Reviewing a Czech contract for work: price, extra work and handover

The job is finished, but the client refuses the final payment. It claims that part of the work was already included in the original price, while the contractor considers it extra work. Both sides refer to the contract. However, the contract does not say precisely enough what the price includes and who could order a change in scope.

When reviewing a Czech contract for work (smlouva o dílo), it is therefore not enough to check the amount and the completion date. The description of the result, the annexes, changes to the brief, payment terms and the method of handover must be linked together. The following text focuses on business-to-business relationships; consumer contracts additionally require an assessment of consumer protection rules.

Section 2586 of the Czech Civil Code sets out the basic obligations of the contractor and the client. The specific contract, however, must translate the commercial deal into a workable brief. If the result is to be the installation of equipment, you need to know who supplies the components, who prepares the site and what tests will prove functionality. For software, specifications, access to systems and the terms of use of the result will be important.

It is often the annexes that determine the actual scope of the obligation. Check their versions, how they relate to each other and the rule for conflicts between documents. An older offer and a newer technical specification may contain different quantities or quality. Both sides should know at signing which agreement applies.

Price and changes to the brief must work together

Distinguish between a fixed price, a price based on a budget, an estimate and a method of calculation according to the actual scope. These formulations are not interchangeable. For a fixed price or a price based on a budget included in the contract or communicated to the client in time, Section 2620 provides that greater labour intensity or costs alone do not, as a rule, give rise to a right to change the price. The law also provides for a wholly exceptional unforeseeable circumstance under specified conditions.

Extra work therefore needs its own procedure. The contract should determine who proposes a change, who can approve it, how the price is recorded and how it affects the deadline. An oral instruction from someone on site may not correspond to the agreed way of placing orders. Conversely, a signature under a technical record alone does not necessarily mean consent to any additional price.

The client needs control over the budget. The contractor needs to know in time whether to carry out the changed work and whether it will be paid for it. A practical solution may be a simple change order form, provided its use is aligned with the contract. More important than the name of the document is recording the specific agreement of the authorised persons.

Also check cooperation: handover of the site, access to premises, approval of the design or delivery of data. Each milestone should have a responsible person and a link to the schedule. The contractor should not promise a final deadline without addressing obstacles on the client's side; the client, in turn, needs timely information that an obstacle has actually arisen.

Handover, payment and defects are not one moment

Under Section 2604, the work is performed when it is completed and handed over. Section 2605 links completion with demonstrating that the work is fit for its purpose and distinguishes acceptance with and without reservations. The contract should therefore describe how performance will be demonstrated, which documents will be handed over and who signs the protocol.

The protocol should record the actual state, including reservations. Acceptance without reservations may have consequences for asserting obvious defects in court if the contractor objects that they were raised too late. At the same time, it cannot simply be assumed that any defect allows acceptance of a building to be refused. Section 2628 specifically deals with isolated minor defects that do not prevent use functionally or aesthetically or substantially limit it.

The entitlement to the price and its due date should be clearly linked to performance in the contract. For advance payments, partial invoices and retention, set specific conditions. The client needs to know when and for what it pays. The contractor should be able to foresee which documents it must provide so that payment is not delayed because of an unclear administrative condition.

Defective performance and a contractual warranty are not the same. Section 2615 is based on the work not conforming to the contract and links to the rules on rights arising from defects. The contract may also regulate a quality warranty; its scope and duration must be read separately. Notify defects in time and in a way that allows their content and the date of notification to be proven. Time limits and special rules may differ according to the type of work and defect.

In the overall review, do not forget penalties, liability for damage and termination of the job. Clarify whether penalties are linked to obligations that can actually be fulfilled and how work in progress will be settled. Individual provisions must work even when cooperation breaks down and both sides start reading the contract differently.

For a legal review of the contract, send us the complete annexes, the offer and a description of the business plan. For an existing dispute under a contract for work, attach change orders, protocols and communication about defects. These documents may decide whether one party's assertions can be proven.

Law as verified on 20 September 2026. Sources: in particular Sections 2586, 2604, 2605, 2615, 2618, 2620 and 2628 of the Civil Code.