How do you find out flood risk for a house in Scotland?

[MrsSneeze]

Hi, we are researching buying a house in Scotland, we will be first time buyers.

How do you find out the flood risk for the property if it is near a river?

I have looked at SEPA maps online but they state they are not intended to assess risk to individual properties, and it's difficult to see for an individual property. The Home Buyers Reports haven't commented on flood risk.

Also - does anyone know if the data used for flood risk assessment takes account of the predicted rise in sea levels and weather changes with climate change? Or are they made on current water levels and weather patterns?

The best idea may be to buy well away from any flood risk areas,but interested to hear where we can get a good assessment.

We found out by asking for a home insurance quote. The insurers seemed to know the risk alright.

was that before you bought it @Finfintytint? Was it a particular company you used which had this info, or any?

I just rang round lots of companies for quotes and they pretty much said the same thing - big risk of flood and very very high premiums. The place had flooded 50+ years ago with loss of life but nothing since ( coastal area).

We rented the place temporarily between house purchases so didn’t insure, as the risk to buildings wasn’t our risk and could cover the cost of contents if necessary. Normal contents insurance was covered though just not as a result of flooding.

Hi-try the insurer as they invest in software for this and can detect different types of flood and will likely tell you if it’s flagged and you question what toe of flood

There is a .gov website for England that says about flood risk areas. There may be something similar for Scotland?

@Longdistance

There is a .gov website for England that says about flood risk areas. There may be something similar for Scotland?

The equivalent I've found is SEPA (scottish environmental protection agency) but it states in the disclaimer that it's not for individual properties, and frustratingly you can't zoom in enough to be sure for individual properties in some areas.

If anyone knows of a better website do let me know though.

Thanks for the home insurance tip - I wouldnt' have thought of that.

Have a look at the property questionnaire part of the pack too, they have to say if the property has been flooded while they have owned it.

We got one done through our solicitor but was much the same as sepa. Company was First Scottish Searching services ltd.

Was around 8 years ago. Think around £100.

I used the SEPA one when trying to work this out, the diagrams seem pretty precise, well for my area at least, that I can see at a street level where risk seems to be. You are right that it doesn't zoom in enough really but you can cross reference it against the google maps / street view position of the house to work out the precise location.

And yes, the home insurers will factor that in on their quotes. If you're concerned make sure you have a good insurer for that particular risk...low excess, provision alternative accommodation etc. You can sometimes pay extra to lower excess.

Ask your solicitor.

We got an environmental report (I think it was called) completed via the solicitors, it wasn't that expensive but it covered things like flooding, mining and other environmental factors. I look at the flood risk on Sepa from time to time, you can more or less see where you are on it tbh. It doesn't have to be right down to house level to get an idea