Flood risk report for a mortgage: what the lender looks at, and what you can show them

A lender does not read the Environment Agency map for you. The valuer notes anything that looks like flood risk, the lender's own rules decide what that means for the loan, and you usually find out late, after you have paid for the valuation. This page explains what they are looking at, so you can look first.

What the lender actually checks

Two things. Whether the property is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, which is the Environment Agency's map of rivers and the sea without defences counted. And whether the property can be insured against flooding at a normal price, because every mortgage needs buildings insurance in place from exchange of contracts.

Most lenders will lend on a Flood Zone 3 property. What changes is the conditions. Some ask for proof that flood insurance is available before they issue the offer. Some ask the valuer for a further comment. A few will not lend at all on a property that has flooded before and cannot be insured. The rules differ between lenders and they are not published in one place, so the safe assumption is that a high result will be questioned.

Zone 3 is not the end of the application

A Flood Zone tells you the risk of an area, not of one building. A house on a slight rise inside Zone 3 can have a lower real risk than its neighbour. Defences are ignored in the zone but counted in the Agency's rivers and sea likelihood, which is the figure closest to the one an insurer uses. And Flood Re, the government backed scheme, lets an insurer offer flood cover on many homes at a capped premium. A lender who sees the whole picture, not just the zone, often has nothing more to ask.

What to have ready before you apply

• The Flood Zone for the postcode, 1, 2 or 3, with the date it was read.
• The rivers and sea likelihood with defences counted, because that is the number insurers lean on.
• The surface water band, the risk most valuers mention and most buyers never check.
• An insurance quote, or at least confirmation that cover is available, before exchange.
• Whether Flood Re could apply to the home, which turns on its build date and use.

Where the free map is enough, and where it is not

The government's free service tells you the long term flood risk for an area. For a first look that is all you need, and the check on this site gives you the Flood Zone, the surface water band and any live warning free, with the source and the date. What the free map does not give you is a dated document you can forward. The £12.99 report puts every finding, the rivers and sea likelihood, the storage areas, the warning areas, the nearest gauges and the Flood Re checklist into one dated PDF with a source link under each line, made to be sent to a broker, a solicitor or an insurer.

It is not a survey and it is not an insurance decision. It is what the public records said on the day, in plain words, in a shape a lender can read in a minute.