Fixed-term and indefinite-term leases (doba určitá a neurčitá)

What an agreed end date brings

With a fixed term, both parties know when the lease is due to end. Before then, they can sign an addendum, conclude a new agreement or rely on a clause providing for automatic extension. If the tenant stays on and the landlord does nothing, then under the conditions set out in § 2285 of the Civil Code the lease may even be renewed by operation of law.

A fixed term doesn’t mean the lease can’t be ended early. The parties can agree to end it. On top of that, the tenant has statutory rights, for example in the event of a fundamental change in circumstances or serious defects in the flat. However, don’t automatically apply the usual three-month notice without cause to a one-year lease.

What a lease with no end date means

A tenant can terminate a standard indefinite-term residential lease without giving a reason, normally with a three-month notice period. The landlord has no such freedom and needs a statutory ground. Moreover, some grounds relating to the landlord’s own housing needs or those of relatives apply only to indefinite-term leases. The rules are set out in § 2231 and § 2288.

To give you an idea: a lease running from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 deals with the length of the tenancy. An inflation clause in the same agreement deals with something else: the conditions under which the rent can change. You can agree on indexation for an indefinite-term lease too. So it’s not true that a fixed term allows you to raise the rent while an indefinite term freezes it forever.