Court practice in disputes over customary rent in a situation of dominant or more favourable economic position of the landlord
Court practice in disputes over customary rent in a situation of dominant or more favourable economic position of the landlord

Author(s): Michal Pohl, Vít Švestka, Lukáš Bumbálek
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Law on Economics, Commercial Law, Court case
Published by: Societatea de Stiinte Juridice si Administrative
Keywords: competition; customary rent; price leadership;
Summary/Abstract: This paper examines how the determination of the local customary rent has historically been carried out through court decisions in areas where the landlord has a dominant or economically more advantageous position, especially in terms of the criteria for determining the amount of customary rent and the practice of the courts in taking into account the position of landlords (dominant position under the Act on Protection of Competition or more favourable economic position), its possible abuse in determining the amount of customary rent and the reflection of the phenomena of competition resulting from the position of the dominant company, such as e.g. „price leading“. The issue of rent increases by the court is examined in the cases of former corporate apartments privatised to investors in the rental business, where, if no rent increase was agreed by the parties, only the court was entitled to determine the rent pursuant to Section 2249(3) of the Czech Civil Code. The authors argue that the legislative regulation of customary rent and subsequent case law have led to an erosion of fundamental constitutional and legal guarantees, as well as to economic inefficiencies.

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