Your Abandoned Property in Czech Republic

Todays post is about your abandoned property in Czech Republic. Yes, YOUR property. Keep reading to discover how you may be entitled to property which has been abandoned in the Czech Republic.

We would like to acquaint you with a negligible issue regarding abandoned properties located in the Czech Republic. Many of you might be aware, that many Czechoslovaks immigrated in the last century to the United States or Canada and have left their lands and/or properties behind.  The properties belonging to those individuals have remained over the years registered as theirs.

The inheritance has nothing to do with the restitution acts which were enacted in the early 1990s after the fall of Communism. Restitution acts covered cases when the property was nationalized by the communist regime. But this is not the case here because the properties have remained over the years registered in the name of the original owners, who left the country.

The official owners or their heirs can still petition for ownership of their families’ property.  The problem is, that not many of them know, that they own a property in the Czech Republic.

According to the Czech Civil Code 89/2012, effective from 1 January 2014, § 3067 concerning the abandonment of immovable property is stated. This provision states:

If the immovable property is abandoned, the period specified in § 1050 para. 2 shall begin to run from the date of entry into force of this Act.
§ 1050

(1) If the owner does not practice the ownership right to the movable thing for a period of three years, he/she shall be deemed to have left it. If a movable thing, which was that valuable to the original owner, has been left in a place accessible to the public, it is considered to be abandoned without further ado.

(2) If the owner has not practiced the ownership right to the immovable property for a period of ten years, he shall be deemed to have left it.

The above does not apply only to current Czech citizens, but also to compatriots living abroad. There are properties attributed to owners, who themselves usually do not even know that they own any real estate. Alternatively, it is registered to their legal predecessor. Most of the mentioned owners inherited the property from their ancestors several decades ago and have no idea that they own the property.

Many of the original owners, who emigrated to other countries have gone through a hardship. They were being followed or interrogated and it would not be fair, if the original owners or their heirs would lose the right to keep their land in the Czech Republic.

As the legal deadline for abandoned items ends by 1 January 2024 and there is no possibility for cadastral offices, the Office for Representation in Property Matters to search for the original owners abroad, we would like to draw attention to this problem and ask for cooperation from anyone who may be helpful.

Please consider the provision concerning the abandonment of immovable property in the Civil Code and let us try to find a way together to help these compatriots, not to commit further injustices and not to damage the good name of our country.

If you need assistance, let us know. We are here to help!

Each case is specific so there is no general advice how to proceed and complete list of “relevant” property.

Kindly contact us through e-mail and tell us the details privately: info@ak-hp.cz or jhorky@ak-hp.cz.

The website of our law firm is at this link.

Same Article in Czech – 

Je známo, že v rekodifikaci  Občanského zákoníku 89/2012  je uveden  § 3067  týkající se opuštění nemovité věci
Je-li opuštěna nemovitá věc, počne běžet doba uvedená v § 1050 odst. 2 ode dne nabytí účinnosti tohoto zákona.

§ 1050

(1) Nevykonává-li vlastník vlastnické právo k movité věci po dobu tří let, má se za to, že ji opustil. Byla-li movitá věc, která pro vlastníka měla zřejmě jen nepatrnou hodnotu, zanechána na místě přístupném veřejnosti, považuje se za opuštěnou bez dalšího.

(2) Nevykonává-li vlastník vlastnické právo k nemovité věci po dobu deseti let, má se za to, že ji opustil.

Mnoho našich krajanů a jejich právních nástupců ani neví, že se na území České republiky nachází nemovitý majetek jejich právních předchůdců. Mnoho originálních vlastníků, kteří zemřeli před rokem 1989 a následně i jejich dědici jsou přesvědčeni, že majetek jim byl zabaven v období totality  a jelikož po sametové revoluci neměli občanství naší republiky , nemají na tento majetek právo.

Mnoho z těchto krajanů  jejichž majetek se nachází na území ČR, pochází z rodin které byly  pronásledováni za druhé světové války, mnoho z příbuzných zemřelo v koncentračních táborech  a následně totalitním režimem který nastal po roce 1948 jim omezil nakládání s majetkem  které byly  těmto rodinám našich krajanů po roce 1945 navráceny. V době hluboké totality mnoho z nich ani netušilo a nadále netuší , že tyto majetky zůstaly napsány na jejich jméno nebo jméno jejich právních předchůdců.  V evidenci katastru nemovitostí totiž mnohokrát existují pouze strohé údaje které tyto vlastníky identifikují.

Jelikož m zákonná lhůta pro věci opuštěné skončí 1.1. 2024 a není možnostech katastrálních úřadů, úřadu pro zastupování ve věcech majetkových dohledávat vlastníky  v zahraničí, dovolujeme si touto cestou upozornit na tento problém.

V zájmu dobrého jména České republiky se domníváme , že by bylo vhodné najít společně  způsob jak tuto informaci dostat mezi co nejvíce osob v zemích kde žijí naši krajané. Současně v součinnosti se státními orgány těchto zemí hledat možnosti   jak získat informace o vlastnících nemovitostí na území České republiky nebo jejich právních nástupcích v těchto zemích.

Současná legislativa v České republice neumožňuje třetím osobám , které by měli zájem být těmto vlastníkům nemovitostí být nápomocni nahlížet do určitých dokumentů( například dědických spisů) kde mohou být informace k nalezení těchto vlastníků nemovitostí. Taktéž některé informace k osobách ne starších 100 let není možné získat. Doba však neúprosně běží a bylo by politováníhodné kdyby vnikaly nové křivdy na osobách kterým tento majetek patří a patřil.

Velmi rádi vám budeme v tomto směru nápomocni: info@ak-hp.cz

Who knows – You could be in line to inherit some property in the Czech Republic!

Guest Post Author

MARTIN NEKOLA, PH.D.
Martin Nekola, Ph.D. received his doctorate in political science at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. His research is focused on the Czechs in America, non-democratic regimes, the era of Communism and the Cold War. From time to time he participates in the election observation missions organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

He is a member of Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), Czechoslovak Studies Association (CSA) and Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International (CGSI), author of more than four hundred articles and twenty-two books, including České Chicago (2017), Čech v americkém Kongresu (2020) and Český New York (2021). He is also the Czechoslovak Talks coordinator.

Martin will be doing a month-long lecture and research tour of the United States in the spring of 2023, and he intends to consult various archival collections related to the Czechs in America. He has created a crowdfunding campaign for that purpose if you feel inclined to support his work.

Read his entire profile here.

Thank you in advance for your support…

We know that you could spend hours, days, weeks and months finding some of this information yourselves – but at this website, we curate the best of what we find for you and place it easily and conveniently into one place. Please take a moment today to recognize our efforts and make a donation towards the operational costs of this site – your support keeps the site alive and keeps us searching for the best of our heritage to bring to you.

Remember, we rely solely on your donations to keep the project going.

We appreciate you more than you know!

If you have not already subscribed to get TresBohemes.com delivered to your inbox, please use the form below now so you never miss another post.