Land register (cadastre, KN)

The katastr nemovitostí (KN) is the Czech land register, often called the cadastre. Under Section 1 of the Cadastral Act No. 256/2013 Coll., it is a public register that lists and describes real estate, defines its shape and position and records the rights to it. It covers land in the form of parcels, buildings, units (flats and non-residential premises) and building rights (Section 3). A building that is part of the land is recorded as a detail of the plot (Section 10 of Decree No. 357/2013 Coll.). It is run by the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (ČÚZK) through regional cadastral offices and their branches.

What the register contains

Data are kept by cadastral area in a so-called cadastral file (Section 5). Its main parts are:

• geodetic data: the cadastral map and its coordinates,
• descriptive data: owners, land types, areas, rights, notes and recorded prices,
• a collection of deeds: contracts, decisions and other documents on which entries were based.

Property with the same owner or co-owners within one cadastral area is grouped on a title sheet, the list vlastnictví (LV).

How entries are made

Rights are entered in three ways (Section 6 of the Cadastral Act). Registration (vklad) is used for rights in rem such as ownership, mortgages and easements, and, on request, also for leases. A record (záznam) is used for rights derived from ownership, such as the right to manage state property. A note (poznámka) records important information, for example about enforcement proceedings or a dispute.

When registered property is transferred, the buyer becomes the owner only once the transfer is entered in the register (Section 1105 of the Civil Code). The legal effects of the registration, however, date back to the moment the application reached the cadastral office (Section 10 of the Cadastral Act).

Frequently asked questions

Can I rely on what the register says?

The Civil Code presumes that the recorded state matches the actual legal position, and ignorance of a recorded entry is no excuse (Section 980). The opposite can only be proven in court. Before buying, read the whole title sheet, including encumbrances in part C and notes in part D.

Is the cadastral map accurate?

Not everywhere to the same degree. According to ČÚZK, most of today's maps go back to the stable cadastre survey of the first half of the 19th century, and boundary accuracy can be off by metres. Boundaries and areas are only as reliable as the original survey.

Who may consult the register?

Anyone (Section 52), most easily for free in the online viewer Nahlížení do KN. For a contract, a bank or an authority you need an official extract (výpis z katastru nemovitostí), a public deed proving the recorded state at the stated time (Section 55). Register data may only be used for purposes set by law and redistributed only with ČÚZK's consent (Section 53).