The Perceptions of the Real Estate Sector on Pluvial Flooding in London, Ontario
Abstract
The frequency and intensity of pluvial flooding events are increasing in London, Ontario resulting in basement flooding of residential homes. While London has made a number of improvements to its sewer infrastructure to address this issue, their ongoing focus has been to assist homeowners through a grant program as they recognized that increasing awareness of pluvial flood risk and mitigative measures will increase the resiliency of the community. Real estate sector professionals are ideally positioned to discuss the risks and mitigative measures with homeowners before the purchase of a home. Through online surveys and structured telephone interviews, this thesis investigated the perceptions of real estate agents, appraisers, and home inspectors on pluvial flooding in London, their view of homeowners’ awareness, and of the process of disclosing this information during the home purchasing process. Through the Multiple Listing Service and the Seller Property Information Statement, information about the basement flooding risk should be disclosed so that a buyer receives all known risks and mitigative measures of a house.