Urban areas host 80% of England’s homes at high risk of flooding, study finds

Eight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost. Research found that 839,000 homes in urban areas are now classed as being at high risk of surface water flooding, a threefold increase since 2018. Constituencies in Thurrock, Basildon, Bootle, Sefton and Southport had the highest proportion of at-risk homes. Areas of London, including Hackney , Barking and Tottenham, also featured in the top 10, and also had the highest proportion of social housing tenants. Graph showing the top 10 English constituencies by proportion of homes in high flood risk areas in 2025 Alistair Smyth, the director of policy and research at the NHF, said: “With surface-water flooding a fast-growing threat in towns and cities, this poses a direct risk to people and families living in social housing. “Our climate is changing faster than our infrastructure can handle, and social housing residents are more exposed, less protected and least able to absorb the financial shock when floods hit. …