What is a Flood Risk Assessment?
A Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) assesses the likelihood of a property being affected by uncontrolled water known as flooding. This can include flooding from rivers, the sea, flash-flooding from heavy rainfall, groundwater or sewer overflows. Whether you are looking to buy a new home, seek planning permission for your dream house, or reduce flood risk, we’re looking into the common information people ask about flood risk assessments. From when you need an assessment to the benefits, you’ll find all the information you need right here.
When is a Flood Risk Assessment required?
Flood Risk Assessments are typically required when:
- Buying a house in a flood zone or flood risk area
- Looking into the likelihood of getting insurance or a mortgage on a property
- Looking to build and get planning permission
- Identifying ways to reduce flood risk at a property or business
As flood severity is expected to increase in the future, largely due to climate change, it is increasingly important to undertake a flood risk assessment which investigates all sources of flooding for your property or land.
What does a flood risk assessment include?
Flood Risk Assessments for homebuyers should include the following components:
- Potential flood sources (e.g., river, surface water, groundwater, artificial sources)
- Assessment of the property’s vulnerability to all types of flooding
- Recommendations for mitigation, such as property flood resilience, elevating the structure or improving drainage etc
- Potential impact on securing insurance, mortgage or remortgage
What are the benefits of a flood risk assessment?
An FRA can potentially save you money when buying a property and understanding what has happened in the past can often lead to much better flood resilience in the future.
Benefits of flood risk assessments for homebuyers includes:
- Avoiding costly surprises from flood damage that could have been predicted or prevented
- Negotiating better terms on insurance rates or property prices by proving that the risk of flooding is minimal (if possible)
- Awareness of your flood risk means you can make more informed flood resilience decisions to protect your investment
What information and sources are used for a flood risk assessment?
The flood history of a property may have been recorded in various ways through local records or council databases. We use the latest Environment Agency Flood History records, as well as our own UK-wide local scale Flood History Database. This is combined with the experience and analytical knowledge of our team of qualified flood risk consultants who will consider multiple flood modelling data sources and flood mapping.
This is used together with additional property-specific information to provide an enhanced analysis where a plausible flood risk has been shown to exist. Important property attributes are considered, including the review of local authority data, site imagery, topography and a search of local drainage problems.
The culmination of these efforts is an unrivalled level of evaluation and insight that will give you the best indication of whether your property has previously experienced any flooding from rivers, sea, surface water flash flooding, reservoirs or groundwater.
How much does a flood risk assessment cost?
Although it’s highly dependent on the property size and context, a standard flood risk assessment will cost from £250 + VAT for an initial property flood report. It’s always best to speak to a specialist flood risk report provider to get an exact quote.
How to get a flood risk assessment?
To get a flood risk report when buying a house you should speak to the specialist flood risk consultants at Ashfield. We have a well-established network and bank of trusted resources to provide the most comprehensive reports with a fast turnaround.
When you contact us, we can book your initial consultation to understand the property’s location and context and organise any required on-site inspections and data analysis—all of which will contribute to your comprehensive report. Get in touch with us today to get a better understanding of the flood risk at your chosen property.
