Demand for rent in big cities is high, pushing up prices. According to an analysis by Bezrealitky.cz, half of the rental offers disappear within eight days. More than a third of available apartments for rent in Prague and Brno are gone within three days. On average, thirty applicants apply for one advertisement in Brno and over forty in the capital.
After posting an offer on Bezrealitky.cz, the landlord gets in touch with the first applicant within twenty or thirty minutes on average.
“The search for a lease can take several weeks, and it means going around dozens of apartments,” said Jan Škrabánek, a company representative.
People looking for a lease should also be prepared because they usually have to pay the real estate agency one rent as a commission and usually two more rents as a deposit. This means that for an apartment more significant than a studio apartment, they have to pay CZK 60,000 in total.
Pet owners, especially dogs and cats, have an even bigger problem. Apartment owners usually refuse them, even if it is not by the law. A dog is not a reason to reject a tenant. But the practice is different. “An open ban on dogs or cats is commonly stated directly in advertisements,” Škrabánek confirmed.
For example, the owner of a 30-meter studio apartment on the very outskirts of Prague, in Klecany, wants CZK 13 000 a month for rent alone, with a deposit of CZK 3 000 per person and a security deposit of at least CZK 30 000.
A 1-bedroom apartment in Prague’s Karlín district costs CZK 15,000 in basic rent, while a 2-bedroom apartment on náměstí Svatopluk Čecha costs CZK 20,000 a month without utilities. The refundable deposit is CZK 25 thousand.
Sreality.cz offers a 2+kk, 70 m2 in Michle for CZK 20,000 per month. The real estate commission is CZK 22,500, and the security deposit is CZK 40,000.
Brno is almost like Prague
Similar prices are in Brno, where for example, in Žabovřesky, there is a 2+kk, 36 m2 for 15 thousand CZK per month; or 1+kk, 42 m2 in Líšeň for almost 18 thousand CZK per month. A 2+1 panel apartment in Nový Lískovec is available for CZK 15 thousand per month.
Students have traditionally driven the demand for rentals after the holidays. Bezrealitky.cz analysts expect that the growth of rents could slow down in three months, and the supply could expand, especially for large apartments and family houses. They are likely to become more leased and sublet to help tenants and owners of larger spaces manage to pay for expensive utilities.
Tens of thousands of houses
But rents in single-family homes are not smaller now. For example, in Prague 5 – Stodůlky, a 300 sqm terraced house with a smaller plot is offered for CZK 65,000 a month; a 180 sqm house with a 768 sqm plot in Prague 9 – Horní Počernice for CZK 42,000 a month; or a 100 sqm house in Prague Hostivař for CZK 35,000 a month.
In the Brno locality of Židenice, the rent for a floor area of 316 m2 and a plot of 181 m2 is CZK 45,000 per month. However, an older 100-meter terraced house in Žabovřesky is priced at CZK 15,000 per month.