private land without a servitude. As long as the neighbours get along, nobody minds. A new owner of the neighbouring plot, however, may restrict passage. The fix is a contractual servitude. If the parties cannot agree, a court may grant a necessary way for compensation, also as a servitude (Section 1029 of the Civil Code).

How to check

• The cadastral map shows which parcels the route crosses, and the ownership type layer indicates whether the land is municipal, state or private.
• The land type “other area” with the use “road” or “other road” means the register records a road, local road or service road on the plot.
• Legal access is confirmed only by the title sheet (LV): for the house, a servitude in part B1; for the parcels the route crosses, an encumbrance in part C, or the house owner's co-ownership share in part A.

Frequently asked questions

Is it enough that everyone has used the track for years?

Long use alone does not get anything entered in the register. A servitude can be acquired by prescription (Section 1260 of the Civil Code), but that has to be proven. Only a right recorded on the title sheet gives certainty.