The Senate of the Czech Republic passed bills concerning financial measures during the coronavirus epidemic. People and companies may apply for postponement of loan and mortgage repayments for three or six months according to their choice. Repayments will be postponed for both consumer and business loans including mortgages that have been negotiated and drawn before March 26. In case of mortgages, it is possible to suspend repayment even for contracts concluded before March 26 that were drawn after that date.
In case of individuals, the repayment of interest and principal should be postponed as well, but the monthly interest running should continue without an interruption. On the other hand, for corporate loans only principal repayments will be suspended.
Simultaneously, the Senate approved a limitation on the maximum amount of interest for consumer loans that have not been repaid for a long time, and also limited sanction amounts for self-employed persons who are late for loan repayment. A fine for self-employed persons in case of a delay longer than three months shall not exceed the daily rate 0.1 percent of the amount owed. This limitation was applied only to regular consumer loans so far.
Rent postponement law returned
The Senate returned the rent postponement bill to the Chamber of Deputies for reconsideration. The rent bill should guarantee that tenants who lose the income and cannot pay rent will not be given notice to vacate. However, the rent arrears will have to be paid by the end of this year.
Senators object that landlords have no guarantees that the rent arrears will be eventually paid, since the Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (ANO party) refused to enact state guarantees due to concern that tenants and landlords might secretly agree to let the state pay 80 percent of the rent. Instead of an act for tenant protection during the epidemic, senator Zdeněk Hraba (STAN party) suggests, the government should design a program of interest free loans for tenants who are not able to pay their rent due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Another financial help for self-employed persons in consideration
The Prime Minister also mentioned that the government intends to extend the financial help for self-employed persons and entrepreneurs to May. Therefore, apart from the financial help of 25 000 Czech crowns for the period from March 12 to April 30, another 15 000 Czech crowns for month May could be distributed among those negatively affected by the coronavirus restrictions and its effects. The possible extension of financial help to June will be decided according to the situation in May.