How to check flood risk for a house
In England, enter the postcode into the government's long-term flood risk service. It shows the risk for the area from rivers, the sea, surface water, reservoirs and, where data exists, groundwater. It does not tell you how likely a particular building is to flood, so add the seller's flood history, a real insurance quote and your conveyancer's searches.
Start with the official service
- England: Check your long term flood risk on GOV.UK.
- Wales: the Natural Resources Wales postcode check and its flood risk map.
- Scotland: SEPA's flood maps, which cover the sea, rivers, and surface water and small watercourses.
- Northern Ireland: Flood Maps NI.
These tools give a picture of an area. The English and Welsh services say plainly that they do not assess a specific property, and the English one leaves out sources such as blocked drains and burst pipes.
What the risk bands mean
| Band | Chance of flooding each year |
|---|---|
| High | More than 3.3% (1 in 30) |
| Medium | Between 1% and 3.3% |
| Low | Between 0.1% and 1% |
| Very low | Less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) |
Check each source separately. A home can be very low for rivers and the sea but high for surface water. A yearly chance also adds up: a 1% chance each year works out at roughly one in four over 30 years.
Is this house in a flood zone?
Flood zones are a planning tool, shown on the Flood map for planning. Zone 1 has less than a 0.1% annual chance of river or sea flooding. Zone 2 has between 0.1% and 1% for rivers, or 0.1% and 0.5% for the sea. Zone 3 has 1% or more for rivers, or 0.5% or more for the sea.
Zones ignore the benefit of flood defences, cover rivers and the sea only, and leave out surface water. The Environment Agency says they are not suitable for showing whether an individual property is at risk, partly because it does not hold floor levels. Wales has its own flood map for planning.
Current warnings are a different question
Live services show what is happening now, through flood alerts, flood warnings and severe flood warnings. Use Check for flooding in England and the Natural Resources Wales service in Wales. Warnings cover rivers, the sea and groundwater, not surface water flash flooding.
No alert on the day you look says only that nothing was in force then. It tells you nothing about long-term risk.
Insurance and mortgages
UK Finance says buildings insurance with flood cover is an essential requirement for all mortgages. Get a real quote on the exact address before you exchange, and look at the premium, the flood excess and any exclusions.
Ask the seller too. On the TA6 form, question 8.1 asks if the seller knows of the property ever flooding, and of what type. Question 8.2 covers flood defences and 7.3 covers buildings insurance claims. A No shows only what the seller is aware of. Your conveyancer can advise on an environmental search.
Flood Re and who qualifies
Flood Re is a joint scheme between government and insurers that helps make flood cover in home insurance more affordable. You do not deal with it directly. You buy from an insurer that uses it, and its website has a tool to find one. To qualify, a home must generally:
- be insured by an individual, in their name or on trust for them, and be lived in by them or their immediate family some or all of the time, or be unoccupied
- have a domestic council tax band A to H, or equivalent, and be used for private residential purposes
- be a single home or a building of two or three homes, insured individually or with its own premium
- have been built before 1 January 2009 (a home built before then, demolished and rebuilt, stays eligible)
- be in the UK, which excludes the Isle of Man and Channel Islands
Blocks of more than three flats, company-owned homes, portfolio landlords and housing association buildings are not expected to qualify, although contents cover can apply in large blocks. See the full eligibility list.
Flood Re is due to end in 2039, within the term of many new mortgages. A reform package announced in July 2026 includes a cut, from April 2027, in what Flood Re charges insurers for contents-only cover in Bands A and B. It also includes pilots of Flood Performance Certificates, which are not yet generally available.
What a Doorstep Report shows
A Doorstep Report shows Environment Agency flood alerts and warnings as a dated snapshot, and area river, sea and surface water screening from Street Data where available. Both are postcode or area level, not an address-level flood assessment. No current alert does not mean low long-term risk. The alert check covers England only, so use Natural Resources Wales for Welsh addresses.
Questions, answered
Can I check flood risk for an exact address?
Official services work at area level, even when you enter a postcode or address. For one building you need more: its floor levels, flood history and an insurance quote, and possibly a flood risk specialist.
Does Flood Re cover new-build homes?
No. Homes built on or after 1 January 2009 are outside the scheme, so insurance depends on the normal market. Check this before buying a recent home near water.
Will a lender refuse a home at high flood risk?
It depends on the lender and the property. Buildings insurance with flood cover is a mortgage requirement, so a home that is hard to insure can be hard to mortgage. Speak to your lender or broker early.