Hidden defects after buying Czech property: what now?

After the first heavy rain, water enters the roof. A crack reappears under fresh paint, the basement stays damp or documents reveal an unapproved alteration. Do not begin with an argument about who must pay. First make the condition, discovery date, cause and your response provable.

Five years does not mean you can wait five years

Czech Civil Code rules distinguish the outer period for a qualifying hidden defect in a structure fixed to the ground from the duty to act after discovery. In decision 23 Cdo 506/2025, the Czech Supreme Courtheld that, unless the parties agreed otherwise, the buyer must notify the defect without undue delay after it could have been discovered with sufficient care.

The five-year period under Section 2129(2) is therefore not permission to collect defects and notify them near the end. The case concerned a buyer who learned of structural problems through expert material but notified the sellers much later; the delay was decisive. Treat every newly discovered defect as time-sensitive.

1. Separate a hidden defect from disappointment or later damage

• What promised or reasonably expected property characteristic is missing?
• Did the cause already exist when risk passed, even if the symptom appeared later?
• Could the condition have been recognised during an ordinary viewing or from disclosed documents?
• Did the contract, advertisement, seller statement or handover record describe the condition differently?
• Could use, renovation, weather or neglected maintenance after handover have caused or worsened it?

A defect is not hidden merely because the buyer did not notice it. The technical cause, visibility and information available before purchase all matter. Preserve the listing, viewing messages, purchase agreement, annexes, technical reports and handover record before links or files disappear.

2. Build a dated evidence pack

• Wide and close photographs with a reference scale, plus unedited originals.
• A short chronology from purchase and handover to the first symptom and discovery.
• Invoices, emergency reports, moisture readings, utility data and damaged-property records.
• An independent expert’s description of the defect, likely cause, age, urgency and repair options.
• Earlier plans, permits, maintenance records, SVJ records or neighbour statements where relevant.

Ask the expert to distinguish observation from inference. “Wall is wet at these measured points” is evidence; “the seller certainly concealed it” is a conclusion that may require different proof.

3. Notify the seller promptly and specifically

Use an address and delivery method you can prove. Identify the purchase, property, discovery date, symptoms and affected areas. State that you are notifying a defect and reserving rights, attach representative evidence, request a prompt inspection and set a reasonable written-response date.

Do not wait for a complete expert report before sending any notice if that would create avoidable delay. You can supplement the technical cause, quantified loss and requested remedy as evidence develops.

4. Give inspection access without losing control of the evidence

• Offer concrete inspection dates and record who attends.
• Ask each expert to identify whom they represent and what they inspected.
• Do not sign a settlement, waiver or admission merely to obtain an inspection.
• Confirm material statements and agreed next steps in writing after the visit.
• For destructive testing, agree the method, documentation and sample retention first where possible.

5. Match the requested remedy to the defect and contract

Depending on the facts, contract and seriousness of the breach, potential rights may include repair, a reasonable price reduction, reimbursement of justified loss, or—only in sufficiently serious circumstances—ending the contract. A repair quotation does not automatically equal the legally appropriate discount, and every consequential cost is not automatically recoverable.

Before choosing a final demand, compare technical solutions, effect on value, disruption, urgency, insurance, contractual limitations and what the seller knew or had to know. For a large claim or proposed withdrawal, obtain individual legal and technical advice before taking irreversible steps.

6. Do not let urgent repairs erase the case

You should prevent avoidable additional damage, but record the condition before and during emergency work. Ask contractors to separate emergency containment from permanent repair on estimates and invoices. Keep removed material where safe, and photograph concealed layers as they are opened.

7. Check whether the problem affects title or building records

An unapproved extension, wrong unit layout or undisclosed legal restriction may require more than physical repair. Compare the contract and documents with the official cadastral recordand obtain the relevant building documentation. Do not assume a cadastral entry proves construction law compliance.

Prevent the next dispute before signing

If you are still buying, use the house viewing checklist, apartment and SVJ checklist and purchase-contract and transfer checklist. Record seller statements in the agreement or annex instead of relying on viewing-day memory.