Missing a Czech rental service statement? What to do

Your landlord has not sent the annual service statement, asks for a large unexplained balance, or acknowledges an overpayment but has not returned it. Do not treat these as one vague dispute. The useful next step depends on which document arrived, when it arrived, and whether the numbers can be checked.

First check whether you paid advances or a true flat rate

Monthly advances are reconciled against actual service costs. A genuine agreed flat-rate payment is treated differently. Even then, Czech government guidance says heating, hot water, and cold-water supply and drainage cannot be hidden inside a non-reconciled flat rate for an indefinite tenancy or one longer than 24 months. Read the payment clause, not only the label used in a message or bank transfer. If the issue is a new monthly amount rather than the annual statement, use the service-advance increase guide.

What a checkable statement should let you see

• The accounting period and the services included.
• Actual costs, your paid advances, and the resulting balance.
• The allocation method and relevant apartment and building consumption data.
• Meter readings, floor area, number of persons, or other inputs used for your share.

Compare the statement with your lease, advance schedule, bank payments, move-in and move-out meter readings, household-size notifications, and the previous year. Large changes need an explanation; they are not proof of an error by themselves.

Request the documents before guessing

Ask in writing for the costs of each service, the allocation method, how the advances were set, and the documents used for the calculation. The Ministry for Regional Development explains that the request must be written and that the provider must allow copies to be made. Under the current Section 8, the provider then has 30 days to comply. Name the documents or figures you need rather than asking for the building’s entire accounts.

Make objections specific

“The amount is too high” gives the other side little to answer. Identify the disputed line, the figure used, the figure or document you believe is correct, and the requested correction. Common issues include a wrong meter reading, apartment area, number of occupants, allocation coefficient, total building cost, missing advance, or arithmetic error.

MMR’s methodology says objections may concern both the form and the content of the statement. It also warns that failing to object on time creates a presumption of agreement, although silence does not cure a statement whose defects prevent it from becoming properly payable.

If the overpayment is still missing

State the amount, the delivery date of the statement, the date the four-month settlement period expired, and your account number. Request payment by a clear date and preserve proof of delivery. MMR’s current methodology expressly says defects in the statement do not affect the due date of an overpayment—the person responsible for the statement cannot rely on their own defective work to withhold it.

What about the daily penalty?

Government guidance describes a statutory penalty for late delivery, failure to provide documents, or failure to handle objections. If no different amount was validly agreed, it states 50 CZK for each commenced day of delay, subject to statutory exceptions. Calculate each alleged breach and period separately and have a large or contested claim checked before relying on it in negotiations or court.

When the tenancy has already ended

Moving out does not automatically produce a special mid-year statement; the ordinary accounting cycle may still apply. Keep the final meter readings and forwarding address. If the landlord is also retaining your deposit, separate the service balance from the deposit calculation and use our guide to a deposit that has not been returned.