European property law
Squatters' rights in the Czech Republic: vydržení, and why a squatter rarely gets there
Ten years of proper, honest and genuine possession, or twenty years where the possessor cannot prove a legal title but did not act with dishonest intent. A squatter who knows the flat belongs to someone else meets neither test.
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- Statutory period
- 10 or 20 years
- What's different here
- occupying another person's flat is itself a crime, § 208
- Statute
- Občanský zákoník (89/2012 Sb.), § 1091 and § 1095
Czech law calls acquisition by possession vydržení. Under § 1091 of the Civil Code, ownership of real property is acquired after ten years of uninterrupted possession, and that possession has to be proper, honest and genuine: the possessor must have a convincing reason to believe the right is theirs, and a legal basis that would otherwise have made them owner. Section 1095 adds extraordinary vydržení after double the period, twenty years for land, without proof of the legal basis, unless the possessor's dishonest intent is shown.
That honesty requirement is what keeps squatting and ownership apart. The cases that do succeed tend to be misplaced fences and long-standing boundary errors, not occupied flats. Separately, § 208 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to unlawfully occupy or use another person's house, flat or non-residential space.
The same § 208 also covers anyone who unlawfully prevents an entitled person from using a home, and the Supreme Court has applied it to an owner who cut off an occupant's electricity; changing the locks or removing belongings can qualify too. The lawful route is a court action for vacation of the property (žaloba na vyklizení) and, if the occupant still stays, enforcement by a court bailiff.
Where Czech Republic sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 3 have a shorter clock and 10 a longer one or none at all.
How it unfolds
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After 10 or 20 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
Before it is ever a court case
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
How long is adverse possession in the Czech Republic?
Ten years of uninterrupted, proper, honest and genuine possession for real property under § 1091 of the Civil Code, or twenty years under § 1095 where the possessor cannot prove a legal title, provided dishonest intent is not shown.
Can a squatter acquire a flat by vydržení?
Not if they know it belongs to someone else. Both routes require honest possession, and § 1095 is excluded where the possessor's dishonest intent is proved.
Is squatting a crime in the Czech Republic?
Unlawfully occupying or using another person's house, flat or non-residential space is an offence under § 208 of the Criminal Code.
Can I change the locks on an occupant myself?
That is risky and can itself fall under § 208, which also punishes unlawfully preventing someone from using a home. Removal normally goes through a court action for vacation and a bailiff.
Elsewhere in Europe
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.
Know who is actually in your property, before it becomes a court case.
Hand over one building and see every lease checked against what is actually happening on the ground.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so