Layouts and floor areas
1+kk flat layout
In Czech: 1+kk
1+kk is a Czech flat layout with one habitable room that also contains a kitchenette (kk, kuchyňský kout). It is closest to a studio flat; the bathroom and hallway are not counted.
Also called: studio flat, studio apartment, 1kk
What it means
Czech listings describe flats with a short layout code (dispozice). 1+kk means one habitable room plus a kitchenette, kuchyňský kout, built into that same room. There is no separate kitchen: you cook, sleep and live in one space. The bathroom, toilet, hallway and storage are never part of the code, even though the flat has them.
For most English speakers this is a studio flat. The code is a market convention rather than a precise legal definition, so two advertisers can label a similar flat slightly differently, for example when the kitchen unit sits in an alcove or a wide hallway.
How it works in the Czech Republic
The number before the plus is the count of habitable rooms (pokoje). What follows the plus tells you about the kitchen: kk means a kitchenette inside a room, +1 means a separate kitchen. So 1+kk is the smallest common self-contained layout. You may also see 1+0, where cooking facilities are minimal, and the words garsoniéra or garsonka, which Czechs use loosely for small one-room flats.
You find 1+kk in new builds as well as in older blocks, where it is sometimes the result of removing the wall between the kitchen and the room of a former 1+1. If walls or installations were changed, ask whether the work was documented and whether the owners' association (SVJ) or the cooperative knows about it.
The layout code comes from the seller or landlord. The real arrangement is shown by a floor plan and a viewing; the area is documented elsewhere, for example in the owner's declaration for the building (prohlášení vlastníka) or in a valuation report.
Practical example
For example, a listing offers a 1+kk of 28 m² (an illustrative figure). The plan shows an entrance hall with a built-in wardrobe, a bathroom with shower and toilet, and one room with a kitchen unit along one wall. That can suit one person, but the bed, desk and dining table all share the space where you cook.
What to watch out for
- Ask for a floor plan with dimensions; photos make small rooms look bigger.
- Check how the kitchenette is ventilated, since cooking smells stay in the only room.
- Make sure it is really a flat and not a studio unit (ateliér) or non-residential premises; this can affect registering your residence and mortgage terms.
- Do not read 1+kk as one bedroom plus a kitchen: there is no room separate from the living space.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1+kk a one-bedroom flat?
No. It has one room in total, and the kitchenette is in that room. A flat with a separate bedroom and a living room with kitchenette is advertised as 2+kk.
Is the bathroom included in 1+kk?
The flat has a bathroom, but it is not counted in the code. Only habitable rooms and the type of kitchen appear in it.
What is the difference between 1+kk and 1+1?
In a 1+1 the kitchen is a separate room with a door; in a 1+kk it is part of the only room.