Evicting people who rented your flat, but stopped paying rent (and have no intention of changing that) was, until the end of last year, literally hell. A new instrument called an eviction order should significantly speed up and simplify such cases.
The court can decide faster
Until now, property owners had to go through lengthy and financially costly court proceedings with an uncertain outcome. Non-payers had several effective tools to drag the whole matter out for easily several years, on both procedural and substantive grounds.
Now, however, things are completely different. The court can order the eviction of the property without ordering an oral hearing. If the landlord submits clear documentary evidence that is hard to dispute, the whole matter can be settled even without the presence of the problem tenant.
But beware, there is a catch. To protect tenants from abuse of this measure, they of course have the option to defend themselves. From the moment the occupants of the flat receive the order to vacate, they have 15 days to file a formal objection to the decision.
Going to court should always be the last resort – for both sides it is easier and cheaper to agree on voluntarily vacating the property
What matters, though, is that this is no “blank cheque” – the tenant must give a very specific reason why they believe the order is invalid. That then starts a 30-day period for submitting documentary evidence that should point to facts in clear contradiction with what the property owner claims. It is therefore not possible to file empty objections, a practice notoriously known mainly from linear construction projects (roads or railways) and some environmental movements.
If the tenant does not respond at all within 15 days, the eviction order automatically becomes final and the next step can be a bailiff called in to carry out a forced eviction.
Four conditions required to file a petition
A property owner who wants to use the eviction order must, down to the last detail, meet the four statutory conditions:
- The end of the tenancy must be clear. The property owner is obliged to prove that the tenancy has ended (by expiry of its term, by agreement, or by valid notice).
- For the above there must be documentary evidence. You need to attach the lease agreement as well as the notice given on statutory grounds – in this case typically for failure to pay the agreed rent.
- Filing a petition for an eviction order must be preceded by a pre-action notice. The owner therefore has to prove that at least two weeks before filing the petition he delivered (not merely sent) the tenant a written request to vacate voluntarily.
- And last but not least, it is necessary to prove that the petitioner owns the property, typically with an extract from the Cadastre of Real Estate.
The basic condition for filing a petition remains that the tenant must owe at least three full months’ rent. The court should decide on a petition for an eviction order typically within a few weeks, but no later than within 6 months of filing.
From the maths above it is clear that even when everything goes “ideally” and the problem tenant files no objection to the order, it can still take up to nine months before the unlawfully occupied flat is freed up. That is typically followed by a fairly costly renovation (because problem tenants often do not treat the flat entirely properly) and by preparing the flat for the next tenancy.
And finally, one important tip: You can protect yourself in advance from drawn-out court disputes if, before the tenant moves in, you draw up and sign a notarial deed with consent to enforceability.
At FLAT SERVICE we know that the best way to fight potential non-payers is not to let them into the flat in the first place. That is why we put maximum energy into finding the ideal tenant with a strong credit profile, stable employment and minimal risk. We check every available register and, as part of the Garant service, we can even take care of collecting the rent itself. The money then arrives in your account no matter what happens. If you are interested in professional, worry-free property management, contact us on +420 277 000 330 or at sales@flatservice.cz.
