The Property Search
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Buyer guide · spend in the right order

How to check flood risk before you buy

You don’t have to spend hundreds to find out whether a home floods. Here are your options — from free to formal — and the order that saves you money.

Your options, cheapest first

Free — GOV.UK flood map
The Environment Agency’s “check the long term flood risk” tool. Broad rivers/sea and surface-water bands for a postcode. Great for a first sniff test; not property-specific and no ground or environmental context.
£20 — screening report (us)
Every open flood source for the exact property outline, plus geology, radon, contaminated land, designations, value and more. The smart step before you offer.
£30–£112 — formal flood search
Ordered by your conveyancer, usually if the environmental search flags flood. Carries a professional opinion, an insurability view and reliance for the transaction.
Bespoke — Flood Risk Assessment
A site-specific FRA by a consultant — needed for planning, or where risk is material and you need it properly quantified and mitigated.

The order that saves money

Formal conveyancing searches cost £250–£450 and are ordered only after you’ve instructed a solicitor — and they’re non-refundable if the deal collapses. So the money-saving sequence is simple:

  1. Free GOV.UK check when you’re browsing.
  2. £20 screen on any property you’re serious about — before you offer.
  3. Offer with your eyes open; instruct a solicitor.
  4. Formal searches / flood report — and escalate to an FRA only if risk is flagged.
Honest about what we are. The Property Search is a screening report, not a regulated conveyancing search or a Flood Risk Assessment. It won’t satisfy your lender on its own — but it will stop you spending hundreds on a property that a five-minute check would have ruled out.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the cheapest way to check flood risk on a house?

The free GOV.UK long-term flood risk map is the cheapest starting point and gives the broad picture for a postcode. For a property you’re serious about, a £20 screening report checks the exact address across every flood source before you spend on searches.

Do I need a flood report if the environmental search covers flood?

The environmental search includes a flood screen, but it’s ordered after you’ve instructed a solicitor. Checking earlier — for £20, before you offer — means you don’t pay £250–£450 of searches on a property that a flood problem would have ruled out.

Is a £20 screening report reliable enough to buy on?

It’s a screen, not a formal search or a Flood Risk Assessment — a fast, honest first look built from the same official open data the professionals use. If it flags real risk, that’s your cue to commission a formal flood search or a consultant’s assessment before committing.

One address, one clear report

See the flood & environmental picture for your property

Every open flood source, plus ground, environment, value and context — a plain-English PDF report for the exact plot you draw, for £20.

Order a report — £20 See a sample