Regulated rents to rise at maximum permitted level in capital over three years

Regulated rents in Prague are to rise at the maximum permitted level over the next three years, with the first increase due in June. After that rent hikes will be levied according to location, a Civic Democrat member of Prague's municipal authority, Jiri Janecek, told reporters after a meeting on Tuesday. Mr Janecek said they did not expect any serious social impact, and definitely not in the first year. Rents in the Czech Republic should be completely deregulated by the end of 2010.