What the price of a flat includes and what it does not: commission, legal services, VAT, parking

“What does the price of a flat include” is a question people usually type into a search engine only once a reservation agreement (rezervační smlouva) is lying on the table in front of them — and the answer is that the advertised price (inzerovaná cena) is almost never the final price. For a model Prague new build (novostavba), a 3+kk (three rooms plus a kitchenette) at CZK 12,450,000, we calculated a further CZK 1,048,085 on top of the advertised price, i.e. 8.4 %, without the price of the flat itself moving by a single crown. This text goes through those items one by one: commission (provize), legal services and escrow (úschova), VAT (DPH) and parking.

What is actually being advertised

The advertised price is the price for the subject of the transfer (předmět převodu), not for whatever you picture under the word flat. The subject of the transfer is defined by the owner’s declaration (prohlášení vlastníka); for a building under construction (rozestavěná stavba), by the price list (ceník) together with the future declaration.

The model case for the whole text: a new build in Prague, a 3+kk unit, floor area (podlahová plocha) 68.4 m², advertised price CZK 12,450,000 including VAT. The title block (popisové pole) of that unit has three lines, and each has its own item number in the price list:

• price of the unit — CZK 12,450,000
• garage parking space (garážové stání) No. 17 — CZK 690,000
• cellar storage cage (sklepní kóje) No. 44 — CZK 95,000

Anyone who reads only the first line misses CZK 785,000. The parking space and the storage cage can also be transferred separately, which is why they have items of their own. In a building under construction, the parking space should have a number on the site plan (situace) of the underground storey (podzemní podlaží); without it you are not buying a specific parking space but the promise of one.

Commission: when the price includes commission and when it does not

For the properties we represent, the brokerage fee is paid by the seller and is included in the advertised price. That is not a matter of course on the market; it is checked in two documents.

In the advert (inzerát), look for the sentence saying whether the price includes commission. “Price + commission” adds the brokerage fee to the purchase price, usually as a percentage of it plus VAT; “0 % commission” mostly means that the seller pays it, but in some adverts it means a fixed amount for the buyer.

In the reservation agreement, look for two clauses. The clause on the purchase price must say whether the broker’s fee (odměna zprostředkovatele) is part of it or is paid alongside it. The clause on the reservation fee (rezervační poplatek) must say whose income it is: an advance payment on the purchase price (záloha na kupní cenu) is credited against the price, the broker’s fee never is. In the model, with a fee of 4 %, that difference equals CZK 498,000 excluding VAT, i.e. CZK 602,580 including VAT. What the fee is calculated from is examined in the text on the real estate broker’s commission.

Legal services and escrow are two different items

They blur together because one office provides both. They are, however, paid for separately.

Legal services means drafting the purchase agreement (kupní smlouva), the escrow agreement (smlouva o úschově) and the application for registration (návrh na vklad). For our mandates they are covered by our fee and the buyer does not pay for them.

Escrow is a separate service of the escrow agent (schovatel). Attorney escrow (advokátní úschova) is agreed by contract; in the model we count CZK 9,000 for it. Notarial escrow (notářská úschova) has a fee set by the notarial tariff (notářský tarif) in bands: 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 % up to CZK 30,000,000. For a purchase price of CZK 12,450,000 that makes 1,200 + 2,400 + 2,000 + 18,000 + 2,450 = CZK 26,050 excluding VAT, i.e. CZK 31,521 including VAT. If the notary drew up the agreement to which the escrow relates, the fee is reduced to one tenth.

In the escrow agreement, look for two sentences. The clause on the escrow agent’s fee must specify which party pays it and whether it is deducted from the escrowed funds — in that case the payout to the seller is reduced, not the amount deposited by the buyer. And if a lien (zástavní právo) is registered in part C of the title deed (list vlastnictví), part of the payout goes to the lien creditor (zástavní věřitel) to settle the lien agreement (zástavní smlouva) and the rest to the seller; both amounts must be set out in the payout conditions (výplatní podmínky). A blanket “after registration of the ownership right” is not enough.

