Check flood risk before you buy a house
Most buyers mean to check flooding, then leave it to the solicitor’s searches after the offer is accepted. The official flood maps are public. We bring them together for a postcode, or for the house itself.
Free to start with a postcode. No account needed. See an example report.
How to check if a house is in a flood zone
Start with the postcode
Enter the postcode above. The free area check shows the river and sea flood zone, from the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland and Natural Resources Wales in Wales.
Look beyond rivers and the sea
Flood zones only cover rivers and the sea. Surface water flooding, when heavy rain can’t drain away fast enough, is mapped separately, and in England more properties are at risk from it than from rivers and the sea. The full report checks it at the house.
Check whether it has flooded before
A home outside a flood zone can still have flooded. In England, the full report shows the Environment Agency’s recorded flood outlines: places that have actually flooded.
Look ahead
Flood risk changes as the climate does. In England, the full report shows how river, sea and surface water risk is expected to change by the 2050s.
Ask the seller, and your solicitor
The seller’s property information form asks whether the home has flooded. Ask your solicitor to check the answer against the maps and the environmental search.
What we check
- River and sea flood zone for the postcodeFree area check
- River and sea flood risk at the houseFull report
- Surface water flooding from heavy rainFull report
- Places that have flooded before (England)Full report
- The flood outlook for the 2050s (England)Full report
Coverage: Flood zones and surface water: England, Scotland and Wales. Recorded floods and the 2050s outlook: England only.
Sources: Environment Agency flood maps, Recorded Flood Outlines and climate change flood maps; SEPA flood maps; Natural Resources Wales flood maps, via DataMapWales. All data sources
Why flood risk matters when you buy
Flood risk can affect what insurance costs, whether a lender is comfortable, and what the home is worth when you come to sell. Finding out before you offer means you can ask questions while you can still walk away cheaply.
Flood maps are models, not promises. A low-risk area can still flood, and a higher-risk one may have defences. The maps tell you where to ask more questions.
Questions to ask the seller, your solicitor or surveyor
- Has the house, the garden or the access road flooded while the seller has owned it?
- Has a flood insurance claim ever been made, and what does insurance cost now?
- Are there flood defences or flood doors, and who maintains them?
- What does the environmental search say, and does it agree with the maps?
The full report ties questions like these to what it finds at the house.
Common questions
What do flood zones 1, 2 and 3 mean?
In England, Flood Zone 1 has less than a 0.1% chance of river or sea flooding in any year. Flood Zone 2 has between 0.1% and 1% from rivers, or 0.1% and 0.5% from the sea. Flood Zone 3 has 1% or more from rivers, or 0.5% or more from the sea. Scotland and Wales publish their own maps with their own bands.
Does Flood Zone 1 mean the house won’t flood?
No. Flood zones only cover rivers and the sea. A house in Flood Zone 1 can still be at risk of surface water flooding, and the maps are models, so check surface water and flood history too.
Can I check a property’s flood history?
In England, the Environment Agency publishes outlines of areas that have flooded, and the full report checks the house against them. They don’t record every flooded home, so also ask the seller and read their property information form.
Is the flood check free?
The river and sea flood zone for a postcode is in the free area check. Surface water, flood history, the 2050s outlook and the result at the house itself are in the full report.
Official records, not advice. We never score properties or tell you whether to buy. Check a postcode