Czech real-estate commission in 2026: when you pay

One agent quotes a percentage “including everything,” another says the buyer pays, and a third offers a fixed fee plus marketing. The useful comparison is not the smallest headline. It is the seller’s final cost, the work included, the exclusivity surrendered, and the exact event that makes commission payable.

Start with five numbers, not one percentage

• Commission base: asking price, agreed purchase price, price including equipment, or another defined amount.
• Rate or fixed fee: including any minimum, tiers, bonus above a target price or separate buyer fee.
• VAT: whether the quoted amount already includes it and the agency’s current VAT status.
• External costs: photography, floor plan, advertising, legal documents, escrow, certificates, travel or cancellation costs outside commission.
• Payment trigger: opportunity introduced, reservation signed, purchase contract signed, title registered, escrow released or another event.

For example, “3%” and “3% + VAT” are not equal quotes. Neither tells you whether legal work, escrow or premium advertising is included. Enter the final amount in the Czech property-sale net-proceeds sheet beside mortgage payoff, preparation, certificates, tax and handover costs.

Who pays commission?

The person who agreed the payment obligation is the starting point. A seller may hire the agency and owe commission; a buyer may have a separate search or brokerage agreement; both sides may have agreements. An advert saying “commission paid by buyer” does not prove the seller has no brokerage cost or that the fee has no effect on the offer economics.

Section 12(3) requires a broker to inform a client about the amount or calculation of commission agreed with a third person for the same property. Ask directly: “Do you or a connected broker receive any fee from the buyer, referrer, finance provider or other party in this transaction, and how is it calculated?” Then consider incentives, representation and total price—not only who sends the transfer.

The brokerage contract must be written and specific

Sections 9 and 10 of the Real Estate Brokerage Act require a written brokerage agreement containing the property, sale price or method for determining it, and commission or its calculation. Only the client may raise invalidity based on missing written form or missing required information. Obtain the complete signed contract, terms and every document incorporated by reference.

• Correct agency entity, registration details, responsible agent and payment account.
• Exact apartment, house, land, accessories and ownership share.
• Asking-price authority, price-change process and minimum acceptable offer.
• Commission calculation, VAT, invoice, deduction from escrow and refund or credit events.
• Start, end, termination, exclusivity, renewal and any post-contract buyer clause.
• Included services, external suppliers, intellectual-property use and return of documents and leads.

Verify the property and title in the public Czech cadastre. If several people own the property, one spouse acts for marital property, or an attorney signs, settle authority before marketing or accepting a reservation.

Signed online or at home? Test the consumer withdrawal clock

If a consumer concluded the brokerage agreement at a distance or away from the agency’s business premises, Civil Code Sections 1829 and following can create a no-reason withdrawal right. The ordinary period is 14 days. A 30-day period applies in the statutory unsolicited-home- visit and organised-sales-event situations. First record where, how and when every version and instruction was delivered; do not treat every electronic signature or every meeting as the same category.

• Starting photographs or advertising immediately does not by itself erase the withdrawal right.
• If the consumer expressly requested performance during the withdrawal period and then withdraws before completion, a proportionate amount for performance supplied can be due under §1834.
• The fully performed service exception requires the statutory prior express consent and information that the right ends once the service has been fully performed.
• Missing or defective withdrawal information can change the deadline; preserve the instructions, form, express request, consent and evidence of work actually done.

Define what the commission buys

• Valuation method, comparable evidence and launch-price recommendation.
• Preparation advice, photographs, video, floor plan, copy, translation and rights to reuse the media.
• Named portals, paid promotion, database outreach, signage and reporting frequency.
• Inquiry qualification, viewing coverage, feedback, offer comparison and negotiation.
• Identity, finance and source-of-funds checks performed within lawful limits.
• Title documents, owners’ association material, energy certificate and defect disclosures.
• Reservation, purchase contract, escrow, cadastre filing, mortgage coordination and handover support.

“Full service” is not a measurable scope. Record the deliverable, deadline, owner and whether a third-party fee remains outside commission. If the agency supplies its own standard legal documents, identify who represents whom and who pays for independent review or a different escrow provider.

Exclusivity can restrict your own sale

Under Section 17, exclusive brokerage may limit both hiring another broker and selling without the broker. For a consumer, exclusivity may be agreed only for a fixed period of at most six months. It can be extended repeatedly, but an extension may be agreed no earlier than 30 days before the current period ends.

