Who is responsible for snow clearing and gritting outside an apartment building: SVJ and owners

Under the Act on Roads, the owner of a public pavement is responsible for its passability and for damage caused by a defect in it (snow, ice). For local roads this is usually the municipality, not the owner of the building adjoining the pavement. Areas on the building's land, such as the access path, inner courtyard or garage driveway, are the responsibility of their owner, which is often the homeowners' association (SVJ).

In practice, you therefore first need to find out who owns each area outside the building. That determines who should clear the snow, who may be liable for an injury and whether it makes sense to commission winter maintenance. This is not legal advice. Check your specific situation with the municipality, the cadastre or a lawyer.

What the Act on Roads says

The basic rules are set out in Act No. 13/1997 Coll., on Roads. It distinguishes motorways, roads, local roads and private access roads. Local roads are owned by the municipality in whose territory they lie. Private access roads may also be owned by legal entities or individuals.

For pavements, Section 27 is important, as amended by Amendment No. 97/2009 Coll.. It expressly stated that the owner of a local road or pavement is liable for damage caused by a defect in passability. At the same time, it abolished the previous exception and one of the paragraphs of Section 27. Since then, the law has linked responsibility for the passability of a pavement to its owner.

The Act also adds two matters that the municipality regulates in its own decree:

• the scope, method and deadlines for removing defects in the passability of pavements, local roads and through sections of roads,
• sections of minor traffic importance where snow and ice are not removed. These are designated by the municipality for local roads and pavements, and by the region for roads.

If you want to know how quickly the pavement by your building should be treated and whether it is among the sections that are not maintained, look for your municipality's decree or ask at the office.

Who is responsible for which area around the building

An apartment building is usually surrounded by several types of area, and each may have a different owner. The overview below is indicative; what always matters is the ownership of the land and the specific municipal decree.

You can find the plot boundaries in the cadastral map. A pavement "in front of the building" may lie partly on municipal land and partly on the building's land, typically with front gardens, recessed entrances or a strip of paving between the façade and the pavement.

Winter maintenance of pavements in Prague

Pavements and roads in the capital are maintained under a winter maintenance plan by Technická správa komunikací hl. m. Prahy (TSK, the Prague Roads Administration). According to TSK's information on winter 2026–2027, the winter season officially starts on 1 November 2026 and lasts until 31 March 2027. The plan covers 1,761 km of pavements and other non-motorised routes.

Pavements are divided by order of priority:

• Priority 1 (1,068 km): treatment cumulatively within 12 hours in the daytime regime of 7:00–17:00,
• Priority 2 (693 km): treatment follows after priority 1 and ends by 17:00 the following day at the latest.

For gritting, according to the same report, TSK has prepared sodium chloride, calcium chloride and inert grit for ecologically sensitive locations. You can report a defect on a road via the form that TSK links to. For the pavement outside your building, this has a practical consequence: a public pavement may not be treated as soon as snow falls. The entrance and access path on the building's land, however, are the building's responsibility.

What the SVJ should arrange before winter

For areas that belong to the building, winter maintenance is part of building management. Here is a procedure that can be completed before the first snow:

1. Find out the plot boundaries. Use the cadastral map to check which areas by the building belong to the SVJ or the unit owners and which to the municipality.
2. List the areas to be maintained. Entrance, steps, pram ramp, path to the bins, driveway, car park. Ideally with a simple sketch and approximate area.
3. Decide who will do the cleaning. Either an arrangement among the owners (a rota), a property manager, or a contractor. Have the decision recorded in line with the articles of association and the building's customs.
4. Prepare equipment and gritting material. Store them by the entrance, not in the cellar, which is hard to reach in icy conditions.
5. Check the roof and gutters. If there is a risk of falling snow or icicles, cordon off the area below and entrust their removal to a specialist in work at height.
6. Agree with your neighbours. Put a notice on the noticeboard saying who cleans and when, and where to report ice.

Useful equipment to have at the building:

• a snow pusher or shovel, an ice scraper,
• a stiff-bristled broom,
• gritting material (inert grit or grit salt, depending on the type of surface) and a container with a scoop,
• work gloves, a reflective vest for work in the dark,
• a cleaning zone and doormats in the entrance, so that snow and salt are not carried inside.

Gritting: salt or grit

When choosing gritting material, follow the instructions on the packaging and the recommendation of the paving or step manufacturer. Manufacturers do not recommend salting some stone and concrete surfaces, and salt can also harm lawns and shrubs along the path. Inert grit does not melt ice but only roughens the surface, and it needs to be swept up in spring.

When handling grit salt, wear gloves and do not carry it in pockets or in open containers around the building. Salt carried into the entrance leaves white marks on paving and doormats. We describe how to remove them in the article on salt stains on floors and carpets. For how to keep the staircase and entrance hall clean in winter, see the article on cleaning the entrance and staircase in an apartment building.

How to commission winter maintenance from a contractor

When the SVJ orders winter maintenance, you avoid disputes by putting everything important in writing. The order or contract should include:

• an exact list of areas with a sketch, marking what the contractor does not maintain (for example, the municipality's public pavement),
• the period for which the service applies, for example from 1 November to 31 March,
• call-out conditions: at what snow depth or in what icy conditions the contractor attends, by when the entrance must be treated and whether cleaning also takes place at weekends and at night,
• the type of gritting material and who supplies it,
• records of interventions: date, time and what was done, possibly with a photograph. They are useful if it is later disputed when an area was treated,
• cleaning after winter: sweeping up grit and washing salt off the entrance,
• a contact for reporting ice and how quickly the contractor responds.

For more detailed points worth having in a building cleaning contract, see the article Contract for cleaning common areas for an SVJ. For how an SVJ generally divides costs and commissions cleaning, see the article Cleaning common areas in an SVJ.

Úklid 1-2-3 offers cleaning of common areas in apartment buildings; please specify in your enquiry what exactly it can include for outdoor areas.

When someone is injured on ice

If someone falls, first give help and, in the case of a more serious injury, call the emergency services. Then photograph the spot and note the date and time, the weather, the condition of the area and the contact details of witnesses. The injured person should find out who owns the area: for a public pavement, under the law, it is the owner of the pavement; for an area on the building's land, its owner.

Liability for a specific injury is assessed by an insurer or a court according to the circumstances. If the situation concerns you as an SVJ or as an injured person, consult a lawyer or your insurer. This article is general information only, not legal advice.