When you buy a plot of land or plan to rebuild your house, the územní plán, formální dokument, který stanovuje, jak lze v dané lokalitě využívat pozemky a stavět budovy. Also known as územní rozhodnutí, it is the legal backbone of every construction project in the Czech Republic. Without understanding it, you risk buying land you can’t build on, or spending money on a design that gets rejected by the town hall.
Most people think an územní plán, formální dokument, který stanoví povolené druhy výstavby, výšku budov, zastavěné plochy a zelené plochy is just a boring map. But it’s not. It tells you if you can build a garage next to your house, if you need to leave a 3-meter buffer from the neighbor’s fence, or if your dream of a two-story extension is even possible. The zástavba, procento pozemku, které lze pokrýt budovami is often capped at 30–40% in residential zones. If your plot is 800 m², that’s only 240–320 m² of usable floor area. Many buyers don’t realize this until after they’ve paid for architectural plans.
And it’s not just about what you can build—it’s about what you can’t. Some areas restrict building height to one story, others forbid detached houses entirely. You might want a modern glass extension, but if the použití pozemku, určuje, zda je pozemek určen pro bydlení, obchod, průmysl nebo zelené plochy is labeled as "agricultural," you’re out of luck. Even if your neighbor built a house there 20 years ago, that doesn’t mean you can. Rules change. The územní rozhodnutí, individuální povolení pro konkrétní stavbu, které se řídí územním plánem is what you need to get after the plan confirms you’re allowed to build.
Check the plan before you sign anything. Go to your local municipal office—most have it online now. Look for the zoning code (ZP, ZM, ZB), check the building density, and see if there are any special restrictions like protected views, flood zones, or heritage overlays. If you’re unsure, hire a local architect. They know the local quirks—like how some towns allow only red roofs, or how far a chimney must be from a neighbor’s window.
You’ll find posts here that dig into real cases: how someone lost €20,000 because they didn’t check the plot’s building limits, how a family turned a narrow urban lot into a two-story home by understanding height allowances, and why a garage extension in Brno got rejected because of a 1987 zoning rule still in force. These aren’t theoretical stories. They’re lessons from people who learned the hard way.
Don’t let a hidden rule in an old document ruin your project. The územní plán isn’t bureaucracy—it’s your roadmap. Get it right, and your build goes smoothly. Get it wrong, and you’re stuck with a plot of land you can’t use. Below, you’ll find practical guides that show you exactly how to read it, where to find it, and what to do when the rules don’t make sense.
