On 2014-05-20 21:39:38 +0000, Martin said:

On Tue, 20 May 2014 13:08:12 +0100, sacha wrote:

On 2014-05-20 10:36:56 +0000, Martin said:

On Tue, 20 May 2014 10:25:19 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2014-05-20 07:46:52 +0000, Martin said:

On Sun, 18 May 2014 12:13:42 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article ,
lid says...

sacha wrote

She only moved in two years
ago and her surveyor assured her the house had never flooded.

Aren't surveyors
legally responsible for their surveys?

Yes, but if he reported the truth he can't be faulted. A survey report
only reflects the current status of the property, it's not a future
guarantee.

The flood maps provided by the EA show potential flooding areas, with
probabilities of flooding, not just historic flood areas. Both my children used
the maps when buying their houses. It could be why they both live on top of
hills. http://apps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/37837.aspx

Nonetheless, the property had never flooded and a surveyor can only
comment on current conditions in the property. He can't say e.g. you've
got wooden beams in the kitchen, so you might get woodworm one day!

He could have looked at the EA map and said the EA say the probability of
flooding is X%.

I don't know if he did, obviously but the fact is that the house had
never flooded and the reason it did was lack of maintenance by the
authorities, not lack of diligence by the surveyor or the buyer.

The EA knows the state of maintenance of rivers and drains. They take
this into
account when producing flood maps. IMO if the surveyor did not consult EA flood
maps he is incompetent.

He cannot be held to be incompetent when he tells a buyer the truth.
The house had never flooded. One could say she shouldn't have taken
the risk but she asked the right question and she got an honest answer.
She has looked into whether or not the surveyor can be held accountable
and to the best of my knowledge the answer was "he can't". When my
daughter was buying in the area and before I knew it at all, the first
question I asked her was "have you checked if there's a flood risk?".
In fact, they're too far from the river and are surrounded by fields
which got pretty soggy but didn't flood. Otoh, when they were renting a
house a few miles away in Cannington, a village, the water came to
within inches of their front door the winter before. That alone showed
how concrete and tarmac don't help in heavy rainfall.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk