The Czech Republic’s latest tightening of agricultural land protection marks a turning point in how developers will source land for photovoltaic energy (PVE), retail, and logistics projects.
The amendment to the Act on the Protection of the Agricultural Land Fund (Act No. 334/1992 Coll.) (Amendment) significantly narrows investment opportunities on high‑quality soils, effectively pushing development toward brownfields or lower‑grade soils, and placing emphasis on multi-story developments.
The New Fault Line: Class I-II Soils
The Amendment elevates Class I and II soils – considered the most valuable from an agronomic perspective and often located near large cities due to historic development – banning their use for selected land‑intensive purposes.
Commercial or storage projects exceeding one hectare (including mandatory greenery) may no longer be withdrawn from the agricultural land fund if sited on Class I–II soils, with the exceptions described below.
PVE installations converting solar radiation into electricity are barred from withdrawal on Class I–II soils regardless of area, except for agrivoltaics, combining agrarian use and PVE installation.
The Amendment provides for a transitional period until January 1, 2035. Until then, commercial and logistics projects may be permitted if: (i) the Class I–II land in question is designated for development, with appropriate functional regulation in the municipal zoning plans; (ii) the process to designate them as such was initiated before January 1, 2025; or (iii) the land in question was designated as “developable reserve” and the pro-cess to change the reserve to regular developable land was initiated before January 1, 2026.
Notably, this grandfathering does not extend to conventional ground‑mounted PVE.
Implications for Retail and Logistics Projects
Over the coming years, all retail and warehouse development will have to adapt. Speculative investors and land banks will seek to either use the Class I and II owned land or to sell it before the transitional window closes.
Prospective projects on Class I and II land will be accelerated or the land will be sold to investors ready to go ahead with their project.
We expect front-loading of project planning and permitting in relation to land protection, with the land protection authorities issuing a land use “binding opinion” based on the specific proposed project, its documentation, and its placement on the land in question; the binding opinion already is an obligatory basis for the subsequent building permit.
We expect investors to gradually focus on brownfields and lower‑class soils, placing a premium on plots with good road and utility accessibility.
Any due diligence should focus on soil classification, municipal zoning plans, timing of their issuance, and brownfield remediation measures.
By Martin Kubanek, Partner, Otakar Fiala, Counsel, and Pavel Bederka, Attorney-at-Law, Schoenherr
This article was originally published in Issue 12.10 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
