Some 760,000 Czech households received unpleasant news when the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR) announced last week that regulated rents will be growing on average by 19.2% a year from January 2007 until the end of 2010, instead of the initially announced 14.2%, which was decided upon in March.

The updated numbers are based on the current prices of apartments and will be adjusted every year at the beginning of July to be in line with the development of property prices on the market, outgoing MMR Minister Radko Martínek said at a news conference.

The increase of rents will vary by region, but landlords don’t have to necessarily increase the rent to the maximum possible level. While rent can grow by up to 30.3% in Prague 1, in the industrial north Bohemian town of ústí nad Labem, for example, the growth in rents could slow down to 3.9%.

Property owners also had reasons to cheer last month after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg acknowledged compensation for a Polish landlady, Marta Hutten-Czapska, who allegedly was unable to pay for the maintenance of her property from the regulated rent income. Representatives of Czech landlords say they hope the Polish case will further their cause.