In this article different types of rental-related expenses will be disclosed. Although many facts presented in it can be considered in the context of whole Czech Republic our discussion will be devoted to Prague because of its high attractiveness to foreigners.
Rent is probably 28 percent of your monthly expenses
If you're going to study or work in Prague you will most probably investigate local rental housing opportunities. I emphasize “most probably” because some of you do not mind living in dormitories (category “students”) whereas others will be likely to buy a flat instead of renting (category “employees or entrepreneurs”).
In any case you should be aware of the fact that rent is likely to make up nearly 28 percent of your monthly expenses. According to the same source (Numbeo) monthly rent for one bedroom apartment situated in Prague centre will vary within the range of €472.74 to €590.93, while for one bedroom apartment outside the centre the respective diapason will be €315.16–€393.95.
In case of centrally located three bedroom apartment you're likely to pay minimum €709.12 and maximum €1,024.28 per month in rent, in case of three bedroom apartment with non-central location you're likely to pay €512.14 and €709.12 respectively.
In relation to utilities the mentioned website offers similar data only for 85 square metre apartments (€98.49–€157.58) possibly because this size is a popular choice among foreigners. In many cases these fees amount to 25-30 percent of total sum but they can be beyond this range depending on wall thickness, window size and other factors.
Other payments related to your rented apartment
Besides rental and utilities (so called poplatky) you will have to make other payments related to your rented apartment. Hardly anybody can live nowadays without Internet, therefore you should be prepared to pay on average €15.76 per month (3 Mbps).
In addition when planning your expenditures you should take into account a tenancy deposit (so called kauce) which usually equals to 1-2 months' rent, whose purpose is to protect the landlord from any kind of damage caused by a tenant or his/her decision to early terminate the rental agreement.
However the second case doesn't necessarily mean that you cannot leave before termination date, just always keep in mind the notice period (so called vypovední lhůta). In compliance with Czech Civil Code (No. 40/1964 Sb., §710) you should give your landlord notice that you're leaving minimum three full months beforehand.
That means that if you have decided to leave in November you must deliver a notice to your landlord before September 1st.
If you decide to cooperate with a real estate broker your expenses will increase by the amount of his/her commission (so called provize) which is usually equal to 1 month's rent.
However this cost might be worth bearing if you want to have a variety of housing options to choose from and if you do not want to panic every time a potential landlord has preferred another tenant (a brocker will work with you until he / she has found a flat for you).
In addition there are other obstacles which can prevent you from finding a flat without intermediary. If you do not understand Czech it will be difficult to look for an apartment on your own because majority of the offers are in Czech what in many cases means that a landlord is able to communicate only in this language. In addition you can face discrimination on the ground of nationality.
Unwillingness to rent a flat
You can experience both its apparent (rental ads can include the sentences similar to “ne zvířata, ne děti, ne kuřáci, ne cizinci” – no domestic animals, no children, for non-smokers and not for foreigners) and its hidden forms (there is no mention of national restrictions in the ad, however when you enter into direct contact with a flat owner he / she refuses you on the basis of the mentioned reason).
Although Czech society still keeps some prejudices against particular nations they have become weaker in recent years and landowners "preferences in favour of West countries" citizens are not so evident any more.
Therefore if unwillingness to rent a flat to a foreigner exists in most of cases it applies to all nations and usually is explained by the following reasons: doubts about a tenant's payment morale; probability of regular noisy parties and as a result damaged interior and permanent guests.