This comes after the recent erosion of the coast in Hembsy, Norfolk, which has resulted in people being evicted from their properties and homes being demolished.
The latest coastal erosion has been caused by high spring tides. This has been an ongoing issue which has seen the coastal line retreat by more than 300 metres since the 1980s.
Figures from the Environment Agency show that approximately 1.9 million homes and 660,000 hectares of land in England are at risk from coastal flooding.
Additionally, an analysis by the National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) showed that around 700 properties in England will be vulnerable to coastal erosion by 2030 and approximately 2,000 by 2060.
The estimates take into account government measures to manage coastal change.
Graeme Gillespie, head of consulting at Hometrack, said: “It’s a heartbreaking situation for residents, who have lost or face losing their homes and livelihoods. Unfortunately, coastal erosion is only going to continue. This creates a significant risk to the value of those homes under threat which mortgage lenders must understand.
“Regulators have made it crystal clear that financial institutions must put climate change risk on a par with other risks within their risk framework. To do this they need a deeper understanding of how their lending, assets and customers will be impacted by coastal erosion and the effects of climate change such as flooding.”
He added: “This can only be achieved by implementing more developed climate change risk management systems. These allow lenders to reflect climate risk more accurately in their business decisions and understand how risks can directly impact property values.
“They can also monitor the emerging impact on mortgage affordability where customers’ livelihoods have been damaged by a decline in tourism, for example, because of beach closures.”
