The key points at a glance

• The Environment Agency now puts 6.3 million properties in England in areas at risk of flooding, and expects that to reach around 8 million by mid-century.
• There are two separate checks: your flood zone and your long-term flood risk. Do both.
• Surface water (heavy rain the drains can't cope with) is the risk people miss. You don't need to live near a river to be affected.
• No flood insurance usually means no loan. Flood Re helps many older homes, but not ones built from 2009 onwards, and it's due to end in 2039.
• A flood risk doesn't automatically rule you out. It just means picking the right lender from the start.

Does flood risk affect equity release or a remortgage?

Yes, it can. Your home is the lender's security, so anything that could knock its value or make it harder to sell gets looked at closely. When it comes to flooding, lenders and their valuers tend to focus on:

• How likely the area is to flood, now and in the future
• Whether the property has flooded before, and when
• Whether you can get buildings insurance that includes flood cover

With equity release it matters even more. The loan is normally repaid when the house is sold, and that could be 20 or 30 years away. The lender wants to know the home will still be worth something, and still be sellable, by then.

Flood zone or flood risk? They're not the same thing

This trips a lot of people up. The government runs two different services, and they answer slightly different questions.

Your flood zone tells you how likely flooding from rivers or the sea would be if there were no flood defences at all. Your long-term flood risk looks at the real picture today, defences included, and it also covers surface water, reservoirs and groundwater.

So why bother with both? Well, a house tucked behind a decent flood wall could be in Flood Zone 3 yet show as low risk on the long-term check. Some lenders still want to know the zone, because walls can be overtopped. And the opposite happens too: a home in Flood Zone 1, miles from any river, can come back as high risk for surface water.

Interestingly, the GOV.UK start page sends anyone who's "buying, selling or valuing a property" straight to the long-term flood risk check. That's the one that matters most for borrowing, but the zone is a handy second opinion.

How to check your flood zone

It's free and takes a couple of minutes on the Environment Agency's Flood map for planning.

1. Open the map

Go to flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk.

2. Pick the planning option

You'll be asked why you need the information. Choose the planning or site option to see the zone. If you choose "buying, selling or valuing a property" it'll take you to the long-term risk check instead, which is fine, just do that one next.

3. Find your home

Type in your postcode or address, zoom in on your property and note the zone.

The map covers England only. If you're in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, skip to the section on the other UK nations further down.

How to check your long-term flood risk by postcode

This is the important one. The Environment Agency's service gives your area a separate rating for each type of flooding.

1. Enter your postcode

Go to check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk, pop in your postcode and pick your address. (It works best in an up-to-date Chrome, Edge or Firefox.)

2. Look at every source, not just rivers

You'll see a rating for rivers and the sea, surface water, reservoirs and groundwater. Read them all.

3. Save a copy

Take a screenshot. Your adviser will find it useful, and it saves time later.

A couple of things worth knowing. First, the rating is for the area, not your exact house, and the service says as much. If your home sits a bit higher than the street, your real risk may be lower (and vice versa).

Second, don't brush past the surface water result. It's now the biggest source of flood risk in England, according to the Environment Agency, and it's the one that catches people out.

Third, the data gets updated regularly now. A check you did when you bought the house might not match what it says today, so it's worth looking again before every application.

Insurance and Flood Re: the bit most guides leave out

If a home can't get buildings insurance with flood cover, most lenders simply won't lend on it. So it really is worth checking your insurance position before you apply.

Flood Re is a joint scheme between the government and insurers that keeps flood cover affordable for homes in high-risk areas. You never deal with it directly. You just buy normal home insurance, and your insurer passes the flood part to Flood Re in the background.

There are some catches, though:

• Homes built from 1 January 2009 aren't covered, however high the risk. The idea was to stop developers building on flood plains, but it leaves newer homes exposed.
• Some flats, leasehold blocks, buy-to-lets and commercial properties fall outside it too.
• It's due to end in 2039. After that, insurers are expected to charge the full price for flood risk. A lifetime mortgage taken out today could easily still be running then, and lenders know it.

One bit of good news: Flood Re's Build Back Better scheme lets participating insurers fund up to £10,000 of flood-resilience work, such as flood doors or raised sockets, when repairing a home after a claim. That kind of work can help with future insurance and with how a lender sees the property. You can check the details on Flood Re's eligibility page.

Can you still get equity release if your home is at risk of flooding?

Often, yes. A flood risk doesn't shut the door. It does narrow the list of lenders, though, and it can affect how much you're able to release.

Every lender has its own rules, and they change from time to time. As a rough guide:

• Low or very low risk, never flooded: usually treated like any other home.
• Medium or high risk, or Flood Zone 2 or 3: some lenders will look at it with extra conditions, like proof of flood defences or standard insurance terms. Others won't.
• Flooded recently: many lenders look back around five years. A recent flood in the house itself (not just the garden) can be a deal-breaker for some.
• Near an eroding coastline: that's treated separately, and it's often a no.

Why are equity release lenders so careful? Partly it's the time frame. But it's also the no negative equity guarantee. Under Equity Release Council standards, you'll never owe more than your home is worth. If a flood knocks the value down, it's the lender who takes the hit, not your family.

If you're remortgaging rather than releasing equity, the same things apply, just over a shorter period. You'll usually get a fresh valuation, and the valuer will be looking at the latest flood data. Not sure you'd qualify at all? Our eligibility guide covers the basics.

The calculator provides an indication only. It is not a personal recommendation or confirmation that a particular equity release product will be available to you.

Live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

The two GOV.UK tools only cover England. The good news is each nation has its own free flood map.

The wording and categories differ a little in each one. If you're not sure what your result means, just ask us.

Your quick checklist before you apply

Half an hour with this list now can save you weeks later.

• Check your flood zone on Flood map for planning
• Check your long-term flood risk, including surface water
• Screenshot both results
• Jot down any flooding at the property (house, garden or outbuildings) and roughly when
• Dig out invoices or certificates for any flood repairs
• List any flood protection you've fitted, such as flood doors, air-brick covers or non-return valves
• Check your buildings insurance covers flooding, and note any big flood excess
• Find out when your home was built (before or after 2009 matters for Flood Re)
• Tell your adviser all of this