Flooding in listed properties: Resistance, resilience and what to do when if your home floods

Bald man with short dark hair and a slight smile wearing a blue checkered button-up shirt, against a plain gray background.

By Jim Sales Account Executive

Row of brick houses with water flooding the street in front of them under a cloudy sky.

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As climate change drives more frequent and severe weather events, understanding your home’s flood risk and the steps you can take to limit potential harm has never been more important.
While you can never completely eliminate the risk of flooding, you can take steps to reduce the risk of water entering your listed property and minimise the damage if it does make it over the threshold.

These preventative measures are known as ‘flood resistance’ and ‘flood resilience’, and making sure you implement them can help you both manage the risk of your property being damaged and help to lower your listed home insurance premium.

Sandbags stacked in front of a door to block rising floodwater.

Flood resistance

Flood resistance (also known as dry proofing) focuses on keeping as much water outside your home as possible. For listed properties, this must be done sensitively by adapting protection so that it is effective but doesn’t harm the character of the building or use materials that conflict with the original fabric.

Examples of flood resistance measures include:

Temporary or demountable flood barriers for doors and windows
Airbrick covers, which can prevent water from entering through low-level ventilation
Backflow valves to stop sewage backing up into the property during high water levels
Regular maintenance, including clearing gutters and downpipes, repairing cracks, and ensuring historic features like timber frames or lime mortar are well looked after

For listed buildings, always consult your local conservation officer or a heritage specialist before installing physical barriers, as some interventions may require consent.

Flood resilience for listed buildings

Sometimes, it’s just not possible to stop water entering your property. Flood resilience is all about minimising the damage as much as you can if water does get in. By having robust protection measures in place, the idea is that you can get back to normal as quickly as possible once the flood has subsided.

Flood resilience measures are usually tailored to your property. Some historic and/or listed properties, for example, will need specialist measures compared to more modern buildings as they are often constructed from non-standard materials.

Flood resilience measure includes:

Using resilient floor and wall materials, such as tiles, solid floors and porous plaster
• Raising electrics so they’re less likely to be touched by water
• Using water resilient insulation
• Keeping or storing belongings off the floor at ground level or in the basement as a matter of course

In addition to these practical steps, owners of listed buildings should also consider:

Designing a flood plan tailored to your home, including shutdown procedures for heating systems, locations of stopcocks, and a list of priority items to move
Documenting the building – keeping updated photographs and records of original features can be invaluable if repairs are needed later

What to do when a flood warning is issued

If the Met Office issues a warning for heavy rain or flooding in your location, make sure you are prepared.

In the hours leading up to a possible flood, it’s important to:

Move antiques, art and other valuable items alongside documents and personal possessions upstairs
Fit any temporary flood barriers or airbrick covers
Turn off gas, electricity and water if instructed to do so
Secure outdoor items, such as garden furniture or bins, which can cause damage if swept away
Have an emergency kit ready, including torches, chargers, essential medication and insurance information

Staying informed is key – keep an eye on live updates from the Met Office and local flood authorities.

What to do if your listed building floods

If water does enter your home:

Only re-enter the property when it’s confirmed safe to do so
Document everything. Take photos and videos of the damage before starting any clean‑up
Contact your broker immediately. They will advise on next steps

Flood recovery can be emotionally and physically draining, but with the right expert support you can restore both the structure and the character of your home.

What’s more, placing your insurance with a specialist broker, with a specialist claims team will also make sorting claims, should they arise, a much smoother process.

Insurance for listed buildings that have exposure to flooding

As there’s a higher chance that you may claim on your listed home insurance, you’ll need what’s known as non-standard home insurance, which is when your policy is tailored to the precise needs of your individual home.

At Abode, we are a specialist listed property insurance broker and we’ll tailor a flood insurance policy to your listed property, taking into account any preventative measures you’ve put in place to make your home more resilient.

The more measures you’ve taken, such as raising the electrics and using water-resistant materials, the more likely you are to source a policy including flood cover. At Abode, we also have access to Flood Re – a scheme run by the government that’s designed to help those with properties in high-risk areas find home insurance subject to meeting the Flood Re criteria.

As a broker, we can also shop around the market on your behalf to find the most suitable policy for your home, so even if you live close to a water source that may cause flooding in future, you can still rest assured that your home and its contents are properly protected. All we need is as much detail from you as possible, so we can make sure your cover is exactly right for your home.

We also have a specialist in house claims team, that should you need to claim, will provide you with a single point of contact from start to resolution of the claim.

To speak to the expert team at Abode today for advice or a quote, call us on 01622 476 433.