Jonathan gives you his tips on avoiding flood risk areas in UK when moving house or purchasing a new home.
How To Avoid Flood Risk Areas When Buying A Property
Checking Flood Risk Areas
If you are not sure whether an area is at risk of flooding, you can use the Environment Agency website which has an interactive map that you can check, or the new GOV.UK flood map for planning service – which has a free and easy to use postcode search.
Video Transcription
If you’re buying in an area that you have lived in for many of years, of course it’s quite easy to see know if there has been flooding in a particular area you’d have probably seen it in the local press.
If you’re moving to new area, of course it’s not quite so simple.
So, what you need to do is ask around estate agents and so on; “has the property been affected by flooding”, and just keep an eye for things near by that might cause it.
That could be proximity to the sea or a local river or something like that, that might make a difference.
Your solicitor, when they’re instructed, will carry out a flood risk survey which is all done electronically. That will give you the chances, in a very specific number, of the property flooding at any time in the future; over the next one hundred years or so.
But really, in the initial stages there is no substitute for asking around, direct to the owner if they’re showing you around and ask them his property, or any others in the area, have flooded.
That should allow you to go to the next stage.
