ZPF - agricultural land fund

Under Czech Act No. 334/1992 Coll., the agricultural land fund (zemědělský půdní fond, ZPF) consists of farmed land - arable land, hop gardens, vineyards, gardens, orchards and permanent grassland - including land temporarily not farmed. It also includes fish ponds and non-agricultural land needed for farming, such as field tracks, irrigation reservoirs or drainage ditches. The Act calls the fund an irreplaceable and limited natural resource.

How to tell whether a plot is in the ZPF

Look at the land type in the land register (arable land, garden, permanent grassland…) and the protection status 'zemědělský půdní fond' recorded for the parcel, which also appears on the title deed (list vlastnictví). In case of doubt the agricultural land protection authority decides, usually the environmental department of the municipality with extended powers. Soil quality is described by the BPEJ code and the protection class derived from it.

What it means for building

Farmland can usually be used for non-agricultural purposes, typically building, only with consent to removal from the ZPF (odnětí, colloquially 'vynětí') and payment of a levy. The Act requires non-agricultural land, gaps between buildings and land in the built-up area or development areas to be used first, and only then lower-quality farmland. Class I and II land may be removed only where another public interest clearly outweighs protection of the fund.

No consent is needed, for example, for a structure of up to 25 m² in the built-up area, or for a project on the unbuilt part of a built-up building plot with a family house if the plot is smaller than 1,000 m².

Watch out for

• A garden next to a house is usually registered as 'zahrada', i.e. part of the ZPF. An extension or garage on it may therefore require removal unless an exception applies.
• The owner must use or maintain farmland in line with its registered land type.
• Since 1 July 2024, farmland may not be acquired by a person from a country that does not allow Czech citizens to acquire farmland. The restriction does not apply, among other things, to gardens, plots under 2,000 m², plots forming a functional unit with the buyer's building, or buyers from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.