Here are questions to ask before buying a home potentially in a flood zone

Nathalie Bégin, Chair of the QPAREB’s Brokerage Practice Committee, advises potential home buyers on how to avoid or prepare for flood zones.

Check both maps, call insurance companies and banks, and talk to neighbours.

It’s advice that potential Quebec home buyers should follow before purchasing a property that may be in a flood zone.

“Ask questions,” said Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) spokesperson Nathalie Bégin, who was speaking after Quebec announced a new regulatory framework for determining flood zones in the province.

She said that realtors are asking more questions of sellers and doing more research before selling and the association hopes that the new framework will correct errors in flood maps that many feel are inaccurate.

Bégin said the QPAREB is happy that the province has reduced the number of residences located in flood zones from around 77,000 to around 35,000 and that future maps will include four risk levels from low to very high with an added zone for homes located behind a flood protection structure such as a dike or retaining wall.

Environment Minister Benoit Charette said most homes soon to be in flood zones will fall under low or moderate risks.

New flood zone maps should be released in March 2026, so Bégin said buyers should ask questions about the current maps (one from Quebec and an unofficial flood zone map) before signing any papers.

Over the next year, Bégin said, municipalities and residents can improve infrastructure. Thus, houses currently in flood zones may be in another risk category when the new map is out.

“Talk to the municipality to see if the house is in a risky zone. Are they going to do something about it?” she said. “Are they going to correct [it] because they have until March 2026, to make some recommendations to the government to put on the new map. It’s a lot of questions before making the decision to say, ‘Go, we’re going to buy.”

The brokers association is pleased that Quebec recognizes that homeowners and municipalities are adapting their surroundings to possible flooding.

“We are encouraged to see that our proposals have been taken into consideration. The recognition of protective structures is an important step forward, both for the citizens concerned and for the transparency of the real estate market,” said Bégin.

Flooding in 2017 and 2019 caused an estimated $1 billion in damages, and major flooding in 2024 caused damage to homes throughout the Island of Montreal and the surrounding region.

The association would like the technical committee to do the following:

• Ensure clear communication to citizens about the changes underway.
• Promote transparent disclosure of financial institutions’ and insurers’ policies regarding flood zones.

Bégin said demand for property continues even in flood zones, so realtors now have to evaluate risk with the buyers.

 “Every buyer who’s coming, it’s individual research to evaluate if insurance is going to be able [to sell], the mortgage is going to be able, and everything,” she said. That’s why it’s very important to work now with a real estate agent because there’s so much we have to go and check before we say, go."