Flood risk
The ground floor is condition rating 1 and a flood map looks unfavourable. Why are those two statements about different questions?
Because one is about the floor that was seen, and the other is about a flood map. Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed to that floor, beyond normal maintenance. It says nothing about whether the area is likely to flood. On the England check, the service does not say an individual property will flood, and a sound floor does not cancel the map. Do not trade a rating 1 for a happier flood storey.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
The two pages use urgent-sounding language for different jobs, so buyers subtract one from the other. A home survey rates condition. Rating 1 on the ground floor is a compliment to the floor that was inspected, not a hydrology opinion. The long-term flood check on GOV.UK is about flood risk for an area in England. It does not cover blocked drains or burst pipes. It does not become false because the surveyor found the boards level and the skirtings clean. It also does not become a prediction that this kitchen will flood just because the shading looks busy.
Write them in two columns for the solicitor. Column one: rating 1, floor, no repair currently needed beyond normal maintenance. Column two: the map you actually printed, for the right country, and what it shows. If the house is not in England, the England check is the wrong map entirely. If it is in England, keep the check and keep the rating. What you should not write is that a rating 1 has answered the flood question, or that a gloomy map has re-rated the floor. They do not edit each other.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did rating 1 refer to: the floor surface you saw?
- Which map did you print, and for which country?
- Are you about to treat the rating as a comment on flood likelihood?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the floor at rating 1 for condition only.
- Read the flood map as flood information, not as a defect rating.
- Do not ask the seller to pick one document and delete the other.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does rating 1 mean the area will stay dry?
No. It is about the condition seen. It is not a flood likelihood.
Does a worrying map mean the floor should be rating 3?
No. The map does not re-rate the floor. Rating 3 is a condition judgement, not a map colour.