Hi, Here's an interesting case - I wonder if anyone has any tips on how I should proceed ... I agreed to buy a flat in Prague and have signed the reservation contract. The selling agents, ABA Reality, (who have revealed themselves to be fibbers throughout the whole process) advertised the flat as having a size of 44m2 "obytne plose", translated on their own site as 'living space'. Now I have seen the Future Purchase Contract, which contains the official (ie from the property register of the city district authorities) measurements of each room in the flat, the total internal area plus the balcony and cellar area, I can see that the internal area is 41.9m2! Liers! My lawyer has contacted them, pointing out the discrepancy and they replied that the area includes the balcony and that to do so is normal practice! My objections are: a) it is NOT normal practice to include the balcony in the stated area for a flat in the Czech Rep. and I would happy to collect data to that effect. They themselves may do so but to to do so is misleading. b) in any case, "obytne plose", as a term, could NOT include an external balcony, which would, I am sure by Czech law, be classed as some kind of 'non-residential' living space. The financial impact is that I thought I was buying a flat for 56,500CZK/m2 but am in fact buying it for about 59,500/m2 (about 3,000GBP difference). But it is the principle of selling something under false claims that really annoys me. I haven't signed the Future Purchase Contract yet, which states the sizes in the flat. I assume that after I do, it will not be possible to complain. I am wondering if I can refuse to sign the FPP until I am given a discount and, if they refuse and I am therefore forced to withdraw from the to return the reservation deposit to me, threaten them with legal action for its recovery. (In fact, I know I can still buy the flat directly from the owner since we have made contact independently...) Agents in Prague - a bunch of greedy good-for-nothings!

Point out the discrepancy and request a deduction....but is it worth the hassle of complaining/threatening legal action just for £3k? Especially if you might lose your deposit. You'd have to pay for a lawyer for legal action anyway. If the deal is otherwise good , and the flat is well located and youre going to make money on it long term (rental and capital gains) then the £3k isn't going to matter too much.

Actually Doug I disagree whilst it may be financially optimal decision. The apathetic recommendation you suggest encourages such rogueish business to continue in their style of operation. Richard, you should at least formally complain threaten legal action , and possibly report them to a local trading standards organisation (is there one?). I know somebody who got £3k out of the "quality" agency Bulgarian Dreams by taking them to small claims for similar misrepresentation. Obviously that is UK law but it does show it can be done. However, actually going through with legal action would be inadvisable.

Hi, thanks for your views. My lawyer has advised that there is little legally we can do because the term "obytna plocha" is not a legal term (unlike podlahova plocha). The Czech legal system, like so many in Europe that use Roman law, has very tight definitions for things. The agent has refused to budge. I have found an Association of Real Estate agents but they seem to exist to represent agents as a group and do not police themselves. Nevertheless, I will write to them and complain. I have read on the web that there is no accrediation, no policing, no needed qualifications and no complaints procedures for estate agents in Czech. Next time, I will ask to see the extract from the Katastr before I sign the reservation contract, although they will always put pressure on you to sign immediately. There is little reason to believe a single word any of them say. When I sell, I am going to do it personally by advertising on sreality.cz.