One in six UK homes are located in areas where there is a significant risk of flooding. With extreme weather and flooding becoming more prevalent, that number is only ever likely to grow, which can have serious implications for the property market.

Insurers are already reluctant to cover property and possessions in flood-prone areas or are increasing premiums beyond reasonable levels. Purchasing a property with an associated flood risk “may negate your ability to obtain commercially reasonable buildings insurance and/or any building insurance at all at the subject property,” explains Unda Consulting, which specialises in flood risk assessments. It goes on to remind us that, often, being insured isn’t merely an option, but a contractual requirement if you have a mortgage.

There is some hope for affected homeowners. In 2016, the UK insurance industry set up Flood Re, a not-for-profit system of levies and caps with the aim of establishing a fund to cover homes built prior to 2009 in the most at-risk areas.

Nonetheless, your home may still be difficult to shift. This inevitably leads to the question, if your home has flooded in the past or has the potential to do so in the future, do you have a duty to disclose when you come to sell it and move on?

A flood versus a leak

What qualifies as a flood? “From an insurance point of view,” explains Quittance Legal Services, “if water comes into your home from outside – a river which has burst its banks, rain, the sea, surface water etc – this is classed as ‘flooding’.” If the deluge or leak originated within your home, it is an escape of water. As Quittance notes, “anyone whose home has flooded is unlikely to be quibbling… over its definition; you can’t really miscategorise a flood.”

That is something the people of Gringley-on-the-Hill would agree with. More rain fell on the Nottinghamshire town in a single day – 7 November last year – than it would usually get in a whole month. And not just a little more, either. In total, it received 122% of what might be expected, and it wasn’t the only place affected, too. Across central England, 1,000 properties were flooded and thousands more households were evacuated. No doubt some of those homeowners are looking to sell before it happens again.

Should they manage to attract a buyer, they will have questions to answer, the most significant of which appear on the Seller’s Property Information Form. Officially known as TA6 and formalised in 1990 as part of the conveyancing protocol, it asks for benign details like buildings insurance, boundary lines and parking – as well as more significant points, like details of any disputes with your neighbours, and flooding.

A legal admission

As question 7.1 puts it, “Has any part of the property (whether buildings or surrounding garden or land) ever been flooded? If Yes, please state when the flooding occurred and identify the parts that flooded.”

The crucial point here is that you need to disclose not only whether water entered your home, but any effect it had on your garden, driveway or surrounding land. It’s no good fudging your answer, either.

As Zoopla explains, “it is imperative you are honest… If you give inaccurate or incomplete information, the buyer could make a claim for compensation, even after the sale has gone through. If a court finds you guilty of misrepresentation you may have to pay damages running into thousands – or tens of thousands – of pounds.”

Don’t assume that they are unlikely to be able to prove you lied, either.

“Under the law (specifically the Misrepresentation Act 1967), the burden of proof of misrepresentation has shifted from buyer to seller,” explains LoveMoney. “This means it isn’t up to the buyer to prove you knowingly lied on the form, it is up to you to prove you didn’t if they make a claim against you… If the misrepresentation is serious enough [a court] can also cancel the contract, meaning you would need to buy back your old property and cover any expenses of the buyer, including mortgage interest and legal costs – which could total a small fortune.”

Full and honest disclosure

Claiming that you can’t afford to buy your old home back won’t excuse you: if you have taken out a mortgage on a new property, your only option might be to sell it, as quickly as you can, and hand over the proceeds. You would be very lucky to only be back to square one. More likely, your financial situation would be far worse.

There really is no way around it: if your home has flooded, you are obliged to make potential buyers aware. It may put them off – and you may need to significantly reduce your asking price to tempt them back – but, in the long term, it is the only safe, legal and ethical path you can take.

If you are thinking about moving home you may find some of these links useful: