On 1 January 2026, a much-anticipated amendment to the Civil Procedure Code will come into effect which promises a significant acceleration of eviction proceedings.
This amendment is aimed at speeding up the process of evicting tenants from residential properties after their lease has been terminated, in response to the fact that the average length of proceedings for eviction from a property is currently almost one year (indeed, in Prague, Central Bohemia and Brno, the average is as long as 400-450 days).
One of the means by which this is to be achieved is the so-called eviction order, which we have already informed you about (here) and whose implementation has been delayed. However, we believe that the eviction order is not a panacea and will only be a minor obstacle for “experienced defaulters”.
We expect significantly greater impact from the new statutory deadlines within which courts must decide on the merits of the case (i.e. on the eviction from a house or flat). The courts will newly be obliged to issue a decision within six months of the commencement of proceedings, unless there are reasons worthy of special consideration. Although this obligation is not absolute and although the court, should if fail to comply with this rule, is merely obliged to state in its decision why it was not feasible for the court to meet the deadline, it should still put some pressure on judges to decide in a timely manner.
Another, equally important change is the restriction on unjustified postponements of proceedings at the request of the parties (i.e., in practice, mainly the defendant), whereby proceedings may now be adjourned only once at the request of each of the parties. This should prevent the self-serving practice of asking for a postponement for ulterior motives, often based on fabricated grounds.
In practice, the amendment may encounter difficulties due to the backlog of cases in the Czech court system, which is at its capacity limits. Even so, the proposed mechanisms are undoubtedly a welcome means of protecting property owners from uncooperative tenants, which should bring about a certain acceleration.
Source:
Act No. 176/2025 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Housing Support Act