Permanent residence: What are the rules for renting, subletting and cancelling a stay?

Quick overview

• Your permanent residence does not have to be where you actually live.
• It is mainly a registration address for the state, municipalities and authorities.
• In a rented apartment, you can usually register it on the basis of a valid rental agreement, even without the landlord’s consent.
• In a sublet, the sublet agreement alone is not enough and you need the landlord’s consent.
• The landlord can apply for cancellation of permanent residence typically when the lease has ended, the former tenant has moved out and is no longer using the flat.

Not sure if a lease is enough to register your permanent residence or are you dealing with a former tenant still listed at your address? Have an attorney review your lease documentation – we can help you quickly determine what the right course of action is in your situation.

What are the rules for permanent residency?

You can choose your place of permanent residence anywhere in the Czech Republic, or in any property that is intended for housing, accommodation or even recreation. In short, in a property that is marked with a descriptive, registration or orientation number.

For example, if you spend most of the year in your cottage or chalet, you may think about registering your permanent residence in the place. That is, if the cottage is licensed as a building for recreation.

The rules for permanent residence are primarily governed by the Population Registration Act. It stipulates that a citizen can have only one place of permanent residence on the territory of the Czech Republic and that this address has a registration meaning. Therefore, permanent residence alone does not mean ownership, tenancy or automatic right to use the apartment.

How do I register my permanent residence?

To register your permanent residence you will need your valid identity card or another document issued to you as a replacement for your identity card at the local authority. You will also need to bring proof of use of the property.

If you are the owner, an extract from the land registry or a valid lease agreement will suffice; if you are a tenant, the owner’s verifiable consent will also suffice.

Rights and obligations after registration of permanent residence

Once you have registered as a permanent resident, all your rights and obligations start to apply, such as paying your garbage fees, exercising your right to vote in the municipality or taking advantage of the various residency bonuses that municipalities use to attract new residents.

You can change your permanent residence for seemingly trivial reasons, such as parking. If you live in Prague but do not have a permanent residence, you will not be entitled to residential parking.

Another issue is registering children for kindergartens and primary schools, which often leads parents to change their “permanent residence”, as permanent residence is sometimes generally referred to.

Permanent residence in a rental property – step by step procedure

How do you deal with the combination of renting a flat and needing permanent residency? It is not complicated. Since permanent residence does not give you any relationship to the property or its owner, you can of course also have permanent residence in a rental apartment. You don’t have to own the property, but you can still have a permanent residence at its address.

If you have a valid tenancy agreement, you do not even need to have the consent of the landlord or the owner. This is even if you have specifically stated in the lease that the landlord or property owner does not want the tenant to take up permanent residence in the flat.

In practice, we have seen that landlords sometimes put a prohibition on registration of permanent residence in lease agreements. However, such a clause does not usually prevent the authority from registering the tenant’s permanent residence if the tenant provides evidence of a valid tenancy agreement. It is therefore more important for landlords to have a well-set up contract, handover report and evidence of the termination of the tenancy than to rely on the prohibition in the text of the contract alone.

It doesn’t make any difference, the relevant authority must still register you for permanent residence and register you on the population register. It is then only the responsibility of the authority to notify the landlord or letting agent of this in writing. Permanent residence in a rented flat is therefore not a complicated matter and can be arranged very easily from the tenant’s point of view.

In practice, it is worth checking in particular that the tenancy agreement is valid, comprehensible and corresponds to the actual use of the flat. If you are not sure whether the authority will accept the contract, we can check it before you visit the notice office.

How to cancel the permanent residence of a tenant?

Can a landlord cancel a tenant’s permanent residence in a rented apartment? It is possible. However, the tenant must file a petition for cancellation of permanent residence and give proper reasons.

Basically, there are three grounds that follow from the law:

• Permanent residence in a rental property can be cancelled, and therefore the lease can be terminated on the grounds of permanent residence, if the property has been removed, has ceased to exist or no longer meets the conditions for residential use.
• Another possibility is that the tenant’s tenancy has ended, they have moved out and have not arranged a new permanent residence elsewhere.
• And thirdly, the landlord can propose to cancel the tenant’s permanent residence if it is found that it was registered on the basis of invalid or even forged documents.

In one of the typical situations we deal with in practice, the former tenant moved out, the lease expired, but he did not re-register his permanent residence. The landlord then had to prove to the authorities not only that the lease had ended, but also that the former tenant was not actually using the apartment. For example, a handover report, written communication, witness statements or evidence that someone else is already using the flat can help.

Are you dealing with a former tenant who is still resident with you? We will prepare a petition to cancel your permanent residence and advise you on what evidence to include with it so that the authority does not have to unnecessarily return or prolong the proceedings.

Permanent residence in a sublet – without the landlord’s express consent, it won’t work

However, permanent residence and subletting is a different matter. If you are a lodger and you live in a flat-share or a cooperative flat, for example, in a situation where you cannot even have a tenancy agreement, you cannot do without the landlord’s consent if you want to declare your permanent residence in the flat.

If the landlord gives you consent, you will also need a sublease agreement to establish your permanent residence (you can always go to the office with the landlord to confirm your consent verbally).

You don’t have to report a change or cancellation of your permanent residence

Finally, it is important to note that if you change your permanent residence, you do not have to de-register your old one. By registering with the authorities in the new place, the old permanent residence automatically ceases to exist. However, do not forget to make the change on all your documents that show your permanent address, primarily your identity card.

You should also inform insurance companies, the social security administration, your employer, your mobile phone provider and other services. You do not need to inform the tax office or the trade licensing authority.

The tenant can get their permanent residence in one or two steps

The bottom line is that it’s really not that difficult to get a permanent residence and the legal set-up is favourable to tenants. All they need is a valid tenancy agreement and they can declare their permanent residence without any problems at the local registration office, permanent residence and landlord’s consent is not necessary. In contrast, permanent residence with a subtenant is dealt with in a slightly more complicated way – i.e. always with the landlord’s consent.

Summary

Permanent residence is mainly a record and may not correspond to where you actually live. You can only have one permanent residence in the Czech Republic and you can change it at the registration office. In a rented apartment, a valid rental contract is usually sufficient and you do not need the landlord’s consent, even if the contract prohibits you from registering your permanent residence. For subletting, the situation is different and you usually cannot do without the landlord’s consent. The landlord can apply to cancel the permanent residence of a former tenant, especially if the tenancy has ended, the person is no longer using the flat and there is documentary evidence to prove this. When the permanent residence changes, the old address is automatically cancelled, but remember to update the ID card and inform the institutions where the address is important.