Climate Risk And Property (Supplementary Guidance)

As climate change continues to impact our environment, understanding its implications on property is crucial for legal professionals. As extreme weather events become more prominent, and sea levels continue to rise, solicitors must play an even larger role in ensuring clients are provided with all relevant advice.

Most solicitors will advise their clients that a full suite of 'standard' searches should include an environmental search, which would reveal several risks including floor, ground stability, energy infrastructure and radon gas. Most solicitors will also know that a flood risk of one in 1,000 years is negligible and almost all London properties will have natural ground stability issues due to the clay soils. However, as climate change continues to impact our environment and extreme weather events become more prominent, and these risks become apparent, solicitors will have to ensure that clients are informed about potential (however small) risks which might