Flooding—issues in property transactions

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced in partnership with Simon Tilling of Pennon Group plc and Michael Barlow of Burges Salmon
Practice notes

Flooding—issues in property transactions

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Produced in partnership with Simon Tilling of Pennon Group plc and Michael Barlow of Burges Salmon

Practice notes
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Introduction

This Practice Note provides an overview of issues relating to flooding that may arise in property transactions. It aims to provide information which will help clients to investigate flood risk at the property and to consider the relevant issues when buying or selling their property.

For information on increased flood risk, climate change and the solicitors duty to warn their clients about climate related risks, see News Analysis: The legal duty to advise and warn about climate risk—developments for property lawyers.

Impacts of flooding risk on properties

Cost and Disruption of flooding

Flooding can cause considerable costs to both individuals and businesses. Costs may be incurred through:

  1. •

    moving to another property/renting alternative premises

  2. •

    repairing damage to the property (including structural damage) itself, as well as chattels in it, and

  3. •

    disruption or business closure

Reduction in value of property

The value of a property which has been flooded is likely to decrease significantly. This is not only because of the physical damage that flooding

Simon Tilling
Simon Tilling

Environmental Lawyer, Pennon Group plc

• I am an environmental lawyer with a background in both science and law. 
• In January 2023 I joined Pennon Group to lead a new in-house environmental law team in support of its water and waste-water businesses.
• At university I studied chemistry and law, and since then I have sought to use both my training in the scientific method and my skills in legal analysis and advocacy to solve complex environmental issues. 
• For nearly two decades I was in private practice. As a partner in UK law firm Burges Salmon, and then a partner in Washington D.C. headquartered Steptoe & Johnson, I practiced UK and EU environmental law and regulation for clients across many sectors, working alongside and learning from colleagues who are real experts and masters of environmental law.
• I now use my skills and expertise in England's water sector, working with South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water. As a life-long resident of the West of England, I can use my abilities to have a real impact on the environment around me and support dedicated and hard-working colleagues in the water and waste-water sector providing the environmental services on which we all rely.
• I am a trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA).

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Michael Barlow
Michael Barlow

Burges Salmon

Michael leads the environment team and the cross-firm water sector team. Michael covers contentious and non-contentious business for a range of clients from a variety of sectors.

He has substantial experience of running cases in criminal courts, tribunals and civil courts to the Supreme Court as well as other methods of dispute resolution including arbitration and mediation.

On the non-contentious side, Michael has particular expertise in energy efficiency, contaminated land and environmental permitting but has advised on a broad range of topics over the last 15 years.

Michael is a former editor of the Environmental Law Review, regularly lectures on environmental law and contributes articles to environmental journals.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Transaction definition
What does Transaction mean?

The purchase, sale, subscription or underwiting of a particular investment

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