Managing an apartment in Prague remotely: renting out while living elsewhere

An apartment in Prague can be a reliable source of income even if you live in another city or another country. But you can’t fix a burst pipe, show the apartment to a new tenant or attend an owners’ meeting from afar. In this guide we show how to set up remote management, what needs watching and when it makes sense to hand it over to professionals.

Three ways to rent out remotely

• On your own — you handle everything by email and phone, with a friend helping on site. It works with a trouble-free tenant, but every change of tenant or emergency means a trip to Prague or asking for a favour.
• An agency just for the rental — it finds and screens the tenant, prepares the lease and hands over the apartment. You still handle the day-to-day running.
• Full management — the manager handles the tenant, payments, repairs, settlements and authorities for you, and you receive the income and an overview.

Power of attorney and documents

To represent you, someone needs a written power of attorney with an officially certified signature — for dealing with the owners’ association or cooperative, energy suppliers, the insurer and authorities. A power of attorney signed abroad usually needs an apostille (or superlegalisation) and a certified Czech translation.

Keep copies of the lease, the handover report, the insurance policy and contacts for the owners’ association and suppliers ready. Leave the keys to the apartment, mailbox and cellar with the person on site.

Payments and settlements

• Check the rent every month — a reminder in the first days of a delay works better than dealing with three months of debt.
• Owners’ association advances are usually paid by the owner and covered by the tenant through the service charges.
• The annual service charge settlement must be passed on to the tenant: overpayments returned, underpayments collected.
• Currency and transfers: with an account abroad, count on fees and exchange rates. A manager can send the income directly to your foreign account.

Repairs and emergencies

Minor repairs and routine maintenance are paid by the tenant, major repairs by the landlord. Remotely, the key is having reliable tradespeople and someone who lets them into the apartment and checks the result. Emergencies such as flooding or a boiler failure must be handled the same day. It is good to have the apartment insured and a tenant with liability insurance.

Tax on rent

Rental income from property in the Czech Republic is generally taxed in the Czech Republic, even if you are a tax non-resident. A tax return is filed, and expenses can be claimed either as actual costs (for example repairs, depreciation, insurance) or as a flat 30% of income. Whether and how the income is also taxed in your country of residence depends on the double taxation treaty. We recommend consulting a tax adviser — we are happy to recommend one.

What a manager does for you

As part of property management, Prestige Group takes over:

• finding and screening tenants, handover and takeover of the apartment,
• communication with the tenant, payment checks and reminders,
• repairs and maintenance with reliable tradespeople, handling emergencies,
• payments to the owners’ association and suppliers, the annual service charge settlement,
• regular reports on payments and expenses,
• a management agreement including translation, and representation under a power of attorney.

We send your income on the 5th of every month — to any country and in any currency. The fee is 10% of the net rent; finding a tenant is free for owners.

Leave the management to us

We speak English, Czech and Russian and work for owners from the Czech Republic and abroad. If you are only planning to rent out, also read Renting out an apartment through an agency: what it costs. We will prepare a rent estimate free of charge within 24 hours.