Search has flagged Risk of Flooding

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Our house sale has just fallen through as they buyers Environmental Search has flagged a Moderate - High risk of flooding. (Surface Water Flooding - SIgnificant) We live opposite a small brook - which is approximated 1.5 meters down from the road. We have lived here for nearly 20 years, through some horrendous weather and it has never once breached - in fact the closest it has come to flooding it was still about a foot down.
It claims our insurance will be higher - which it isn't.
The risk wasn't flagged when we moved here 19 years ago so not sure what has changed in that time.
I assume this will come up on each and every search from now on - is there any way to appeal it? Or do something to prove that it is not the high risk they are claiming?
Absolutely gutted as this now puts in jepoardy our onward purchase.

Almost every house we have looked at has had the same risk. I don’t think searches were done for this 10/20 years ago.
It should not impact you selling your property and if it spooks your buyer I would tell them to get real!

That's reassuring, to be honest I don't get it because there's only 12 houses in our road and 3 have sold (very quickly) in the last 2 years.
So disappointing though as they were chain free buyers.
Plus I can't stand the thought of getting the house ready for viewings all over again
Arghhhhhhh

It's just the buyers being risk averse I'd assume.
We bought last year and our house has actually flooded in the past. The sellers were so guarded about it and it turns out they've lied hugely about it. All we wanted to know what how bad it got but they must have assumed we would pull out so they lied .
Another buyer might be willing to have a discussion about it with you and you can explain the situation. Some people will be bothered by it and some won't be put off at all given that it's never flooded before. Might be worth bringing it up in conversation during the viewings if they seem like they're very interested in the property.

Assuming you’re in England. The Environment Agency flood map website is here:
flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/

Should show flood risk from rivers, coast and surface water. Maps are often updated as data, models, forecasts improve. Have a look for your property to better understand the issue. If you don’t think the maps are correct, they can be challenged.

FYI - Flood Zone 3 (where you’re not normally allowed to build new residential properties) is the 1% Annual Exceedance Potential (AEP) - so on any given year, there’s a 1% chance of experiencing flooding on that scale, so an 1 in 100 year type risk.

Peoples acceptance of risk varies, but these are standard (and open source) datasets, so will come up on any future search.

Sorry, surface water maps are here. www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk

You could find a few insurance companies that will cover it as examples? It is quite risk adverse to pull out because of it

Thanks @Geekygeek Having looked at that we are at low risk (and ironically the place we are buying is medium!)

@Movingonup22 our insurance for buildings and contents for a 4 bed mid terrace townhouse is under £15 a month... that's what us so frustrating. We've never flooded and any risk doesn't appear to be penalised

For the insurers perspective, although the probability / frequency of flooding may be low, the consequence is always high (many $€££ to fix).

Surface water flood maps are always rather flakey (basically, if you’re in a low spot, you’ll flood). River / coastal maps tend to be more robust.

I think the Environment Agency re did the flood risk zones a few years ago, so it might have changed since you bought the property.

Not every buyer will be as risk averse. Keep trying.

I know a lady who lost her buyer because the search came back showing the house as a flood risk - yes it was next to a river (600 yards) but said river was down at the bottom of a very steep hill and house was half way up it! The person doing the survey hadn't taken into account the lines on the map which show gradients (sorry, having a menopause moment and can't remember what they are called!). She sold eventually.

I work in the flood risk field, have done 22yrs. Flood risk maps have had a lot of investment in that time, which is why it’s now flagging as being at risk when it probably wasn’t mapped 19yrs ago.

If you keep losing sales, you could pay for your own flood risk assessment to do a more thorough job than the general surveyor, esp’ if it’s a case like blobby10 has mentioned. Go with specialist flood risk consultancies like Ambiental, jbaconsulting or RAB consultants. Cost should be around £500 to £800. Showing it’s not impacted on your premium and you haven’t been refused insurance should help make your case as well.

Good luck, as others have said everyone will have different risk tolerances when buying, some will love being by a stream.

Are they putting up flood barriers upstream?

My house came with moderate to high risk of surface flooding. There's a very small river about 500m away. This is London and it has land either side the widest parts and where it goes through housing is well below street level. There has been no flooding at the house for decades, if ever. Common sense led me to think that half of London is at the same risk, so it didn't change my decision to buy.

Thanks all. There's no plans for flood barriers. In essence this is a brook that starts from a natural spring about 1.5 miles upstream from us. It's level would have to rise by about 2metres to be anything of a risk, as the banks down to it are at least 1.5m down (the kids and dog scramble down the sides to play in it and build dens around the banks) and then our house is on a gradient up by about another 30cm at least.
Even when the rains been torrential the level has never got very high at our point, however I do know some houses were flooded last autumn further downstream where the brook goes underground near our town centre. I wonder if that's had an impact on the report