Your home has flooded somewhere in Northamptonshire. Here is which of the county’s two councils is responsible, West Northamptonshire’s nine-month deadline, the Section 19 reports both have published, and what to do next — from an independent consultancy that has been through the process itself.
Northamptonshire County Council was abolished in 2021. Its flood duties were split between two unitary councils, and each is now the Lead Local Flood Authority for its own area, with its own Section 19 duty and its own reporting form. West Northamptonshire publishes its thresholds; North Northamptonshire checks reports against its own threshold. Report to the wrong one and your flood may never be counted.
Not sure which covers your address? Our flood contacts finder will tell you from your postcode.
West Northamptonshire Council publishes clear thresholds. It will generally carry out a formal investigation where:
That first threshold matters more than most homeowners realise: a single home that floods twice in five years can qualify on its own. North Northamptonshire has done the same in practice — its 2023 investigation at Benefield Road, Oundle was triggered by one property flooding internally twice in two years. North Northamptonshire says it will give advice within 20 working days of a report and check it against its threshold for a formal investigation.
That gap is where RISE works. In one case, it took Section 19 evidence through to more than £2m of completed council-funded works. See the evidence.
If your area has flooded before, a published report may already name the cause and the responsible bodies. That is valuable evidence for your claim, your rebuild and any escalation. Search both councils at once by town, village or street.
123 reports
75 reports. Dates are the flood event; reports from 2022 onwards show the year only. Middleton Cheney (May 2018) is listed by the council as withdrawn, with no report published.
48 reports. Dates are the flood event. Reports from 2023 onwards are published as web pages on the council’s site.
No published report for that place. That doesn’t mean your flood wasn’t significant — it may never have been formally reported. A Section 19 Case Assessment will tell you where you stand.
Reports are hosted by West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council. A few older reports may appear on both lists. List checked in September 2026. Reports are added as the councils publish them.
Call 999 if anyone is at risk. Turn off electricity at the mains only if you can do so safely and dry.
Photograph and video the water level, its route into the property, and any blocked drains, gullies or culverts nearby. Note times. This evidence disappears within hours.
West Northamptonshire will not investigate after nine months, so report to either council as soon as it is safe. Use West Northamptonshire’s form or North Northamptonshire’s form, and ask neighbours to do the same. If you have flooded before, say so: a repeat flood can meet the threshold on its own.
Decisions in the first 72 hours shape the whole recovery. A free 30-minute consultation costs nothing.
Your Section 19 Case Assessment reaches your inbox within 15 minutes and sets out your authority, the thresholds that apply and your next moves.
Want the full step-by-step, including safety, cleaning, drying and your health? Read What to Do After a Flood. Free, no sign-up.
RISE works with homeowners throughout the county, including Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden, Daventry, Towcester, Brackley, Oundle, Raunds, Thrapston, Desborough, Rothwell and Irthlingborough. For background on flooding across the county, read our article Northamptonshire: At the Watershed of England. Also see our services, our Section 19 reference manual, and our pages on flood recovery in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
It depends where you live. Northamptonshire has no county council. West Northamptonshire Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority for Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire. North Northamptonshire Council covers Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire. Each has its own Section 19 duty, its own reporting form and its own published reports.
Yes. West Northamptonshire Council states that it will not investigate an incident reported more than nine months after the flood. Report internal flooding as soon as it is safe to do so.
In West Northamptonshire, yes: one of the council's thresholds is a building flooded internally on more than one occasion in the last five years. North Northamptonshire has also investigated a single property flooded internally twice in two years, at Benefield Road in Oundle. Five or more buildings flooded in one event, or critical infrastructure flooded for more than three hours, also qualify in West Northamptonshire.
No. West Northamptonshire Council states that an investigation will not resolve the flooding, provide designed solutions, or force the Environment Agency, the flood authority, the water company or the highways authority to act on its recommendations. Getting recommendations delivered usually takes sustained, evidence-led escalation.
North Northamptonshire Council says it will provide advice within 20 working days of a report and check whether the flood meets its threshold for a formal investigation.
Your sewerage company. Much of the county is served by Anglian Water, but boundaries don't follow council lines, so check which company serves your postcode using the water and sewerage company lookup on the Water UK site before reporting.
No obligation. No jargon. By the end of the call you will have a clear view of your options — whether you engage RISE or not.
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