The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 17
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Properties that
were relatively quiet
during the pandemic
years have already seen
a significant return of
overhead traffic”
into standard due diligence. Brokers
who failed to flag properties in flood
zones faced complaints, compensation
claims, and reputational damage.
Aircra noise is on the same
trajectory, but the industry hasn’t
caught up.
The difference is that the growth in
flights is already happening. This is
not a future problem.
Properties that were relatively
quiet during the pandemic years
have already seen a significant
return of overhead traffic, and many
homeowners purchased during that
quiet window without understanding
what normal flight volumes actually
look like.
Under the Consumer Duty,
firms are required to avoid causing
foreseeable harm, and to ensure
that customers are able to make
informed decisions.
The FCA’s Dear CEO leer to
mortgage intermediaries at the start
of 2025 reinforced that tailored advice
and high standards are the baseline
expectation.
A client who purchases a property
that subsequently falls in value
due to aviation noise they were not
warned about has reasonable grounds
to question whether they received
suitable advice – particularly when
the data to identify that risk was
available.
The liability gap
What makes this particularly acute
is the combination of rising flight
volumes and the lack of standard
checks. More aircra in the sky means
more properties affected.
The Government’s support for
expansion at multiple airports
simultaneously means this problem is
scaling nationally, not just around one
or two hubs.
Conveyancing solicitors face similar
exposure. A failure to advise clients
on a known and quantifiable risk
to property value could constitute
professional negligence.
As aviation noise data becomes
more accessible and public awareness
grows, fuelled by record passenger
numbers and high-profile expansion
approvals, the standard of care
expected of property professionals
will inevitably rise.
Looking further ahead, the
Government’s airspace modernisation
programme will redesign flight paths
across the UK over the coming years.
When that happens, the picture will
shi again, with some areas gaining
relief and others experiencing aircra
noise for the first time.
But brokers don’t need to wait for
that to act. The risk is already here,
driven by the sheer volume of flights
operating today.
Opportunity or obligation
There is a commercial dimension here
that deserves aention. Brokers who
integrate aviation risk assessment
into their advice process are not
simply managing liability, they are
differentiating their service.
In a competitive market where
advisers are fighting for client trust
and referrals, demonstrating a more
comprehensive approach to due
diligence is a genuine advantage.
It signals to clients that their adviser
is looking beyond the basics and
considering risks that others miss.
For networks and compliance
teams, this also presents an
opportunity to lead. Embedding
aviation noise awareness into training,
fact-find processes, and referral
partnerships positions a firm as
forward-thinking and client-focused.
It is precisely the kind of proactive
risk management that the Consumer
Duty was designed to encourage.
The mortgage industry learned the
hard way with flood risk. The lesson
was clear: when a foreseeable risk
to property value becomes widely
known and data is available to assess
it, professionals who ignore it do so at
their own peril.
With 302 million passengers passing
through UK airports last year and
expansion plans accelerating across
the country, aircra noise is no longer
an edge case. It is a mainstream
property risk and it is time the
industry treated it as one. ●
March 2026 | The Intermediary
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