Selling a house with subsidence

You can sell a house with subsidence. What buyers, their lenders and their insurers really want to know is whether the movement is historic and dealt with or still active. A house with a closed insurance claim, completed repairs and evidence that it's stable can often sell on the open market at a fair price. Active subsidence, or an open claim, usually means fewer buyers and a lower price.

This guide covers how to tell subsidence from ordinary cracks, the insurance side, what you must tell buyers in England and Wales, and your options for selling.

What is subsidence?

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) describes subsidence as the ground beneath a building sinking and pulling the foundations down with it. The common causes are:

• Clay soil, which shrinks and cracks in dry weather
• Trees and large shrubs near the house, which draw water out of clay soil
• Leaking drains or water pipes, which can wash away or soften the soil, especially sandy or gravelly soils
• Old mines and quarries, where the ground can become unstable

Is it subsidence or just a crack?

Most cracks aren't subsidence. The ABI says normal cracks, from things like drying plaster, shrinkage or a new extension settling, are usually even in width and narrow, from hairline up to about 3mm.

Signs that point towards subsidence include:

• cracks that appear suddenly, often after a long dry spell
• diagonal cracks that are wider at the top, often around doors and windows, and sometimes thicker than a 10p coin
• doors and windows that start sticking for no clear reason
• wallpaper rippling or tearing where there's no damp

If you see these, contact your insurer before you put the house on the market.

Past or active: why it matters

Situation	What buyers see	Likely effect on a sale
Historic subsidence, cause fixed, claim closed, house stable	A known problem with a paper trail	Often sells on the open market, sometimes with a price adjustment
Claim open, house being monitored	Uncertainty about cause, cost and timescale	Many buyers wait or walk away; lenders may hold off
Active movement, no claim or no insurance	An unknown repair bill and possible insurance problems	Mostly cash buyers and auction, at a lower price

The clearer your evidence, the more buyers you'll have. Without it, buyers tend to assume the worst.

Insurance: your first call

If you think you have subsidence, the ABI's advice is to contact your insurer as soon as possible. The insurer may send a specialist or engineer to find the cause. For minor damage where the movement has stopped, repairs often go ahead quickly. Where the movement is ongoing, the house may be monitored for a while so the engineers can plan a long-term fix. In extreme cases the foundations are strengthened or deepened, which is called underpinning.

Some useful points from the ABI:

• The excess. Most buildings policies have an excess of around £1,000 for subsidence claims, which you pay yourself. Check your own policy.
• What's covered. The structure of the home and outbuildings is usually covered. Garden walls, fences, patios and driveways usually aren't, unless they were damaged at the same time as the house.
• Switching insurer. Under an industry agreement, if subsidence is reported within eight weeks of changing insurer, the previous insurer handles the claim.
• After a claim. Insurers aim to keep existing customers covered, but a new insurer may charge more or set different terms if the home is still at risk. The ABI suggests using a broker for specialist advice.

Insurance matters for your sale because your buyer will need to insure the house too. If you can show that your current insurer still covers it, and on what terms, buyers worry less.

What you must tell buyers

Your solicitor will ask you to complete the Law Society's TA6 property information form. Since 30 March 2026, firms in the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme have had to use the 6th edition for new sales. Subsidence usually comes up in the sections on:

• insurance, which asks about claims and any difficulty getting cover
• warranties, which asks about work such as underpinning
• disputes, for example with a neighbour over a tree or shared drain

Answer honestly and as fully as you can. Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967, a buyer who relied on a false or misleading answer may be able to claim compensation, and in serious cases a court can set the sale aside. If you're not sure how to describe a past problem, ask your solicitor to help with the wording. See our guide to the TA6 property information form.

The paperwork buyers will ask for

• the insurer's claim letters, including confirmation the claim is closed
• engineers' reports and any monitoring results
• details of the repairs, who did them and when
• any warranty for underpinning or other structural work
• building control sign-off for any structural work, if there is one
• your insurer's confirmation that cover continues, and on what terms

How buyers and lenders view subsidence

A buyer's lender will send a valuer, who may recommend a report from a structural engineer before the lender agrees to lend. Lenders set their own rules, so one may be comfortable where another isn't. Evidence that the cause was dealt with and the house is stable makes this much easier.

Buyers who are paying cash, or who are experienced with older houses, are usually more relaxed, but they'll still price in any risk they can't rule out.

Your options for selling

Finish the claim, then sell on the open market

If your insurer is dealing with the claim, it often pays to let it finish. A completed repair with a closed claim and an engineer's sign-off widens the pool of buyers, and an estate agent is then likely to get you the highest price. The downside is time: monitoring and repairs can take months.

Sell during the claim

You can sell partway through a claim, but buyers will want to know what's wrong, what will be fixed and who will pay. Talk to your insurer before agreeing a sale about how the claim would be handled, and get written updates you can share. Expect a smaller pool of buyers.

Auction

Auction can suit houses with active or unresolved subsidence, because many auction buyers are cash investors who expect problems. There are fees, the price isn't certain, and buyers will bid low if the information pack leaves questions unanswered. See selling a house at auction.

Cash buyer

A cash house buying company can buy a house with subsidence without waiting for a claim to finish, but the price will usually be below market value. It suits sellers who want a certain, quick sale more than the highest price. It doesn't suit someone whose claim is close to finishing and who can wait for the open market.

We buy homes as they are, including those with subsidence, and make an offer within 24 hours. We pay your legal fees and you choose the completion date. Our offer is below market value, we explain how we worked it out, and there's no obligation to accept. Our cash buyer vs estate agent vs auction guide compares the routes side by side.

A checklist for selling a house with subsidence

• Your insurer told, and a claim opened if there are signs of subsidence
• The cause identified, ideally in writing by an engineer
• A decision on whether to finish the claim before selling
• All claim letters, reports, monitoring results and repair details gathered
• Any underpinning warranty and building control sign-off found
• Your insurer's confirmation of continuing cover, if you have it
• TA6 answered honestly, with your solicitor's help on wording
• Routes compared: agent, auction and cash buyer

If subsidence is one of several problems, our guide to selling a house that needs work helps you decide between repairing and selling as it is.