Public space (PU)

Under Section 34 of the Czech Municipalities Act No. 128/2000 Coll., public spaces are all squares, streets, marketplaces, pavements, public greenery, parks and other areas accessible to everyone without restriction, i.e. serving general use, regardless of ownership. A privately owned plot can therefore also be a public space. Zoning plans designate them as public space zones coded PU (general) or PX (other) under Decree No. 157/2024 Coll.

How to read it

• According to the ministry's methodology, a PU zone covers paved spaces such as squares, marketplaces, main streets or embankments, as well as publicly accessible parks unless these are placed in green zones.
• Older zoning plans, which remain valid, may mark public spaces PV and public greenery ZV under the regional MINIS methodology.
• The Building Act calls the boundary between plots and a public space the street line (uliční čára, Section 12).

What it means for a buyer

A public space zone next to a plot usually means no house will be built there; it stays a street, square or park. Proposed public spaces, such as a new street in a development area, may also be public benefit constructions for which land rights can be expropriated.

Large new areas must include public space: a proposed housing, amenity or mixed residential zone larger than 2 ha must devote at least 5% of its area to public space, not counting roads, unless decisions there depend on a regulatory plan or a planning agreement.

Watch out for

• Part of a front garden or fence may in fact stand on land used as public space. The boundary is shown on the cadastral map.
• Access to a plot across public space relates to access from a public road.
• Codes and conditions differ between municipalities; the binding wording is the text and drawings of the specific municipality's zoning plan.