Can't pay your mortgage
The worst thing you can do is stay quiet and hope. Banks have tools for when income drops temporarily, and the law adds deadlines and caps that apply even if you can't reach an agreement with the bank. Here is both, in one place.
Get in touch before a payment is missed
Before the due date you have options. After it, only consequences. Česká spořitelna says this directly in its own guidance: the key thing is not to put it off, because fees and penalties start building up as soon as you miss a payment.
A bank treats you differently when you call yourself and are still paying normally than when you get in touch after the third reminder. Some of the tools below also require that you've been paying without problems so far, so waiting can cost you access to them.
A second point banks repeat, and it's worth taking seriously: don't cover a mortgage payment with another loan. A consumer loan carries a higher rate than a mortgage, so it raises your monthly burden rather than lowering it.
What a bank can do if you get in touch in time
- Lowering the payment. The most common solution. The payment goes down and the term is extended to match, the rate stays the same. Česká spořitelna offers this as a service it describes as free, on condition of at least twelve payments made and a clean payment record. ČSOB caps the resulting extension at two years and promises a reply within thirty days (both checked on 21 September 2026).
- Payment deferral. For a temporary drop in income. Once the deferral ends, you either go back to the original payment or the term is extended. Interest keeps running during the deferral, so the loan doesn't get cheaper this way.
- Extending the term. On its own, without a deferral. It runs into the maximum term for that type of mortgage and into your age.
- Consolidating other loans. When a credit card and a consumer loan alongside the mortgage are the problem, merging them into the mortgage rate can help. We cover this under refinancing.
- Payment protection insurance. If you have it, it covers payments during long-term illness or job loss. Check the conditions first. A payout from this kind of insurance is also one of the cases where a bank may not charge anything for early repayment.
What must a bank do before it accelerates the loan?
It must first give you notice and at least thirty days. Acceleration, the moment the whole mortgage suddenly falls due, cannot come without warning. The Consumer Credit Act requires the lender to call on you to pay the overdue instalment and allow at least thirty days for it.
One more thing worth knowing: once acceleration happens, it covers only the outstanding principal, not future interest and costs. The bank cannot ask for interest on years you would no longer have been paying.
How much can a bank charge for arrears?
This is the part almost nobody mentions, yet it limits everything else. For arrears a lender may only agree a reimbursement of costs reasonably incurred, default interest and a contractual penalty, and all three are capped.
- A contractual penalty of at most 0.1% a day of the amount you're behind on.
- All penalties together at most half of the total loan amount, and in any case no more than CZK 200,000.
- After ninety days of arrears the lender is entitled only to interest. Its rate matches the Czech National Bank's repo rate plus eight percentage points, unless a lower rate was agreed.
If a statement you receive doesn't match these limits, that's a reason to ask questions. The caps are set by law and can't be contracted away.
If it comes to the property: you have six months and the right to sell it yourself
The bank cannot sell the property right away. For a mortgage it may sell the property no sooner than six months after notifying you that it has started enforcing its charge over it. During that time it may not stop you selling the property yourself and using the proceeds to repay the debt.
The difference between the two routes is large. Selling it yourself usually raises more than an auction, and whatever is left after the debt is repaid is yours. We've written up how that works in practice on our page on selling a property with a mortgage.
If the bank only registers the start of enforcement in the public register after notifying you, the six months run from that registration instead. A shorter period agreed in advance doesn't count.
When can you repay without a cost penalty?
The law also allows for when your situation changes fundamentally. A bank may not ask for reimbursement of costs on death, long-term illness or disability. This applies to the borrower and to their spouse or partner too, on condition that it significantly reduced their ability to keep paying.
The same zero applies when selling the property, as long as at least two years have passed since the contract was signed, and also when you're repaying from insurance taken out for exactly this situation. We cover the other cases and caps under the entry Fixed-rate period, meaning the period for which the bank holds your agreed rate.
