Height above sea level
Discussion
The Bank of England has warned that properties may fall in value because they are at a lower level and the absence of flood insurance. Mortgage providers would want to see a full scope of protection for their properties including a provision for a reduction in value.
Climate change, according the BofE will have a consequence on the UK housing market sooner than you might think and the height above sea level could be a new and relevant factor for those thinking of moving in the next five years.
Climate change, according the BofE will have a consequence on the UK housing market sooner than you might think and the height above sea level could be a new and relevant factor for those thinking of moving in the next five years.
There are many more houses I'd rule out due to height above likely river flooding, than there are which I'd rule out due to height above sea level.
The houses I know where people have come closest to being flooded are both at good altitude, but when heavy localised rain hit the hills above them, the water had nowhere much to go.
The houses I know where people have come closest to being flooded are both at good altitude, but when heavy localised rain hit the hills above them, the water had nowhere much to go.
K87 said:
Climate change, according the BofE will have a consequence on the UK housing market sooner than you might think and the height above sea level could be a new and relevant factor for those thinking of moving in the next five years.
It's not all climate change, it's building on unsuitable land, too many hard surfaces, inadequate river dredging/maintenance and probably more.Anyway, if the BoE is right it means that rich people will live safely on hills and poor people will get flooded out... much as they do in the third world.
I used to live in Hertfordshire, some 300ft+ above sea level so rising sea levels were not an issue.
When I moved to Lincolnshire in 2018 the location of every property I looked at was checked against a couple of flood risk maps. There was one house I really liked the look of apart from the flood risk so I wasn't upset when someone else beat me to it.
A year later this happened, the house I liked is in the black square...
When I moved to Lincolnshire in 2018 the location of every property I looked at was checked against a couple of flood risk maps. There was one house I really liked the look of apart from the flood risk so I wasn't upset when someone else beat me to it.
A year later this happened, the house I liked is in the black square...
I suspect that a broader brush approach would be used and that flood insurers will take a view that says if you live within a certain distance of a river known to be a food risk in the past that will cancel cover, or only provide cover with a substantial deductible, if your house is less than X feet above sea level. I was thinking that this would have an early impact on cities such as Carlisle and York, counties such as Somerset but there are large swathes of the East Coast that rely on coastal defences for their security.
A property without insurance protection will be deemed an unacceptable risk by a mortgage provider with a consequent effect on house prices.
A property without insurance protection will be deemed an unacceptable risk by a mortgage provider with a consequent effect on house prices.
Simpo Two said:
K87 said:
Climate change, according the BofE will have a consequence on the UK housing market sooner than you might think and the height above sea level could be a new and relevant factor for those thinking of moving in the next five years.
It's not all climate change, it's building on unsuitable land, too many hard surfaces, inadequate river dredging/maintenance and probably more.Anyway, if the BoE is right it means that rich people will live safely on hills and poor people will get flooded out... much as they do in the third world.
Simpo Two said:
K87 said:
Climate change, according the BofE will have a consequence on the UK housing market sooner than you might think and the height above sea level could be a new and relevant factor for those thinking of moving in the next five years.
It's not all climate change, it's building on unsuitable land, too many hard surfaces, inadequate river dredging/maintenance and probably more.Anyway, if the BoE is right it means that rich people will live safely on hills and poor people will get flooded out... much as they do in the third world.
K87 said:
About a mile from me is a recent housing development, built on a farmers field that should have been drained 100 years ago. The Council was under pressure to allow house building on unsuitable site and 200 houses were built on this heavy soil field without draining and without a subsurface membrane. The houses were finished two years ago and there are some serious structural problems, the land should not have been built on, the house owners are expecting their insurers will pick up the tab.
There's a great many houses in the UK with 'flood risk', but the reality is that not ever so many flood each year, and the cost to insurance is not huge.It's a top-scale planning decision, you either build a million houses and accept that a thousand will flood every year, or you have huge impacts on what land can be built on. This has cost effects in transport and so on, if you can't put the houses where they are wanted.
It's a balance, people have always built houses with finite risk of flooding.
It helps if they are not built of cardboard and stale weetabix of course!
Flooding also affect roads, railways, industry.... I'm not saying it's not a problem.
There are houses near me with risk of sea flooding. The houses will dry out, but you wouldn't want a car that had been in the garage....
K87 said:
if your house is less than X feet above sea level.
Although as said it's not always the sea that floods, it's the rivers - and that can be at any height. Sea level is not a great arbiter unless you're talking about tidal flooding.OutInTheShed said:
and accept that a thousand will flood every year...
Surely houses built in an area that's prone to flooding could be raised up a bit, or have DPCs that go halfway up the walls and watertight doors?K87 said:
About a mile from me is a recent housing development, built on a farmers field that should have been drained 100 years ago. The Council was under pressure to allow house building on unsuitable site and 200 houses were built on this heavy soil field without draining and without a subsurface membrane. The houses were finished two years ago and there are some serious structural problems, the land should not have been built on, the house owners are expecting their insurers will pick up the tab.
Why aren't the developers picking up the tab?No issues where we live I do however own a flat in NW London which is effectively near the bottom of the hill on which Hampstead sits. In July ‘21 there was extremely heavy rain which overwhelmed the local drains. The house didn’t flood but the build up of ground water meant that the water pressure caused cracks in the waterproof render of my downstairs neighbour’s basement.
The flat is in a a period house, three stories three flats. We all own a share of the Freehold. Last year when as the Freehold company we went out to ge tthe standard buildings insurance we couldn’t get flood risk cover. Because it is a company the Govt flood insurance scheme doesn’t cover us.
Since that episode Thames Water have improved the local sewer/drainage system.
I’ve owned the flat for thirty years, one off event which hopefully never happens again. If insurance companies don’t change their mind on risk following Thames Water’s work it might have a meaningful impact on property values.
The flat is in a a period house, three stories three flats. We all own a share of the Freehold. Last year when as the Freehold company we went out to ge tthe standard buildings insurance we couldn’t get flood risk cover. Because it is a company the Govt flood insurance scheme doesn’t cover us.
Since that episode Thames Water have improved the local sewer/drainage system.
I’ve owned the flat for thirty years, one off event which hopefully never happens again. If insurance companies don’t change their mind on risk following Thames Water’s work it might have a meaningful impact on property values.
Getragdogleg said:
My list of wants when buying last time included living up a hill. So much wetland, marshland and floodplain building here that it's a ticking time bomb.
I live over 200ft above sea level and the water that falls on us drains away fast.
I live 6ft below sea level and the water that falls on us does the same.I live over 200ft above sea level and the water that falls on us drains away fast.
It was certainly on the radar when we last moved, as well as proximity to any rivers.
Anything which had the slightest possibility of being flooded I wouldn't go near, who knows what sort of extreme weather we will be getting in 10, 20, 30 years time.
You absolutely do not want to be answering "yes" to the "have any parts of your property been flooded during your ownership" question from the buyer's conveyancer.
Anything which had the slightest possibility of being flooded I wouldn't go near, who knows what sort of extreme weather we will be getting in 10, 20, 30 years time.
You absolutely do not want to be answering "yes" to the "have any parts of your property been flooded during your ownership" question from the buyer's conveyancer.
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