Handover Protocol (Předávací Protokol): What It Must Contain, With a Template

The handover protocol (předávací protokol) is a one- or two-page document signed on the day you get the keys and again on the day you give them back. It records what the flat looked like, what was in it and what the meters said. It is not strictly required by law, and it is the single most important piece of paper in a Czech tenancy, because it is the only neutral evidence when the landlord keeps part of your deposit.

Why it matters

Under the Civil Code, when the lease ends you must hand the flat back in the condition you received it, allowing for normal wear and tear (§ 2293). The deposit is returned after the lease ends, with interest, minus any claims the landlord can justify (§ 2254). Both rules only work if someone can prove what the condition was on day one. Without a protocol, a scratch on the floor becomes your word against theirs, and the landlord is holding the money. The full deposit process is in How to Get Your Rental Deposit Back.

What it must contain

1. Who and where: landlord and tenant names, the flat's address and unit number, the date of the lease it belongs to, and the date and time of the handover.
2. Meter readings: electricity, gas, cold and hot water, and heat cost allocators on radiators if there are any, each with the meter number. Photograph every meter showing the number and the reading together.
3. Keys: how many of each (flat, building, mailbox, cellar, bike room), plus any chips or remotes.
4. Room by room condition: walls, floors, windows, doors, sockets and lights, written plainly. "Scratch 10 cm on the living room floor by the window" is useful; "good condition" is not.
5. Inventory: every piece of furniture and every appliance, with its condition and whether it works. Test the fridge, oven, hob, washing machine, dishwasher and boiler while you are standing there.
6. Known defects and what happens to them: anything broken, who will fix it, and by when.
7. Photos: a line saying that dated photos taken on the day form part of the protocol, and where they are stored (a shared folder link or an email sent to both sides the same day).
8. Signatures of both parties, one copy each.

How to do it well

Do it in daylight and do not rush. Film a slow video of every room before anything is moved in, then email it to the landlord the same day; the email date is your timestamp. If the landlord arrives with a pre-filled protocol that says "no defects", do not sign until you have walked the flat; add what you find in writing, even by hand in the margin. And if something turns up in the first week that was hidden (mould behind a wardrobe, a dishwasher that leaks), report it in writing straight away and ask for it to be added to the protocol.

In a shared flat

Everyone who pays part of the deposit should be at the handover, or at least have the photos and a signed copy. If you join an existing flat mid-lease, ask for the original protocol and do a short one of your own room with the person you are replacing and the main tenant. Otherwise the damage the last person left becomes yours when the lease ends. This is the paperwork side of the group agreement we recommend before anyone signs.

Move-out: the same document, in reverse

On the last day use the move-in protocol as the checklist. Read the meters together, return every key listed, and walk each room against what was written. Anything the landlord wants to charge for should be written into the move-out protocol with an amount, or it did not happen. How notice and the last day work is in How to End a Lease in the Czech Republic.

Template

Copy it, replace the brackets, add one line per room. The Czech version is on the Czech page of this article.

HANDOVER PROTOCOL. Landlord: [name, address]. Tenant(s): [names]. Flat: [address, unit no.], under the lease dated [date]. Handover on [date] at [time]; type: move-in / move-out. Meters: electricity no. [..] reading [..]; gas no. [..] reading [..]; cold water no. [..] reading [..]; hot water no. [..] reading [..]. Keys handed over: flat [x], building [x], mailbox [x], cellar [x], other [..]. Condition by room: hallway [..]; kitchen [..]; bathroom [..]; room 1 [..]; room 2 [..]. Inventory and condition: [item, condition, working yes/no]. Defects and agreed remedy: [..]. Photos taken on this date form part of this protocol and are stored at [link/email]. Signed in two copies. Landlord: [signature]. Tenant(s): [signatures].

Sources: Czech Civil Code, Act No. 89/2012 Coll., § 2254 (deposit) and § 2293 (return of the flat). General information, not legal advice.