• List pre-existing buyers, relatives, co-owners, tenants and direct inquiries before signing.
• Define what counts as an “introduced” buyer and what evidence the agency must provide.
• Limit any post-contract protection period by time, named contact and causal connection.
• State what happens to listings, photographs, keys and active negotiations when the mandate ends.
• Tie exclusivity to reporting and agreed launch work rather than an unexplained lock-in.

Section 18 adds a different consumer rule: when the brokerage agreement is for an indefinite period, its notice period may be no longer than one month. Do not confuse that notice rule with the six-month ceiling for one fixed period of consumer exclusivity. Check whether the document is fixed-term or indefinite, exclusive or non-exclusive, and whether an extension was actually agreed within the permitted window.

When does commission become payable?

The statutory default in Section 19 is no earlier than the day the real-estate contract is concluded. Earlier maturity can be agreed only with the required warning that payment is not tied to concluding that contract or satisfying its suspensive condition, and not earlier than procuring an opportunity to conclude it. For a consumer, an agreed advance on commission may not exceed two-thirds of the fee.

“Legally possible” is not the same as “safe for this sale.” A seller can negotiate a later commercial milestone, such as successful title registration or release of purchase money from escrow. The brokerage contract and escrow instructions should identify the same amount, payee, invoice and trigger. Use the purchase-contract and escrow guide to map that closing sequence.

If the agency proposes holding reservation or purchase money itself, commission is only one part of the question. The Act restricts broker escrow and requires a separate written client request and statutory account and record safeguards for the permitted route. Identify the account owner, escrow provider, legal basis, release instruction, invoice and express authority for any commission deduction; prefer an independently controlled payment sequence.

Test the contract against six failure scenarios

• No buyer appears: which marketing or expense amounts remain payable?
• A reservation is signed but no purchase contract follows: who receives or returns the reservation money and does commission arise?
• The buyer loses financing: what financing condition, proof and deadline control?
• A title, defect or seller document blocks closing: which party bears the consequence and which cure period applies?
• The seller rejects an offer: does the agreement claim commission, a penalty or expenses, and on what objective conditions?
• The purchase completes after the mandate ends: was the buyer introduced during the term and did the broker actually perform?

Section 19(4) specifically denies commission from a consumer where the relevant contract was concluded only after the brokerage obligation ended because of the broker’s inactivity, error or failure to provide appropriate cooperation. Other late-sale and failed-sale cases depend on the agreement, causation, consumer rules and facts; do not rely on the label “success fee” alone.

When a specific buyer has already withdrawn, follow the seller’s buyer-withdrawal workflowto separate the agency invoice, reservation money, contractual penalty, damages and safe relisting date.

The brokerage contract cannot force a consumer to sell

Section 14 says a brokerage agreement cannot impose on a consumer the obligation to conclude the real-estate contract or a future real-estate contract. That does not make every related commission, expense or damages clause harmless or invalid. It means you should separate the freedom not to sell from a disputed claim about work, breach, exclusivity or an introduced opportunity and have a material clause reviewed.

Compare agencies with one written scorecard

• Expected final sale-price range and evidence—not the highest unsupported promise.
• VAT-inclusive commission at the low, target and high sale price.
• Every included deliverable and every likely external cost.
• Exclusivity length, exit route, reporting and direct-buyer treatment.
• Commission trigger and who bears each failed-sale scenario.
• Named person doing the work, viewing availability and recent comparable assignments.
• Proof of mandatory professional liability insurance, which the broker must show on request.

Compare expected net proceeds and execution quality, not commission alone. A lower fee can cost more if pricing, reach, negotiation or transaction control is weaker. A higher fee is not justified without a concrete plan and accountability. If you are considering taking over every task, use the owner-run sale checklist.

Red flags before signing

• The commission basis, VAT or final amount cannot be calculated from the contract.
• The agency says “buyer pays” but refuses to disclose other fees or representation.
• Full commission is due before a sale, but the statutory warning and trigger are missing or unclear.
• Exclusivity auto-renews far in advance, exceeds the consumer limit or captures every direct contact indefinitely.
• The scope says only “standard marketing” while all production and portal costs are extra.
• Reservation money, purchase money and commission flow through accounts or instructions you cannot reconcile.
• The agent refuses to provide the complete terms, insurance certificate or time to obtain legal review.