What an SVJ Actually Is
An SVJ (spolecenstvi vlastniku jednotek - "association of unit owners") is not a company you choose to join. The moment a building is split into privately owned apartments belonging to more than one person, this legal entity comes into existence automatically to run the shared parts of the building - the roof, the facade, the stairwell, the pipes behind your walls. Every apartment owner is a member by default. There is no membership fee to vote on and no opting out - buy a flat in a multi-unit building in Prague, and you are already a co-owner of its SVJ.
The SVJ holds its own bank account and its own bookkeeping, and it is usually run day to day by an elected committee of a few owners. Most buildings also hire an external property manager to handle accounting, contractor coordination and paperwork, while the committee keeps an eye on the manager and brings the bigger decisions to the full group of owners.
How the Annual Meeting Works in Practice
Once a year, sometimes more often if something urgent comes up, every owner is invited to a general meeting - shromazdeni. This is where the annual accounts get approved, next year's budget is set, and any major repairs or contracts get put to a vote.
Voting power is not "one owner, one vote." It is weighted by the size of your unit relative to the whole building, expressed as a percentage share - a larger apartment carries more weight than a studio. Most routine decisions pass with a simple majority of the share present at the meeting; bigger structural changes to the building typically need a much higher threshold to pass.
In practice, meetings are announced by post or notice board a few weeks ahead, in Czech. If you cannot attend, nothing gets decided against you automatically - but your share only counts toward the vote if someone actually casts it on your behalf.
The Repair Fund: What It Is and Why It Matters
The fond oprav, or repair fund, is money every owner pays into every month, held by the SVJ specifically for maintenance and future repairs - a new roof, facade restoration, an elevator overhaul, replacing old plumbing risers. It is kept separate from the money that covers day-to-day running costs.
A well-run building keeps this fund topped up according to a long-term plan, so a major repair does not turn into a surprise bill split among owners at short notice. A poorly funded one means special one-off assessments can appear with little warning. Before buying into a building, it is worth asking how healthy the fund actually is - a thin fund on paper usually means a bigger bill later, not a bargain now.
What You Actually Pay Every Month
Each month you typically pay one combined amount to the SVJ, made up of a few separate pieces:
- A management contribution - runs the SVJ itself and pays the property manager
- The repair fund contribution - savings set aside for future works
- Advance payments for shared utilities - heating, common-area electricity, water, waste collection - reconciled once a year against actual consumption
None of this includes your own household insurance or a mortgage payment, if you have one - those are separate. For a typical one or two-bedroom flat in central Prague, combined SVJ contributions commonly land somewhere in the low thousands of Czech crowns a month; the exact figure depends heavily on the building's age, condition, and whether it has an elevator or a historic facade that needs extra care.
How to Participate When You Live Abroad
Living outside the Czech Republic does not mean losing your say. The most common and reliable option is a power of attorney (plna moc) - a simple signed document authorizing someone you trust, such as your property manager, a family member, or another owner, to attend meetings and vote on your behalf according to instructions you give in advance.
Many buildings also allow decisions by written or "per rollam" voting, where owners cast a vote by post or email instead of attending in person - useful for straightforward decisions that do not need a live discussion. A good property manager will flag upcoming votes early, translate the agenda into English, and give you a clear recommendation so you are never voting blind.
Ask your manager for three things from the start: an English summary after every meeting, advance notice before any vote that affects your wallet, and a direct line to reach them rather than a shared inbox.