VAT on a new build: when 12 % and when 21 %

The sale of residential space for social housing (obytný prostor pro sociální bydlení) is subject to the reduced rate of 12 %. This means a flat with a floor area of up to 120 m²; for a family house (rodinný dům) the limit is 350 m², under § 48a of Act No. 235/2004 Coll., on Value Added Tax (zákon o dani z přidané hodnoty). Above the limit the rate is 21 %.

• The limit is not sliding. A flat of 122 m² is not taxed at 21 % on two metres — the higher rate applies to the whole price. In the model, at 12 % the tax base is CZK 11,116,071; at a rate of 21 % the same unit would cost CZK 13,450,446, i.e. CZK 1,000,446 more.
• Neither a cellar nor a garage counts towards the limit if they lie outside the flat and are not physically connected to it (§ 48a(5) of Act No. 235/2004 Coll.). A flat of “almost 120 m²” in an advert can therefore be below the limit or above it, depending on which areas the advertiser added up.
• From 1 July 2025, for an apartment building (bytový dům) it is enough that more than half of the floor area serves social housing.

A garage parking space sold together with a flat is treated as an ancillary supply (vedlejší plnění) to the principal supply and is taxed at the same rate as the flat; sold separately, it is subject to the 21 % rate. For a parking space at CZK 690,000, the difference between the rates is CZK 55,446.

Every item in the price list must show the rate and whether the price includes VAT. The sentence on a change of rate up to the date of the taxable supply (datum uskutečnění zdanitelného plnění) tends to be worded so that the buyer bears the risk of an increase — it is one of the few sentences about the price that can be negotiated before the reservation.

What has its own line in the price list

Garage parking space

It can be a separate unit (part B of the title deed then gives garage as its type of use), a share in the common parts with a right of exclusive use (výlučné užívání), which is not visible on the title deed, only in the declaration, or an ancillary space (příslušenství) of the unit. The regime decides whether it can be sold without the flat. The price differs from project to project; in the model it is CZK 690,000.

Cellar storage cage and share in the land

Under § 5 of Government Regulation No. 366/2013 Coll. (nařízení vlády), the storage cage is a common part of the building unless the declaration defines it otherwise; it is not counted in the area of the flat. As for the land, check whether part B of the title deed also lists, for the unit, a share with a parcel number (parcelní číslo). If the land is owned by a third party, find out under what agreement the land is used, who pays for the use and whether this is reflected in the contribution to building management (příspěvek na správu domu).

Specification of fittings and client changes

What will be in the flat is determined by the specification of fittings (standard vybavení) — an itemised annex to the future agreement. It is read against the room legend of the floor plan; whatever is not on the list will not be in the flat after occupancy approval (kolaudace). A fitted kitchen is usually missing from the specification; for the model 3+kk we count CZK 250,000. Client changes (klientská změna) are charged as a price difference, possibly with a fee for the change sheet (změnový list) under the agreement, and they can be ordered only up to the cut-off date (uzávěrka). Have its date written into the sheet in figures, not as a reference to the schedule.

