Protect Your Property - Eye on Calderdale

Graphic showing house being flooded and car under water.

Property flood resilience measures

One in six UK homes are currently at risk of flooding, with climate change likely to increase this risk even further. Even if you haven't flooded before it's worth being prepared just in case the worst should happen.

This guide sets out six steps to help you understand the process of preparing for flooding and installing property flood protection.

Simple steps to protect your property

Step one

Check your flood risk

You can check your flood risk online or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. This will help you understand your risk of flooding from rivers, surface water, and reservoirs.

Step two

Make a flood plan

Flooding can happen very quickly, giving you little time to act. Create a flood plan for your home, business, or community and share it with those who need to see it. It could help minimise damage and protect your loved ones, employees, and neighbours.

Graphic showing two people with high visibility clothing and hard hats looking at a clip board and holding rolled up paper.

Step three

Do the groundwork

Before undertaking any work on your property, you will need to check your insurer’s policy on flood resilience technologies. The Association of British Insurers or the British Insurance Brokers Association may be able to suggest insurers that specialise in flood risk cover. The next important step will be a survey of your property. You can choose a manufacturer’s survey or an independent survey. The Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has a list of professional chartered surveyors that you can browse by postcode.

Step four

Choose the right products

A combination of flood measures offer the best way to protect your property and minimise recovery costs. You should consider:

Resistance measures - designed to keep floodwater out
Resilience measures - designed to reduce damage when water enters

If you're looking to invest in property flood resilience products, you may find this guide helpful. Flood resilience products do not guarantee that your home will be completely protected from all flood events, but they should minimise any damage.

Graphic of a person installing a flood door

Step five

Choose the right installer

Find an installer you can trust with this guide to choosing the right tradespeople.

Please note: that there will be special considerations if you own a listed building, or you are located in a conservation area. In this case, please refer to the Historic England guide Flooding and Historic Buildings that will direct you to specialist advice.

Graphic of person with hard hat and clip board in wet weather. A green alert sybmol is shown.

Step six

Keep products in good working order

All products will need to be periodically checked, tested and maintained:

Practice installing products such as flood barriers
Check mechanisms on products like flood doors and valves regularly to ensure that they are in good working order
Take care if having any alterations made to existing products such as flood doors as these may invalidate manufacturers’ warranties

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Recommended guides

Environment Agency: Prepare your property for flooding
Know Your Flood Risk: Homeowner's guide to flood resilience
The National Flood Forum: Protecting Your Property
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): Obtaining flood insurance for high risk areas
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors: A clear guide to flooding for property owners
The Association of British Insurers: A guide to resistant and resilient repair after a flood