Flood Risk Areas: What to Think About When Buying

Did you know that your home is more likely to suffer a flood than a burglary? It’s just one of the surprising facts that the government has revealed to highlight the problem of living in flood risk areas.

Are you considering buying in one? Here are some considerations to think about beforehand.

How big is the problem?

It’s an increasing challenge. The UK’s increasingly extreme weather means the number of floods every year has been increasing over the past ten years.

This includes tidal surges, rivers bursting their banks and huge deluges overcoming local drains. Any of these can flood thousands of houses at any one time.

Five million of us live in areas of flood risk and one in six homes are at risk.

What does this mean for those buying?

This makes buying a home tricky. How do you know if your future home is going to be flooded? Often, an area will look safe and serene. It may not show the scars of recent flooding, but could have been under ten foot of water only months or years ago.

These are all things to consider when completing your pre exchange checklist. If you’re worried about buying a property in a high flood risk area, ask these more in-depth questions.

What’s an official flood risk area?

Different types of areas break down into high, medium, low, and very low-risk categories. A high-risk area faces a 1% to 3% chance of flooding each year. Meanwhile, a very low-risk area faces a chance of less than 0.1% of being affected.

Flood risk areas also come in a surprisingly different set of types. This includes those at risk from sea or rivers, surface water, groundwater, and reservoirs. So just because a house is far from a river or the seashore, it doesn’t mean it’s safe.

You can use flood map for planning to find out what zone a location is in.

How do I find out if a property is within a flood risk area?

The government has an online service for checking whether a property is at risk. You can find this information at its flood warning information service. You can search using a postcode, or via a map search that shows risks in the area.

Also, if you go ahead with a purchase then a mortgage valuation should flag up if the property is in a flood risk zone. Consequently, lenders may even turn you down for a loan.

It’s also why it’s a good idea to carry out a more detailed survey on a property before proceeding.

Find a surveyor with experience with the type of property you’re buying. Get a survey quote below.

Are there any flood defences in the area?

The Environment Agency offers an online service. This enables house hunters to look at the streets they may wish to live on. Check if flood defences protect the area, where these flood defences are located, and identify ‘flood storage’ areas used to absorb excess water during a deluge.

The Flood Warning Information Service also has a website where you can check for flood warnings in an area. You can also sign up for alerts or call its helpline on 0345 988 1188.

How many times has it flooded recently?

There isn’t a publicly available register of historic flooding information. So, the best thing to do is search online for an area’s name plus ‘flooding’. Local media reports and social media posts will give you a good guide to recent flooding events.

Will I be able to get home and contents insurance?

Yes, home and contents insurance for properties in flood risk areas is available. Most of the best-known insurers offer policies. However, in the past some people have struggled to renew their insurance following a flood.

To tackle this, and the extra cost of insurance policies for homes in these areas, the government has set up an industry-backed scheme. This scheme underwrites these extra costs and can bring your insurance premiums down. Check if a property you’re considering buying is eligible.

Can I modify the property to defend against floods?

There is now a significant industry that has sprung up to help homeowners. It both prevents water entering their homes and addresses surface water flooding. This ensures their properties can survive a flood.

Recommended flood plan for your home

Experts recommend you create a flood plan for your home, which can include:

• Installing concrete flooring – one of the biggest expenses following a flood is replacing the wooden flooring and joists.
• Workers move power lines and sockets to above the worst-case flood level lines to prevent damage to the electricity system during a flood.
• Capping or blocking up air and heat ducting to prevent water coming in.
• Avoiding certain building materials that soaks up water (like MDF).
• You can install removable plastic or wooden doors, known as floor doors or boards, on garden gates and front doors when a flood is expected.
• Creating a water garden – having a garden with water features helps soak up incoming floods before they reach your home.
• Buying caps for toilets – during floods the local sewage system can become inundated. As water levels rise, raw sewage can rise up through your ground-floor toilets; installing a cap can help prevent this, but you need to install it as a flood happens.
• You will also need to block up airbricks, the honeycombed bricks you see at foot level around a house, when a flood is imminent.

Does living in a flood risk area affect my chances of getting a mortgage?

No, as long as you can obtain buildings insurance for the property with flood cover, then there will be no problem obtaining a mortgage.

If the insurance is very expensive, it might affect the affordability calculations lenders must now complete before granting a mortgage. But, as we have outlined above, there is a scheme run by the government to keep building insurance in high-risk areas affordable.

Why are more floods happening?

According to scientists including those at the Environment Agency, global climate changes are raising sea levels across the globe. This leads to greater storm surges and flooding around Britain’s coasts. Climate change is also creating more extreme weather. So, when there are storms, they bring more rain with them and last longer.

To find out more location-specific information before making an offer, get one of Phil Spencer’s property reports. It collects everything from crime rate stats to purchase prices for other properties in the area. Get yours below.

Last Updated: March 26th, 2025