Mortgage of CZK 4,000,000, fixed borrowing rate 4.99% a year, term 30 years (360 months), fixed-rate period 3 years. Monthly payment CZK 21,448, APRC 5.11%, total amount payable CZK 7,721,433.
Calculated with the rate valid on 1. 11. 2026. Your actual rate depends on your creditworthiness, the LTV and the market. A mortgage is a loan secured by a charge over the property, and failing to repay can lead to its sale. We will tell you the commission we receive from banks on request.
Who to call if you can't reach an agreement with the bank
A debt advice service. The advice is free. It can help you draw up an overview of your debts, work out what you can realistically manage, and prepare for talking to the bank.
- Člověk v tísni, Help Line: 770 600 800. Weekdays 9am to 5pm. In a crisis, for example a bailiff's visit, until 10pm.
- Dluhová a sociální poradna (Debt and Social Advice Centre): 800 214 214. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
- Sdružení českých spotřebitelů (Czech Consumers' Association): 800 722 722. Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Numbers starting with 800 are free to call too. Checked on 22 September 2026.
Some bank websites still mention Poradna při finanční tísni. That organisation has been in liquidation since 1 July 2026. Its line, 800 722 722, has been taken over by Sdružení českých spotřebitelů, so the number still works.
An advice centre near you
The Ministry of Justice maintains a list of accredited advice centres (in Czech), over a hundred and twenty across the country, most with a phone number. Člověk v tísni and Dluhová a sociální poradna are both on it. At an accredited centre, drawing up a debt relief petition is free too. That's set by law.
One thing debt relief doesn't solve: a charge over your property. A bank has priority rights over a flat or house even in insolvency. If you want to keep your home, it mainly comes down to negotiating with the bank or selling the property yourself. An advice centre helps most when you have other debts besides the mortgage.
A dispute with the bank
A dispute over a fee, the size of a debt or a charge for early repayment is handled free of charge by the Financial Arbitrator (finanční arbitr). Phone 257 042 094, calls are taken 10 to 11am and 2 to 3pm. It cannot, however, rule on a charge over a property or on halting enforcement proceedings. For that, the right address is a court.
What to do in practice
Write down how much you're short each month and how long you expect it to last. That's the first question you'll be asked, and the answer decides whether a deferral, a lower payment, or switching to another bank makes sense. If your fixed-rate period is also ending, work that out too.
Frequently asked questions
Does a lower payment get recorded in a credit registry?
An agreed change to a payment isn't the same as arrears. What gets recorded is how you pay. So if you agree it in advance and pay the new amount on time, that's a different situation to a missed payment. The exact treatment varies by bank, so get it confirmed in writing.
How much time do I have before the bank accelerates the whole loan?
The bank must first call on you to pay the overdue instalment and give you at least thirty days to do it. Acceleration then covers only the outstanding principal, not future interest.
Can I sell the property myself once the bank is already enforcing?
Yes. For six months from the notice that enforcement of the charge has started, the bank may not stop you selling the property to repay the debt. Selling it yourself usually raises more than an auction, and any surplus after the debt is repaid is yours.
Is a payment deferral free?
There may be no arrangement fee, but it isn't free: interest keeps running during the deferral and gets added on. So a deferral solves an immediate cash shortfall, not the overall cost of the loan.
What if we can't find a solution with the bank?
What's left is selling the property, ideally yourself and within the time the law allows. A dispute over a fee, the size of a debt or early repayment is handled free by the Financial Arbitrator, who cannot however rule on the charge itself. For debts as a whole, a free debt advice service can help, for example Člověk v tísni's Help Line on 770 600 800.
Would moving the mortgage to another bank help?
Only if the new bank approves you, and that tends to be a problem once you're in arrears. If you're still paying normally and only your outlook has worsened, it's worth working out: a lower rate or longer term reduces the monthly burden. Once arrears start, this route closes.