Flood risk
A slope of field runs towards the back wall and the surveyor saw no flood mark. What overland path has been described, and what event was not witnessed?
The overland path described is the slope of field running towards the back wall. Rain on that field has a fall toward the house, which is a route water could take across the ground. The event that was not witnessed is an actual flood. The surveyor saw no flood mark, so the report does not record a past depth or a past line on the wall. A slope is geometry the eye can see in dry weather. It is not the same thing as watching water arrive. The survey has described the path. It has not certified that a flood has used it.
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?
Overland flow is water that runs across the surface when the ground cannot take it, or when a fall leads it somewhere. Here the fall leads toward the back wall, which is worth writing down because the wall is the thing you are buying. No flood mark means no stain, silt line or similar trace was found to show that water had stood there. Absence of a mark is not absence of every possible future storm, and it is not a measured history. The inspection should keep those limits visible.
Note the slope in the questions you put to the seller and, if drainage of the field matters, ask who owns the land and whether water has reached the wall. Do not ask the surveyor to invent a storm they did not see, or to delete the slope because the bricks were clean. A builder can comment later on ground levels and gullies if you need work considered. The home survey has already done its part: path described, event not witnessed, no flood mark on the day.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which way does the field fall, and where would water meet the house?
- Did you see any flood mark, or explicitly none?
- Are you describing a path rather than a flood you witnessed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record the field slope as an overland path toward the back wall.
- Do not rewrite the clean wall as a witnessed flood or as proof against one.
- Ask the seller whether water from the field has reached the house.
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
If a gully sits at the back wall, has the path been disproved?
No. A gully is a detail that might catch water. It was not seen performing that job in a storm, and the slope of the field is still the path described. The survey witnessed no flood and recorded no mark on the wall.
Does a dry summer visit clear the winter risk?
No. Dry ground on the day of the inspection is the weather of that day. It does not witness a flood and it does not cancel the fall of the field toward the back wall of the house. Winter was not seen.