Expats’ Obligation to Pay the Fee for Municipal Waste: Prague vs. Brno

Since January 1st, 2013, each foreign national residing in the Czech Republic has to pay the fee for municipal waste. What makes the difference is the way how this fee is paid. Let’s take a closer look at how it works at the biggest Czech cities, Prague and Brno.

The fees for municipal waste in the Czech Republic have to be paid by:

–   all foreign nationals with registered residence in the Czech Republic (until 2012 it was only those with a permanent residence permit)

–  all foreign nationals residing in the Czech Republic temporarily, but for longer than 3 months  (it is necessary to meet the reporting duty)

–  a foreign national who is under international protection or have been given asylum status and so allowed to stay in the Czech Republic

– all owners of a property (apartments or family houses) in which no person is registered as staying

Simply put, each person who lives in the Czech Republic (foreigners including) produces waste and so must pay the waste collection fee. The fee is paid to the municipality where the person is registered for residence.

There are 3 options how the fee can be paid:

1. Local fee – each person must pay themselves (Brno)
2. Fee for the municipal waste – paid by the owner of the property (Prague)
3. Other ways – an invoice etc. (possible in some of the smaller municipalities)

For Prague expats:

As stated above, Prague city has chosen the way that the owner of the property (if you live in a rented apartment then it is your landlord) has the obligation to pay the fee for each person who lives in the property. It means that you don’t pay the fee directly to the municipality but the owner does that on your behalf based on the price list given by the city.

For Brno expats:

You have to pay the local fee for municipality waste on your own. It is your own responsibility. All necessary details such as the cost and payment options are available on this website. In order to pay for waste follow the link.

Our advice: Follow the law and pay the fee from the day one you reside in the Czech Republic. It is possible the municipality won’t find out you haven’t paid but if they do so you can suddenly be asked to pay a higher sum of money (the fee + penalty for a delay). Just the other day, we had a client who has been staying in the Czech Republic for 3 years (student visa firstly, then long-term residence permit for the purpose of studies) and she was requested to pay about 3 000 CZK.