According to the new Building Act, is the seller obliged to hand over the documentation to the buyer when selling the property?
What does the Civil Code say? According to the legal regulation of the purchase contract, the seller is obliged to hand over to the buyer, in addition to the thing itself, the documents relating to it (§ 2087 CC). Which documents are involved may be determined in a particular case by the agreement of the parties, by commercial practice or by legal requirements.
The new Building Act stipulates (as did the old Building Act) that the owner of a building is obliged to keep certified documentation corresponding to its actual execution or a passport of the building throughout its duration.
From the combination of the above, it can be concluded that the seller is obliged to hand over the project documentation together with the object of purchase to the buyer.
The above provision of the Civil Code is dispositive and the contracting parties may negotiate the obligation in the contract as they wish.
If they do not agree in this way, the absence of project documentation or a passport is a legal defect and the buyer can claim rights from defective performance (for example, discounts on the purchase price corresponding to the price of the building passport).
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The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only and is intended to provide basic orientation on the subject matter in accordance with the legal framework as of 2026. While we strive for maximum accuracy, legislation and its interpretation evolve over time. We are ARROWS Law Firm, an entity registered with the Czech Bar Association (our supervisory authority), and for the maximum protection of our clients we carry professional indemnity insurance with a limit of CZK 400,000,000. To verify the current wording of applicable regulations and their impact on your specific situation, please contact the author of this article or another qualified professional.