How to check flood risk for any UK property

The quickest way: movegrid

Search any UK address on movegrid and you'll see the flood risk rating alongside the EPC, sold price history, and other property data — all in one place, without needing to cross-reference multiple government tools.

movegrid pulls from the Environment Agency's flood risk data and shows both the main flood risk rating and the surface water flood risk — the two key datasets — clearly and side by side.

The government sources

1. Long Term Flood Risk Assessment (England)

The main consumer-facing tool from the Environment Agency. Available at check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk. Enter a postcode and it shows:

• Rivers and the sea flood risk (very low / low / medium / high)
• Surface water flood risk
• Reservoir flood risk
• Groundwater flooding likelihood

Coverage: England only. Wales and Scotland have separate tools (Natural Resources Wales and SEPA respectively).

2. Flood Map for Planning

A more detailed mapping tool at flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk. Shows flood zone boundaries on an interactive map — useful for seeing exactly where a property sits relative to flood plain boundaries and whether flood defences are shown in the area.

Flood zones 1, 2, and 3 correspond roughly to low, medium, and high risk. Zone 3b (functional flood plain) is the highest risk designation.

3. Local council strategic flood risk assessments

Every local planning authority produces a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA). These are more detailed than the national datasets and sometimes reveal risks not captured in the EA tools — particularly local drainage issues and areas with known surface water problems. Search your council's planning pages for “SFRA” or “flood risk assessment.”

The two datasets you must check separately

Most buyers check one flood risk source and stop. There are two separate risks that need to be checked independently:

• Rivers and sea flooding — from a river or coastal source overflowing. This is what most people think of as flood risk. Concentrated near watercourses and coastal areas.
• Surface water flooding — from heavy rainfall overwhelming drains and running across the surface. Can affect properties nowhere near a river. Often affects urban areas, low-lying roads, and properties at the bottom of slopes.

A property can be very low risk for river flooding but high risk for surface water — or vice versa. Both matter for insurance purposes. Always check both.

What to do if the flood risk concerns you

1. Talk to the neighbours. The most useful flood risk data often comes from people who live nearby. Ask whether the road, garden, or property has flooded in the last 10–20 years — and how badly.
2. Check historical flood events. The Environment Agency publishes data on past flooding events by area. Search “recorded flood outlines” on the EA's open data portal.
3. Commission a flood risk report. Specialist firms (Groundsure, Landmark, Argyll) produce detailed flood risk reports for ~£30–£50 that combine multiple datasets and give a clearer picture than the free tools. Worth doing for any medium or high-risk property.
4. Get insurance quotes before exchange. Don't assume you can insure a flood-risk property at reasonable cost until you have an actual quote. Do this before you exchange contracts, not after.
5. Commission a specialist survey. For high-risk properties, a specialist flood survey (£200–£500) assesses the specific vulnerability of the building and recommends resilience measures.

Scotland and Wales

The Environment Agency tools only cover England. For Scotland, use the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) flood maps at sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-maps. For Wales, use Natural Resources Wales at naturalresourceswales.gov.uk.