Flood Risk · Report on Title scenario
Defences change the odds; they do not remove the risk, and insurers price what is left. There is also a question that catches people out entirely: defences have to be maintained, and in some places the people who benefit from them contribute to that. Before you treat a defence as reassurance, find out how good it is, who looks after it, and whether you will be paying for it.
From the e-ROT archive
This scenario is drawn from Report on Title material dealing with this specific circumstance.
A flood defence is built to hold back an event of a particular size. Events larger than that are not impossible; they are the reason the standard is expressed as a probability rather than as a promise.
What matters is the standard it was built to, its condition now, and whether the risk it was designed against has changed since. A sea wall designed decades ago was designed for the sea as it then was.
Whether they have failed or you have been asked to contribute to them, what was reported to you during the purchase is a reasonable place to start.
Find out what should have been explained → WhenIBought.comInsurance prices residual risk, and the presence of defences does not take a property out of a flood zone. The Lexsure wording below puts the point bluntly: the presence of defences may affect your ability to obtain insurance, and premiums may move with the level of risk.
That is counter-intuitive and it is the practical test. If defences made the question go away, the quotes would say so. Get the quotes.
In some locations, property owners who benefit from a defence are liable to contribute to its maintenance or improvement — through a drainage rate, an estate arrangement, or an obligation in the title.
It is worth establishing before exchange whether any such liability attaches here, because it is a recurring cost rather than a one-off, and because it can increase when the defence needs work.
The sources are the local authority, the relevant drainage or environment body, and the title itself. Ask the question explicitly: a defence with no identified owner and no maintenance arrangement is its own kind of answer.
From the e-ROT archive
Report on Title paragraph
The property's proximity to the ocean may expose it to coastal flooding. Although flood defences are present, we strongly recommend that you conduct your own investigation to ensure their adequacy and effectiveness in mitigating flood risks. This may include consultations with local authorities, reviewing flood risk assessments, and/or engaging a specialist surveyor. The presence of flood defences may impact your ability to obtain property insurance, and premiums could be affected depending on the level of risk. Additionally, you should verify whether property owners in the area are responsible for any ongoing maintenance or improvement costs associated with these defences.
Master precedent wording. This is current Lexsure Report on Title material, reproduced exactly. It was written for a coastal property; the same questions arise for river and estuary defences. It is not advice about any particular property.
Do not rely on wording copied or saved from this page. Get the current wording dealing with this scenario.
View current paragraph →Keep relevant ROT wording under review as Lexsure issues updates.
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