The 3 % + VAT fee: what the owner gets for it
What is the commission (provize) of a real estate broker (realitní kancelář) actually paid for — a published advert (inzerát) and an open door at the viewing? This text breaks the 3 % + VAT (DPH) fee down into items: what part of it flows back into the assignment, when the entitlement to it arises and where the legal limits lie. At the end there is a table of what is included in the fee and what the owner pays separately.
The fee is not paid for viewings
The most common way to picture the fee is to count hours: how long the viewing took, how long the photo shoot, how many phone calls. That reasoning leads in the wrong direction, because the largest part of the work cannot be done at a viewing — it happens, or does not happen, several weeks earlier.
A flat offered CZK 400,000 below the market sells in a week and everyone is happy; the owner never learns that they lost more than the whole fee. A flat CZK 800,000 above the market hangs on for four months and then drops by a million, because by then it is “the one that isn’t selling”. Neither of these mistakes arises at a viewing.
You pay for decisions made before publication: for a price derived from achieved sales, for the order of the steps, for a complete file of documents and for a title block (popisové pole) of the listing (nabídka) in which the area, the storey (podlaží), the share in the common parts (podíl na společných částech) and the energy performance class (energetická třída) are all correct.
Why a real estate broker’s commission is calculated as a percentage
A percentage has one property that a flat fee does not: it ties the fee to the result. The essential details, however, are not in the percentage but in the agreement.
The basis of calculation is the price in the purchase agreement
The fee clause of the brokerage agreement (zprostředkovatelská smlouva) contains four items. Basis: the purchase price agreed in the purchase agreement (kupní smlouva) — not the asking price, and not including furnishings transferred under a separate agreement. Rate: with us, from 3 %. VAT: at the statutory rate, i.e. 21 % in 2026. Due date: this is where offers usually differ most.
Model for a 3+kk flat (three rooms plus a kitchenette), 78 m², Vinohrady:
- purchase price: CZK 12,500,000
- 3 % fee: CZK 375,000
- 21 % VAT: CZK 78,750
- total: CZK 453,750
- the owner keeps CZK 12,046,250 of the purchase price, before income tax (daň z příjmů)
Under § 9 and § 10 of Act No. 39/2020 Coll., on Real Estate Brokerage (zákon o realitním zprostředkování), the agreement must contain the amount of the commission or the method of determining it, the identification of the subject of the transfer and the purchase price; if any of these is missing, the agreement is invalid, and only the owner may raise the objection.
When the entitlement arises and when it falls due
The commission falls due no earlier than on the day the purchase agreement is concluded (§ 19(1)). An earlier due date may be agreed only with an explicit notice that it is not tied to the conclusion of the purchase agreement, and even then no earlier than when the opportunity has been procured (§ 19(2)). An advance from a consumer may not exceed two thirds of the commission (§ 19(3)).
We have moved the due date further back. The sentence in the escrow agreement (smlouva o úschově) says that the escrow agent pays out the fee at the same time as the purchase price is paid out to the seller, and against an extract from the title deed (list vlastnictví) on which the new owner is registered in Part A. Until that extract exists, we invoice nothing.
Model on CZK 12,500,000: what part of the fee flows back into the assignment
Not all of the CZK 375,000 excl. VAT goes on our work. Several items have a fixed price and can be calculated in advance.
Legal services and escrow. For scale: notarial escrow (notářská úschova) of CZK 12,500,000 comes, under the notarial tariff (notářský tarif), to CZK 26,100 excl. VAT — 1.2 % of the first CZK 100,000, 0.6 % up to CZK 500,000, 0.4 % up to CZK 1,000,000, 0.2 % up to CZK 10,000,000 and 0.1 % of the rest, i.e. CZK 1,200 + 2,400 + 2,000 + 18,000 + 2,500. That is 7 % of the fee for a single item that the owner would otherwise pay for themselves.
