Flood Performance Certificates are to be piloted in England under plans announced by the government and Flood Re on 13th October 2026. The aim is to give householders a clearer record of their home’s exposure to flooding and the measures used to reduce its effects.
Pilots are due to begin this year, with further trials during 2027 and beyond. The final design is still being developed. The announcement creates no universal requirement to obtain a certificate before selling or applying for planning permission.
I would read this as a useful move towards clearer property information, while keeping the pilot’s limits firmly in view. If you own, buy or develop a home, knowing where water could come from is only part of the picture. You also need to understand how the building would cope.
What Flood Performance Certificates would record
The government’s announcement describes a standardised assessment of flood risk and resilience. It proposes testing a rating covering exposure, characteristics and resistance, using existing flood-risk information. Improvements such as flood barriers and water-resilient flooring would be reflected in the assessment.
Flood Re chief executive Perry Thomas said: “Flood Performance Certificates are about turning awareness into action.” That is the practical point: information should help an owner decide what to investigate or improve, rather than simply adding another document to a property file.
For a buyer considering Flood Performance Certificates, I would ask what a future assessment actually covers, how the information was gathered and when it was checked. A clear rating is useful only if you understand its scope. Do not infer that two properties have identical risks simply because their headline results look similar.
The idea has been developing for some time
Flood Performance Certificates were already part of the government’s FloodReady action plan. Its relevant recommendations called for a prototype supported by a robust scoring method and involvement from insurers, lenders, conveyancers and surveyors.
That earlier report described a scoring framework first tested in East Peckham, Kent, and work to standardise relevant data. The 13th October announcement therefore builds on an existing programme. It should not be presented as the first time anyone has proposed recording resilience at individual-property level.
The important question for owners is whether the trials produce information that can travel with a home and remain useful to the next person responsible for it. I would look for clarity about updating records after alterations, checking evidence and explaining limitations before relying on any future certificate.
Why new-build developers should pay attention
In research announced by Flood Re on 15th July 2026, Ardent Consulting Engineers proposed using Flood Performance Certificates to document measures delivered through the planning process. That proposal focused on verifying construction, rather than changing planning policy or introducing new design requirements.
The research considered five recent housing developments alongside policy review and practitioner interviews. The proposed approach involved independent professional review of developers’ completed-building information, creating a record of the flood measures actually installed. Flood Re identified new builds as a potential subsequent pilot deployment.
That distinction matters. Flood Performance Certificates for new builds are a proposed application of the framework, not an announced universal condition on every planning permission. Developers should follow their actual approved plans and conditions, rather than treating a research proposal as an operative requirement.
My practical advice is to retain an organised trail from the approved design to the completed building. Drawings, specifications and evidence of installation answer different questions. Keeping them together would make any later verification easier and also helps explain what a purchaser is being told.
A certificate cannot settle the planning question
English planning guidance on flood risk says resistance and resilience measures cannot justify development in inappropriate locations. Resistance aims to keep water out, while resilience measures reduce damage and help recovery when water enters. They are related approaches, with different purposes.
Flood Performance Certificates should therefore be kept separate from the evidence needed for a planning application. A site-specific assessment considers risk to and from the development, its lifetime, climate change and whether it would increase flooding elsewhere. A record about an individual home cannot automatically answer all those questions.
The guidance also cautions that temporary and removable defences are inappropriate for new-build developments. Owners of existing homes should not assume that a product suitable for retrofitting would satisfy the requirements for a new housing scheme. The proposal and its location need their own assessment.
What to do while the pilots develop
I would begin with the information already available and keep evidence of any existing protective measures. Our report on Flood Action Online explains the recently launched English advice hub. That service is available now; the certificate programme has a different purpose.
As the pilots develop, check what is being offered before paying for an assessment under that name. Ask who is providing it, which methodology they use and what the document is intended to demonstrate. The official announcement says the final template will be published later.
For planning purposes, I would treat Flood Performance Certificates as a developing information tool and keep the decision about a proposal grounded in the site evidence. A useful property record could support informed questions, but it would not remove the need to answer them.
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