Czechia is becoming a new home for many people, who come here to work, study, join their partner or they have had to flee war and persecution. All of you face a common challenge: finding decent, accessible and long-term accommodation. To make this daunting task easier for you, we created a handbook that brings together credible and comprehensive information. The handbook emerged in the framework of the project Refugees Welcome, and our team at the Association for Migration and Integration hopes that it provides basic information on everything important that you will encounter on the path to finding decent housing.
The handbook is based on our long-term experience working with clients, who do not have social ties in Czechia, lack awareness of local customs and legal norms, are in a situation that is too vulnerable to claim their rights, or have been exposed to multiple discrimination. It responds to their needs of having a complex and current summary of practical information, that can be readily used.
The following pages should be a helpful guide in your search for private accommodation. The chapters in this handbook gradually unveil basic information on housing opportunities in Prague and Czechia, details about costs of accommodation, and advice on how to proceed in looking for housing. The handbook also guides you through the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords and the ways in which a lease agreement can be terminated. We have also included a vocabulary, which should make the orientation in housing terminology easier, and examples from our earlier experience, that describe situations you may encounter.
You can read the handbook step by step, chapter by chapter. This way you get a comprehensive knowledge of the whole process of looking for accommodation and steps that need to be taken once you find it. Alternatively, you can start from a chapter or a subchapter that responds to your most pressing needs at the moment.
Good luck in finding your new home!
SIMI Team