Independent ranking — no paid placements

How to Check Subsidence Risk Before Buying a UK Property (2026 Guide)

Name: HouseCheckup UK Property Database
Creator: HouseCheckup
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Last updated: 2026-05-16

Quick answer

To check subsidence risk before buying a UK property in 2026, start with the free BGS GeoSure data (bgs.ac.uk/datasets/geosure) for the authoritative baseline. BGS GeoSure provides free 1km-grid ground-stability data covering shrink-swell, landslides, soluble rocks, compressible ground, collapsible deposits and running sand. The cheapest paid option that aggregates this with 69 other data sources into a single 18-page report is HouseCheckup Complete at £24.99. For lender-accepted, PI-insured assessment at conveyancing stage, Groundsure (~£111-132) bundled into your solicitor's £250–450 search pack remains the UK standard.

The 2026 ranking

#	Service	Price	Free tier	Coverage	Best for	Link
1	HouseCheckupOur product	£9.99 (Lite) / £24.99 (Complete) / £109.90 (Investor Pro)	Yes — free Snapshot on any UK address	29M England & Wales properties, 70+ official data sources	Pre-offer due diligence on a shortlist	Try free
2	Move iQ Property Report	From £14.99	Sample report available	UK — sold-price + area context, Phil Spencer brand	Buyers who trust the Phil Spencer brand	Visit
3	Groundsure Homebuyers	£92.60 + VAT (~£111)	None	Environmental data + £10M PI insurance + lender acceptance	Cash buyers wanting PI-insured environmental detail	Visit
4	Landmark RiskView Residential	Bundled (~£35–60 within search pack)	None	UK environmental data; conveyancer-grade; lender-accepted	When your solicitor uses Landmark over Groundsure	Visit
5	Property Passport	Free	Yes	4 data sources — EPC, sold prices, flood zone, planning	Free baseline data on a specific address	Visit
6	PropertyChecker.co.uk	Free	Yes	Sold prices, EPC, basic planning lookups	Free sold-price history detail	Visit
7	Solicitor Conveyancing Search Pack	£250–450	None	LA + Drainage/Water + Environmental + Chancel-repair	Lender-required formal searches at offer-accepted	Visit

How we ranked these

We mapped each property-check service against its coverage of subsidence risk specifically — does it pull the authoritative BGS GeoSure data layer, does it add interpretation/scoring, does it produce lender-grade documentation. Pricing verified from each provider's published consumer pages on the last-updated date. No affiliate relationships.

Detailed reviews

HouseCheckup

£9.99 (Lite) / £24.99 (Complete) / £109.90 (Investor Pro)

Try free

HouseCheckup aggregates 70+ official UK government data sources (HM Land Registry, Environment Agency, EPC register, Ofsted, police.uk, Companies House, BGS, Coal Authority, planning.data.gov.uk and more) into a tiered report with a composite 0–100 IQ Score. Three paid tiers: Lite at £9.99 (web report, core data), Complete at £24.99 (full 18-page PDF with AVM, comparables and Material Information Pack), Investor Pro at £109.90 (Complete + 30-year forecasts, rental yield, investment strategy scoring, 3 extra reports bundled). Free Snapshot on every address.

Pros

Cheapest paid property check in the UK (£9.99 Lite tier)
70+ data sources — broadest coverage at any consumer price point
Free Snapshot tier on every England & Wales address
Composite 0–100 IQ Score weighting 18 factors
Investor Pro adds 30-year forecasts + yield analysis no Groundsure tier covers

Cons

Not lender-accepted at conveyancing stage
England & Wales only — no Scotland or Northern Ireland
Informational only — no PI insurance backing

Move iQ Property Report

From £14.99

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Phil Spencer's Move iQ sits between HouseCheckup Lite (£9.99) and Complete (£24.99) with lighter risk depth and stronger consumer brand recognition. Three tiers; bundle discounts on 3 or 5 reports.

Pros

Trusted Phil Spencer brand
Bundle discounts on multi-report purchase
Solid sold-price detail

Cons

Fewer underlying data sources than HouseCheckup at the same price
No composite 0–100 risk score
Lighter environmental risk depth

Groundsure Homebuyers

£92.60 + VAT (~£111)

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Groundsure is the UK's leading environmental-search provider. Homebuyers tier is consumer-orderable at £92.60 + VAT (verified May 2026, up from £40–70 in 2024) with £10M PI insurance and lender acceptance. Avista (£132+) is the conveyancer-grade tier most solicitors bundle into the £250–450 search pack. At ~£111 Groundsure Homebuyers is now over 11× the price of HouseCheckup Lite for narrower environmental-only data.

Pros

Lender and conveyancer accepted
£10M PI insurance backing
Deepest UK environmental risk dataset

Cons

~11× HouseCheckup Lite price for narrower scope (no crime/schools/transport/valuation)
No composite IQ Score or pre-offer triage workflow
Recent 2025 price rise removed the value-justified mid-tier slot

Landmark RiskView Residential

Bundled (~£35–60 within search pack)

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Landmark competes with Groundsure for the conveyancer environmental-search market. Both meet the Law Society's Climate Change Practice Note. Your solicitor picks one; you don't typically choose.