Documents and fees. A Land Registry (katastr nemovitostí) report on achieved prices costs CZK 50 per output, and a comparative analysis needs dozens of them; the administrative fee for an application for registration (návrh na vklad) is CZK 2,000, or CZK 1,600 when filed via the Land Registry portal, under § 9 of Act No. 634/2004 Coll., on Administrative Fees (zákon o správních poplatcích).
Presentation and advertising. Photographs, a floor plan in our own graphics, numbered images for the property brochure (expozé), paid reach on the portals. The direct costs of these come out of the fee, and their amount depends on the scope of the campaign.
The rest is time, and for two equally priced flats it can differ several times over: a flat with a clean Part C of the title deed is different work from a flat with a lien (zástavní právo), three co-owners and a tenant.
Where our interest is the same as yours and where it is not
A percentage fee has three weak spots, and it is more honest to name them than to skirt around them.
The percentage does not grow with the work, it grows with the price. Selling a flat for CZK 25,000,000 is not twice as much work as selling one for CZK 12,500,000, yet the fee is double. For more expensive properties the rate is therefore open to negotiation, but it is a matter of agreement, not automatic — the owner has to ask for it.
On the last two hundred thousand, we care thirty times less than you do. If the price were negotiated up from CZK 12,500,000 to CZK 12,700,000, our fee would grow by CZK 6,000 excl. VAT. Of that CZK 200,000, the owner keeps CZK 194,000 after deducting the fee, i.e. roughly thirty-two times more. The motivation to see the last round of negotiation through is objectively weaker on our side, and no rate fixes that on its own; only a small number of assignments at a time and a reputation that lasts longer than a single invoice fix it. Anyone who wants a guarantee on paper can agree a bonus clause: a higher share of the amount above an agreed target price.
Exclusive representation (výhradní zastoupení) binds you for a period. If we miss with the price, you are with us until the end of the agreed term. For a consumer the law limits that term to 6 months, and an extension may be agreed no earlier than 30 days before it expires (§ 17(4)); for an agreement for an indefinite period, the notice period (výpovědní doba) may be at most 1 month (§ 18). This is covered in detail in the text on exclusive representation in a sale.
What the law says about the fee and what it leaves to the agreement
Limits that can be checked before signing:
- The brokerage agreement may not be in the same document as the purchase agreement (§ 15). A consumer may not be obliged to conclude the purchase agreement (§ 14), nor may a bill of exchange or a cheque be used as security (§ 16).
- Insurance. A limit of at least CZK 1,750,000 per insured event and CZK 3,500,000 for concurrent events in a year, with an excess of at most CZK 5,000 or 1 % (§ 7(1) and (2)). Subsection 5, however, halves the limits, to CZK 875,000 and CZK 1,750,000, for anyone who, under a contract with another broker, acts in that broker’s name or under its trade brand. The broker must present the policy on request (§ 8).
- We may not offer escrow on our own initiative (§ 4(1)). It may be provided only on a written request on a separate document, in a separate escrow account and without cash (§ 4(2) and (3)). We do not hold escrow: the purchase price goes into attorney escrow (advokátní úschova), which since 1 January 2026 has been covered by the guarantee fund of the Czech Bar Association (Česká advokátní komora), for residential property up to CZK 5,000,000.
- Inactivity cancels the entitlement. If the purchase agreement is concluded only after the obligation has ended because of the broker’s inactivity or error, no entitlement to commission arises against a consumer (§ 19(4)).
What happens if it does not sell
A fee payable only from escrow means that the risk of failure is borne by the broker: the photographer, the brochure and the advertising are paid for in advance and are not refunded. This has another side — whoever bears the cost wants to turn it into a sale as soon as possible, and pressure for a quick sale is built into the model.
The second thing to watch is the protection period (ochranná doba) after the agreement ends. A clause under which the fee is due even if the owner concludes a purchase agreement with a prospective buyer we brought in makes sense — but only with two safeguards: a fixed time limit and a named list of prospective buyers handed over when the agreement ends. Without the list, it is an open clause covering anything.
