Question 1

What is Liivable?

Accepted Answer

Liivable is a neighbourhood intelligence platform that analyses 21 data categories — including crime, flood risk, schools, transport, air quality, and more — to produce a single liveability score for any English postcode. It helps you understand an area before you move, buy, or invest.

Question 2

Who is Liivable for?

Accepted Answer

Anyone considering moving home, buying property, or investing in a neighbourhood. Our users include first-time buyers, families researching school catchment areas, landlords assessing rental yields by area quality, and renters wanting to understand a new postcode before signing a lease.

Question 3

Do I need to create an account?

Accepted Answer

No — you can search any postcode and get a free overview without signing up. Creating an account unlocks saved reports, PDF downloads, and access to our Pro comparison tools.

Question 4

Is Liivable available outside England?

Accepted Answer

Not currently. Our data sources — the Environment Agency, Ofsted, Police.uk, Land Registry, and others — are England-specific. We are exploring Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as future expansions.

Question 5

What postcodes are covered?

Accepted Answer

Liivable covers all English postcodes. Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish postcodes are not currently supported as the data sources differ.

Question 6

Can I compare two postcodes?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Pro subscribers can use our side-by-side comparison tool. Single Report users can generate separate reports and compare manually.

Question 7

How is the overall score calculated?

Accepted Answer

The overall liveability score is a weighted average of 21 scored categories. Each category is scored 0–100 based on how the area performs relative to national benchmarks. Categories like flood risk and crime carry higher weights due to their impact on quality of life. Demographics is presented as unscored contextual information.

Question 8

How accurate are the scores?

Accepted Answer

Scores are algorithmically calculated from the latest available official data. They provide a reliable overview but should complement, not replace, professional property surveys and searches.

Question 9

Why is my score different from nearby postcodes?

Accepted Answer

Scores are calculated at postcode level using precise geographic data. A street or two can make a meaningful difference — for example, being in a different flood zone, police reporting area, or Ofsted school catchment. This granularity is intentional and reflects genuine differences in local conditions.

Question 10

Can I customise the scoring weights?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Paid reports include a score personaliser where you can dial up or down the importance of each category — for example, prioritising schools and green space if you have children, or transport and broadband if you work from home. Your customised score is calculated instantly without re-fetching data.

Question 11

What are lifestyle scores?

Accepted Answer

Lifestyle scores are pre-built weight profiles designed for common buyer personas — such as "Young Professional", "Family with Children", or "Retired". Selecting a lifestyle profile instantly re-weights the scoring categories to reflect what typically matters most to that type of household. You can also create a fully custom weighting.

Question 12

How should I interpret a low score?

Accepted Answer

A low overall score does not necessarily mean you should avoid an area — it means the area performs below the national median on the weighted factors. Some categories (like price-to-income ratio) may score low precisely because the area is desirable. Always read the individual category sections to understand the specific drivers behind the score.

Question 13

Where does Liivable get its data?

Accepted Answer

All data comes from official UK government APIs and trusted open data providers including the Environment Agency, ONS, Ofsted, Police.uk, DEFRA, NHS, Ofcom, Historic England, BGS, UKHSA, HMLR, DfT, FSA, OpenStreetMap, and OpenFlights. Government data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Question 14

How often is the data updated?

Accepted Answer

Different sources update at different intervals — crime data is monthly, flood warnings are real-time, EPC certificates are added as properties are assessed, and census data is updated every few years. Reports always use the latest available data.

Question 15

Why is some data unavailable for my postcode?

Accepted Answer

Some datasets have limited geographic coverage or report at a different granularity (e.g., district or county level). When a data source has no record for your postcode, that category is shown as unavailable rather than scored zero — which would unfairly penalise the area.

Question 16

How do you handle missing data in scores?

Accepted Answer

When a category has no data, its weight is redistributed proportionally across the remaining scored categories. This ensures the overall score still reflects a complete picture of the factors we can measure, rather than being artificially dragged down by gaps in source data.

Question 17

Can I report incorrect data?

Accepted Answer

Our data comes directly from official sources, so corrections need to happen at source (e.g., a Police.uk error should be reported to your local force). However, if you believe our processing of the data is wrong, please contact support@liivable.com with details and we will investigate.

Question 18

What does the free tier include?

Accepted Answer

The free tier shows your overall liveability score, the flood risk section in full, and one-line summaries for all other categories. No signup required.

Question 19

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

Single reports are delivered as instant digital content and are non-refundable under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. If you encounter a technical issue preventing access, contact support@liivable.com and we'll resolve it. Pro subscriptions can be cancelled at any time via your dashboard — you'll retain access until the end of your billing period.

Question 20

How do I cancel my Pro subscription?

Accepted Answer

Go to Dashboard > Manage Subscription and click "Cancel plan". Your Pro access continues until the end of the current billing period. You will not be charged again. If you have trouble, email support@liivable.com and we will cancel it for you immediately.

Question 21

What payment methods do you accept?

Accepted Answer

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) via Stripe. Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported on compatible devices. We do not store your card details — all payments are handled securely by Stripe.

Question 22

Can I upgrade from a single report to Pro?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Any amount you paid for single reports is not directly credited, but upgrading to Pro gives you unlimited reports, comparison tools, and PDF downloads from the moment you subscribe. Contact support@liivable.com if you have questions about your specific situation.

Question 23

Is my data private?

Accepted Answer

We do not store or share your search history unless you create an account. Reports are generated on-demand from public data sources. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Question 24

Can I download or print my report?

Accepted Answer

Single Report and Pro users can download a PDF version of their report. All reports are also print-optimised for direct browser printing.

Question 25

Why does my report take a few seconds to load?

Accepted Answer

Reports are generated in real-time by fetching data from up to 21 different sources simultaneously. This typically takes 3–8 seconds. Subsequent views of the same postcode are served from cache and load almost instantly.

Question 26

Can I share my report with others?

Accepted Answer

Pro users can share a read-only link to their report. Anyone with the link can view the full scored report without needing an account or paying. Single Report users can share the postcode URL — recipients will see the free overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions