Questions buyers ask before a viewing
Is a Habifact report a survey or a valuation?
No. A Habifact report is desk research: it pulls public records and listing data for one address in England before you book a viewing. Nobody visits the property, so it cannot tell you about the roof, damp, walls or drains. For that you need a RICS Home Survey (Level 1, 2 or 3) once your offer is accepted, plus your solicitor's searches. Habifact is the step before those. It helps you decide which homes deserve a viewing and what to ask, so you only pay for a survey on a house that is still on your list.
When is the best time to use it?
Before you book a viewing, or between a first viewing and an offer. Flood mapping, sold prices, the EPC and planning history are often things buyers first see in the survey or the search results, weeks after the offer. Seeing them earlier gives you questions for the agent while walking away still costs nothing.
How can I find out if a property has flooded before?
Use more than one source, because no single record is complete.
- Ask the seller, first through the agent and then in writing through your solicitor. The Law Society's TA6 Property Information Form, which sellers complete, has an environmental section that covers flooding.
- Ask the Environment Agency. GOV.UK explains how to email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk for a flood history report on the area around an address. It is sent within 20 working days, and a fee may apply depending on the work involved. The Environment Agency says it does not have flood records for every area.
- Ask the lead local flood authority (your county or unitary council), and the Internal Drainage Board if the area has one.
- Get a buildings insurance quote for the exact address before you exchange.
Habifact shows the mapped flood risk for the location. Mapping is not a record of whether the house itself has flooded. Read the full guide to checking a property's flood history.
Does the seller have to tell me if the house has flooded?
The general rule in English house sales is "buyer beware", so a seller does not have to volunteer every problem. But if they answer a question, the answer has to be honest. The Law Society's explanatory notes for the TA6 form (6th edition) say buyers can rely on the answers, that misleading answers may let a buyer claim compensation after completion, and that a seller who does not know an answer must say so. Estate agents also have duties under consumer protection law (now the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024) not to leave out material information. In practice: ask directly, get the reply in writing, and ask your solicitor to follow up if the form says "not known". This is general information, not legal advice.
How do I check if a house is in a flood zone?
There are two GOV.UK services and they answer different questions.
- Check the long term flood risk for an area in England rates rivers and the sea and surface water as high, medium, low or very low, and covers reservoirs and groundwater where data is available. GOV.UK says it does not tell you how likely it is that an individual property will flood.
- Flood map for planning shows Flood Zones 1, 2 and 3. These are planning categories for rivers and the sea. Zone 1 has less than a 0.1% chance of flooding each year. Zone 3 has a 1% or greater chance from rivers, or 0.5% or greater from the sea.
Surface water is not part of the flood zones, so a house in Zone 1 can still have surface water risk. Check both. Our flood risk guide walks through what each map does and does not show.
How can I tell if the asking price is fair?
An asking price is the seller's opening position, not evidence. Start with HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, which records what homes in England and Wales actually sold for. Then take the floor area from the EPC register (GOV.UK "Find an energy certificate") and compare price per square metre with similar homes nearby that have sold recently. A Habifact report does this in its "Is the price fair?" section, which plots this home's asking price against nearby sold prices on one chart. It is a guide to the evidence, not a valuation.
The floor area on the listing doesn't match the EPC. Which is right?
Not necessarily either. The EPC records a floor area measured for the certificate. A listing's figure may be measured differently, and may include or leave out areas such as a conservatory, garage or loft room. The gap matters most when you are comparing price per square foot. Ask the agent what their figure includes. Habifact shows both figures with their sources and flags the difference. It does not average them.
An extension isn't on the council's planning portal. Should I worry?
Not straight away. Older applications may not appear in online records, and some extensions are permitted development and never needed planning permission. Building regulations approval is a separate thing again. Ask the agent when the work was done and whether there is a building control completion certificate, and ask your solicitor to raise it. Habifact lists planning applications matched to the property itself, not a neighbour's extension down the street.
Does Habifact work for leasehold flats?
Yes, for flats in England, and you confirm the exact flat before a report is used. It shows tenure as recorded and flags it when sources disagree. It does not read the lease, the service charge accounts or the building's fire safety paperwork. Ask the agent early for the lease length, ground rent, service charge (ideally the last three years of accounts) and any planned major works. Your solicitor checks the lease itself.
Does it check subsidence or noise?
Not as dedicated checks. Habifact includes indicative radon from the British Geological Survey, but it does not assess subsidence, and it does not currently include road or rail noise. For ground conditions, the British Geological Survey's free online geology maps show what the ground is made of (clay, for example). For noise, Defra publishes strategic noise maps for major roads and railways in England. If you see cracking, a structural engineer is the right person to ask.
Does it work outside England?
No. Habifact covers addresses in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use different data sources, and Scotland has its own Home Report system for sellers.
See a sample Pre-Visit report