What is included in the fee and what is paid separately
The table applies to a flat in personal ownership (osobní vlastnictví) under exclusive representation; for houses and land, items are added in the second column.
| Item | In our fee | Paid separately by the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Price analysis from achieved sales (Land Registry reports) | yes | — |
| Land Registry extract, check of Parts A, B, C and E of the title deed | yes | — |
| Check of the owner’s declaration (prohlášení vlastníka) and of the articles of the owners’ association (společenství vlastníků jednotek) | yes | — |
| Photographs, floor plan in our own graphics, brochure | yes | — |
| Advertising on portals, paid reach, listing on our own website | yes | — |
| Viewings, communication with prospective buyers, vetting of the buyer | yes | — |
| Reservation agreement (rezervační smlouva), purchase agreement, application for registration | yes | — |
| Attorney escrow of the purchase price | yes | — |
| Administrative fee for registration of the ownership right, CZK 2,000 | yes | — |
| Preparation of documents for settling the lien | yes | — |
| Handover protocol (předávací protokol), meter readings, transfer of utility contracts | yes | — |
| Energy performance certificate (průkaz energetické náročnosti, PENB) | — | yes, requested from the owners’ association |
| Administrative fee for registration of the deletion of the lien, CZK 2,000 | — | yes |
| Lien creditor’s (zástavní věřitel) fee for calculating the debt and for consent to deletion | — | yes, if the creditor charges it |
| Clearing out, cleaning, painting, minor repairs | — | yes |
| Lent furniture and accessories beyond interior preparation | up to the agreed limit | yes, above the limit |
| Geometric plan (geometrický plán) for land, expert valuation for probate proceedings (dědické řízení) | — | yes |
| Notarial deed (notářský zápis) beyond the agreed contracts | — | yes |
| Verification of signatures outside our office | — | yes |
| Income tax on the sale, property tax (daň z nemovitých věcí) for the year of sale | — | yes |
The two administrative fees of CZK 2,000 are different: one is for registration of the ownership right, which we pay, the other for registration of the deletion of the lien, which is tied to the owner’s debt. The property tax for the year of sale is paid by whoever was the owner as at 1 January; the buyer files a return only for the following year, by 31 January. The owner hands over the energy performance certificate no later than when the agreement is concluded; the fine for not having one is up to CZK 200,000 for a natural person.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a real estate broker take from the sale of a flat? The law does not set the amount of the fee, it only requires the agreement to contain it; for a sale it is usually set as a percentage of the achieved purchase price. Our fee is from 3 % + VAT and includes legal services and escrow, which in other offers may be a separate item.
Who pays the commission — the buyer or the seller? Whoever has the agreement with the broker; with us, the owner who is selling. A model in which the buyer bears part of it means an agreement with both parties and a duty to inform about the amount of the commission under § 12(3).
Is the commission inclusive of VAT, or is VAT added? It is added. At a price of CZK 12,500,000, the fee is CZK 375,000 and the VAT CZK 78,750.
Do I have to pay the fee if the flat does not sell? No. The commission falls due no earlier than on the day the purchase agreement is concluded, and with us it is paid only from escrow. The costs of preparation and advertising are borne by the broker.
Can the fee be reduced? It can, but it is worth asking what drops off the list in the table above. A reduced rate with the lawyer, the escrow and the photographer paid for separately can end up more expensive once everything is added up.
Key takeaways
The 3 % + VAT fee is not a price for hours worked but for decisions made before the property appears in adverts, and for the fact that someone other than the owner steers the path from signing to the registration of the ownership right. Two offers can only be compared item by item — which is why the table above also has its right-hand column. What we include in the fee is described on the for owners page. The rest is a negotiation over a single question: who bears the cost if it does not sell.