Flood liability: who is responsible if your land floods?

The aim of this guide is to give you an overview of the general position when land floods.   

If you are the victim of flooding and you suffer loss as a result of flooding on your land, it is not always easy to work out if you can pursue a claim against anyone to recover your losses. Equally, if you cause flooding on someone else’s land, you will want to know whether you are liable to that person for their losses.

Flooding can have many causes - for example a river bursting its banks, the sea overcoming coastal defences, a burst water pipe, too much rainfall, and the escape of impounded water or run-off from higher to lower ground.