The Supreme Court has confirmed that the determination of the purchase price is not an essential element of a contract of sale. Even when purchasing real property, the parties may express their intention to conclude a contract of sale without specifying the purchase price.
Current practice of the Land Registry
To date, Land Registry offices have rejected applications for the registration of a change in ownership based on a contract of sale in which the purchase price, or at least the method of determining it, had not been agreed with a sufficient degree of specificity. The Land Registry offices did so on the basis of the assumption that Section 2085(2) of the Civil Code, which allows the parties to conclude a contract of sale without specifying the purchase price, cannot be applied to a contract of sale for the transfer of real property. However, in its judgment of 9 April 2026, case no. 24 Cdo 81/2026, the Supreme Court reached the opposite conclusion.
Is it possible to conclude a contract of sale without specifying the purchase price?
The Supreme Court expressly acknowledged that, even in the case of the purchase of real property, the contracting parties may express their intention not to specify the purchase price by reference to Section 2085(2) of the Civil Code. However, this intention of the contracting parties to conclude a sale and purchase agreement for consideration without specifying the purchase price must be clearly evident from the written sale and purchase agreement. In such a case, the purchase price at which a comparable property is usually sold at the time of conclusion of the agreement and under similar contractual terms is deemed to be the agreed price.
Is the purchase price an essential element of the contract?
The Supreme Court further confirmed that the determination of the purchase price is not an essential element of a contract of sale. The defining characteristic of a sale is merely the fact that it is for consideration.
This decision of the Supreme Court should therefore prompt a change in the current practice of the land registry offices.
Author: Tereza Chalupová, Senior Associate, Real Estate and Construction, LYNX Czech Republic
Source: Judgment of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic of 9 April 2026, case number 24 Cdo 81/2026