Undeveloped area (nezastavěné území)
Land outside the built-up area and development areas, typically countryside. Only selected structures, e.g. for farming, are allowed; no housing.
Under Section 12 of the Building Act No. 283/2021 Coll., the undeveloped area (nezastavěné území) is land not included in the built-up area or in a development area. It is the countryside outside the built-up settlement, where the zoning plan designates, for example, agricultural, forest, natural or water zones. Spatial planning is meant to protect the undeveloped area (Section 38 of the Building Act).
An amendment to the Building Act, signed by the President in September 2026 and not yet published in the Collection of Laws, is to replace this term from 1 January 2027 with 'nezastavitelné území' (non-buildable area), i.e. land outside the new 'zastavitelné území' (buildable area).
What may be permitted there
Section 122 of the Building Act lists the projects that may be permitted in the undeveloped area in line with its character, among others:
- public transport and utility infrastructure, service connections and access roads,
- water management structures,
- structures for agriculture and forestry,
- structures for nature and landscape protection and for reducing the risk of natural disasters,
- improvements for recreation and tourism, such as cycle paths, toilets or information centres.
Housing or residential recreation is not allowed as an additional function of these structures. The zoning plan may expressly exclude some of them in the public interest.
What it means for a buyer
A meadow or field in the undeveloped area is not a building plot. A family house or holiday cottage cannot be permitted there; the zoning plan would first have to be amended to create a development area. A farm building, such as a hay barn, may be allowed, but it must not be used for living. For farmland, the rules of the agricultural land fund also apply.
Watch out for
- The land type in the land register does not say whether a plot is in the built-up or undeveloped area; the zoning plan or a separate delimitation of the built-up area decides.
- A zoning plan may designate landscape change areas in the undeveloped area, for example for afforestation, but not for building development.
- What exactly is permitted in a given zone is set in the plan's text and assessed by the building authority.
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The explanation is general and informative, not legal advice. Binding are the land register, the zoning plan and other official sources.