Zástavní právo

Under Czech law

Security interests are regulated by § 1309–§ 1394 of the Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Sb.). For registered real estate, the lien is created by written contract and registration in the cadastre (§ 1316); banks'' mortgage financing runs entirely on this mechanism. The lien follows the property, not the owner — selling a mortgaged flat transfers it with the lien unless the creditor releases it. Enforcement on default happens through judicial sale or public auction; the parties may also agree enforcement terms within the limits of § 1359+.

Ranking is temporal: earlier-registered liens are satisfied first. The Civil Code also allows negative pledges and prohibitions of transfer registered as rights in rem (§ 1761, § 978 framework), which banks routinely stack alongside the mortgage.

A practical example

A buyer purchases a flat with a seller''s mortgage still registered. The purchase contract routes part of the price through escrow directly to the bank against its binding release quote (vyčíslení); the bank issues a deletion consent (kvitance) once paid, and both the transfer and the lien deletion are filed together. Done in the wrong order, the buyer owns a flat that still secures the seller''s loan.

When you need a lawyer

Any purchase or sale involving an existing mortgage (sequencing payments, releases and filings), refinancing where rank between two banks must be swapped, and private loans between individuals — an unregistered "mortgage" on a napkin secures nothing.