The number of properties in Karlovy Vary belonging to Russian owners is decreasing. Real estate brokers and the city administration agree. But it is not easy to determine who actually owns the properties, many of them are registered to companies or people living in countries other than Russia. Despite the decline, however, a number of properties with ties to Russia remain in the city.
“The fact that some properties in Karlovy Vary have been changing hands has been observed for several years since the coronavirus pandemic, which made it virtually impossible for many foreign owners to use their property, or in the case of commercial properties, to manage it effectively, etc. We have seen a flurry of sales of accommodation facilities, with real estate websites offering quite large numbers of apartments and houses, often luxurious and at prices that were probably not and are not realistic at the time. Judging by the response from the real estate market, it seems that many of those properties have gained new owners, often domestic ones – for example, the Sparkasse building, formerly the city savings bank on Divadelní náměstí,” said Mayor Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová (ANO).
Similarly, the real estate brokers she contacted confirm that apartments and houses that used to belong to owners from Russia or the former Soviet Union are appearing more on the market. However, some are still being offered at prices well above the real selling price. Some properties, especially apartments, have been bought by Czech owners in recent years. For more affluent clients, it is an interesting investment to have an apartment in Karlovy Vary, either for their own use or for rent.
Anyone can own property in the Czech Republic, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens of the Russian Federation to get into the Czech Republic or to use and manage their property effectively. The exodus of Russian residents of Karlovy Vary started after the annexation of Crimea, and then increased significantly during the covid pandemic and subsequently after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Exposed supporters of the Russian regime now face sanctions and asset freezes.
On the other hand, there are still many Russian-speaking guests in the spa town. However, as the hoteliers explain, these are Russians or residents of post-Soviet republics who live permanently in Western Europe and are legally citizens of the European Union.
It is often difficult to trace the real owners of real estate, for example, commercial properties are registered in the names of companies whose owners are hidden behind other companies, which are then only formally based, for example, in Cyprus or other places where there is no risk of sanctions. This sometimes causes complications for the municipality if it needs to negotiate with the owners. “The fact that the owners of a building are hard to trace or do not communicate is sometimes a real problem,” the mayor said.
The city doesn’t have a detailed record of who owns the property, nor does it have a reason to look for it unless it needs to negotiate with the owner. In terms of the city or the municipality, owners may have fee obligations, for example, for commercial accommodations to pay the residence tax, for residential properties to pay the municipal waste tax, for all properties to pay the property tax, and in the case of buildings that may pose a danger to their surroundings due to their technical condition, the owners may be ordered to take measures or construction work to secure the building.
“Of course, they may also have other obligations, tax, personnel and so on, for example towards the state budget, but this is not usually addressed by the city. Often, when we are unable to contact the owner himself, we manage to find his authorised representative, the property manager and so on, where some of the obligations can be taken over by him. In general – if the owner does not fulfill his obligations, the debt can accumulate over time. This can lead to a lawsuit and a judgment for the obligation to pay, and if the owner fails to do so, the court’s decision can be enforced, for example by a forced sale of the property to satisfy the debts incurred,” added Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová.
Source: CTK
