The publication is a detailed and accessible guide for homeowners, helping them amongst other things to identify flood risks to their property.

Other topics include:

• Checking if a property is at risk of flooding
• Preparing for a flood
• Creating a flood emergency plan
• Recovery and what happens after the flood

The guide also explains where to get professional advice on flood resilience measures (to ensure your property can cope with a flood) from accredited surveyors regulated by RICS and adhering to its strict code of conduct. 

According to the UK Government, flood damage costs totalled around £333 million between November 2019 and March 2020 and would have cost an additional £2.1 billion without flood defences.

RICS is also releasing a companion guide titled Reinstating your boundary after extreme weather damage. This guide tells you what steps to take to reinstate a boundary following extreme weather events such as fire, flood or storm damage and where you can go for advice.

RICS member and Chartered Environmental Surveyor, Philip Wilbourn, said of the flooding consumer guide: “This timely guide will help homeowners prepare as best they can for extreme weather events, which unfortunately are becoming more common and severe due to climate change.

“Flooding has an enormous impact on people’s lives, and while we try and mitigate the effects of climate change, consumers should be as best-prepared as possible if a flood hits. Being unprepared can not only cause significant damage but impact on peoples’ physical and mental wellbeing.

“Good preparation also means that consumers affected by flooding can get their property back in its original condition as soon as possible, limiting the potentially devastating impact that floods can bring.”

RICS advises that these free expert guides will assist the public in understanding their property’s risk of flooding, help establish a plan of action, and educate them on how best to prepare for such an event and the full range of potential impacts.