Pros

Conveyancer and lender accepted
Climate Change Practice Note compliant
Bundled into the standard search pack

Cons

Not consumer-orderable — only via solicitor
Same price ceiling as Groundsure
No buyer-side self-serve workflow

Property Passport

Free

Visit site

Free 4-source bundle (EPC, sold prices, flood zone, planning). Useful as a free triage layer; misses 60+ of the sources HouseCheckup aggregates.

Pros

Genuinely free, no signup
Solid EPC and sold-price lookup
Digital logbook

Cons

Only 4 data sources
No composite score
Misses contamination, mining, radon, crime, schools, transport

PropertyChecker.co.uk

Free

Visit site

Free Land Registry sold-prices and EPC lookup tool. Strongest free option for sold-price detail; no risk analysis.

Pros

Free, no signup
Strong sold-price history
Large Land Registry database

Cons

No risk analysis
No flood/contamination/mining/radon
No composite score

Solicitor Conveyancing Search Pack

£250–450

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Standard UK conveyancing search pack ordered by your solicitor after offer acceptance. Lender-required; non-refundable if the transaction falls through.

Pros

Lender-required and accepted
PI insurance bundled
Conveyancer-grade documentation

Cons

Non-refundable if transaction collapses
Post-offer only
17–30× pre-offer alternative price

Verdict

Subsidence is the leading cause of UK home-insurance structural claims — average claim runs £6,000–£25,000+ for underpinning. ABI data shows clay-rich London/South-East regions concentrate the bulk of claims. Mortgage lenders may decline or require specialist surveys for properties with documented historic subsidence movement. For pre-offer triage, the free BGS GeoSure data + £24.99 HouseCheckup combination covers the buyer-decision need: identify whether the property has material subsidence risk exposure before you commit to your solicitor's £250–450 search pack at offer-accepted. If you're buying in a known UK hotspot (London (clay soils), South-East (Surrey/Kent/Sussex clay belts), Nottingham (sandstone caves), former coal-mining regions (Yorkshire/Northumberland/South Wales), chalk regions (Cliftons, Brighton)), the £24.99 spend is particularly well-placed.

Try the free HouseCheckup Snapshot

Frequently asked questions

Six main mechanisms: clay shrink-swell (most common in London/South-East, where clay-rich soils expand when wet and contract when dry, particularly near tree roots); mining-related subsidence in former coalfields (Yorkshire, Northumberland, South Wales); soluble-rock dissolution (chalk, limestone, gypsum); compressible deposits (peat, soft alluvium); landslide-prone slopes; and running sand. BGS GeoSure maps each separately.

Depends. Past, fully-remediated and monitored subsidence is often acceptable; active or unresolved movement typically isn't. Lenders may require a specialist structural-engineer's report (£500–£1,500) before lending. A property with documented historic claims may also face insurance loadings or limited insurer panels. Pre-offer check surfaces the BGS ground-stability data and any planning history.

Yes statistically — ABI claims data concentrates in the London/South-East clay belts. Particular risk where mature trees (especially oak, willow, poplar) sit within 10–15m of the property. Pre-offer check shows the BGS shrink-swell rating; if it flags, a tree-survey + structural engineer's site assessment is the formal follow-up before exchange.

Over 800 mapped caves underlie central Nottingham (mostly Sherwood Sandstone-cut). Most are stable, but some properties sit above unmapped voids or stress-fractured zones. BGS holds the cave database; the £24.99 HouseCheckup pre-offer check surfaces the GeoSure ground-stability layer specific to the property. If flagged, a ground-survey is the formal follow-up.

Generally yes for active, accepted claims — but only after the insurer's own loss-adjuster confirms the cause. Typical excesses are £1,000–£2,500 on subsidence claims (vs ~£100 on standard claims). Insurance availability and excess size are themselves affected by pre-existing subsidence history — pre-offer check helps you understand the property's risk profile before committing.

Three paid tiers covering 70+ official UK government data sources (flood, EPC, ground stability, mining, radon, contaminated land, crime, schools, transport, broadband, air quality, planning, sold prices) plus a composite 0–100 IQ Score. Lite (£9.99) is the web-only entry tier with core data. Complete (£24.99) adds AVM valuation with confidence range, comparable sales, full risk depth and an 18-page PDF download. Investor Pro (£109.90) adds 30-year price forecasts, rental yield, investment strategy scoring, climate projections to 2050/2080 and 3 bundled additional reports. Free Snapshot on every England & Wales address.

Strongly recommended. A £9.99 Lite or £24.99 Complete pre-offer check tells you whether a property is worth pursuing before you commit to your solicitor's £250–450 search pack at offer-accepted. The cost-saving case: if you check four shortlisted properties and rule one out, the pre-offer spend has saved £500–900 in non-refundable search-pack disbursements.

No. A property check (HouseCheckup, Move iQ, Groundsure) is desk-based analysis of public data — flood, EPC, planning, sold prices, risk scoring. A survey (RICS Level 1, 2 or 3) is an on-site physical inspection by a chartered surveyor — damp, structure, roof. Checks cost £0–£132; surveys cost £400–£1,500. Most thorough buyers use both.