Fees and taxes that come after signing

• Administrative fee (správní poplatek) for the application for registration: CZK 2,000 under item 120 of Act No. 634/2004 Coll., on Administrative Fees (zákon o správních poplatcích); when the application is filed through the Land Registry (katastr nemovitostí) portal, the fee is reduced by 20 % to CZK 1,600 (§ 9 of the same Act).
• Signature verification (legalizace, official verification of the authenticity of a signature): CZK 50 per signature at a public office or a Czech POINT, CZK 70 excluding VAT at a notary.
• Time. Under § 18 of Act No. 256/2013 Coll., on the Land Registry (katastrální zákon), registration (vklad) cannot be approved before the protective period (ochranná lhůta) of 20 days has passed; according to the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (Český úřad zeměměřický a katastrální, ČÚZK), the average time to complete registration in August 2026 was 22 days nationwide. Throughout that time, the costs of your current housing keep running.
• Property tax. Anyone who buys in 2026 files the property tax (daň z nemovitých věcí) return for 2027 by 31 January 2027. For a unit in an apartment building with a share in the land, the base is the adjusted floor area (upravená podlahová plocha) 68.4 × 1.22 = 83.4 m², rounded up to 84 m², under § 10 and 11d of Act No. 338/1992 Coll., on Immovable Property Tax (zákon o dani z nemovitých věcí). It is multiplied by the rate of CZK 3.50 per m², by a coefficient of 4.5 or 5 depending on the city district (městská část) and by a local coefficient (místní koeficient) of 1.5, in some city districts 1.7 or 2, under City of Prague Ordinance No. 11/2024 (obecně závazná vyhláška); the inflation coefficient (inflační koeficient) for 2027 remains 1.0. In the model, with coefficients of 4.5 and 1.5, that comes to CZK 1,985 a year.
• The contribution to building management and advance payments for services (zálohy na služby) are paid from the takeover of the unit, not from its entry in the Land Registry (row 12 of the table).

The price of a flat, what it includes and what it does not: one line in the title block

For every property we represent, the title block has two numbered lines: “included in the price” and “over and above the price”. The same pair goes into the property particulars (expozé) and into the reservation agreement, so that the three documents can be compared side by side. This approach has three drawbacks.

Commercial. If, when sorted by price, our flat at CZK 12,450,000 with the parking space included stands next to another at CZK 12,300,000 where the parking space has to be bought extra for CZK 690,000, we look more expensive and the filter pushes us lower. It costs us click-throughs and sometimes a viewing.

Conflict of interest. A fee calculated as a percentage of the purchase price means that every discount for the buyer also reduces the fee. A fixed part of the fee, independent of the purchase price, mitigates this conflict but does not remove it.

The buyer’s position. If the seller pays for the legal services, the agreement is drafted by the seller’s side. We therefore recommend that the buyer obtain an independent review, and we do not reduce our fee on that account. The chain of documents from reservation to registration is described in buying a flat from a developer step by step.

Annex: table of costs beyond the advertised price

Model: a new build in Prague, 3+kk, 68.4 m², advertised price CZK 12,450,000 including 12 % VAT.

Rows 11 to 13 are not included in the total: the eleventh is an alternative to the seventh, the twelfth is a recurring cost and the thirteenth does not apply to the model unit. For a second-hand flat, rows 1 to 4 drop out and a statement of advances as at the handover date is added.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is included in the price of a flat? Only what is defined by the owner’s declaration or by an item in the price list. Parking spaces, storage cages and sometimes the share in the land have their own line and price. For a new build, the specification of fittings is added to that.

Does the buyer pay commission to the real estate broker? For the properties we represent, no — the seller pays it and it is included in the advertised price. Both variants exist on the market; check it in the purchase price clause of the reservation agreement, not in the advert.

How much is VAT on a new build? 12 % for a flat with a floor area of up to 120 m² and for a family house of up to 350 m², otherwise 21 % (§ 48a of Act No. 235/2004 Coll.). Exceeding the limit raises the rate on the whole price.

Is a garage parking space included in the price of a flat? Usually not. It tends to be a separate item in the price list with its own price, defined as a unit, as a share in the common parts or as an ancillary space of the flat.

Key takeaways

The advertised price is the price for the subject of the transfer as defined by the declaration or the price list; for the model new build, a further CZK 1,048,085 was added to it without the price of the flat changing. The largest items are not fees but the parking space, the storage cage and whatever is missing from the specification of fittings. The VAT rate, moreover, is the only line that can move by a million, and it is decided by the floor area measured against the 120 m² limit. Before you sign the reservation, go through the price list, the specification of fittings and the reservation agreement side by side, and note for every amount in which of those three documents it appears.