How Jackson scores an area: the five-step Jackson mark, with sources
One scale, every check, every threshold sourced. Five is best for a buyer, one is worst, three is about the national picture. Jackson never adds the marks up: the verdict is written by a person.
Jackson scores every check on the same five-step scale: 5 is best for a buyer, 1 is worst, 3 is about the national picture, and every threshold is tied to a published UK source. There is no overall score; the verdict is written by a person.
NoFooly Foolproof is a £9 to £49 pre-purchase area report for any postcode in England & Wales. Every check in it is scored on the same five-step scale, the Jackson mark, and every step is tied to a published standard, an official dataset or a documented national average. This page is the whole rule book. It was set on 16 September 2026 by a five-seat bench (a chartered surveyor, an estate agent, a home checker, an insurer and lender, and a data analyst), each working only from published sources.
The rules of the scale
- Five steps, every check. 5 is best for a buyer, 1 is worst. Same bars, same words, same colours everywhere.
- Every threshold has a source. A published standard, an official dataset or a documented national average. Where the bench had to derive a number from two published ones, it is marked derived and the arithmetic is on file. Where no factual basis exists, the check is shown as a fact with no mark rather than invented.
- Mark 3 means "about the national picture" wherever a national figure exists.
- No overall score. Jackson never adds the marks up. A single number for an area is a verdict, and a verdict is written by a named person against the buyer's brief, in the paid report. The free check and the £9 report show the parts.
- Every mark carries a "not claimed" line. The scale ranks data at a point on a map. It is not a survey, a valuation, an insurance quote, or advice.
- Constants carry their release date in code so staleness is visible. Re-derive each July (crime, population), each HPI release (prices), each Ofcom release (broadband), each IoD edition (deprivation).
Labels: 5 Clear · 4 Good · 3 Typical · 2 Watch · 1 Flag (the per-check word below may replace the generic label on the tile).
The marks
Flood risk
Worse of river/sea and surface water at the point. One mark off if inside an EA Recorded Flood Outline. Mark 1 also if a mark-2 case was built on or after 1 Jan 2009 (outside Flood Re).
| Mark | Word | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Very low | Flood Zone 1 and surface water Very Low (<0.1%/yr) | MHCLG PPG Flood risk Table 1; EA RoFSW |
| 4 | Low | Zone 1 and surface water Low (0.1–1%/yr) | as above |
| 3 | Medium | Zone 2 (0.1–1% river / 0.1–0.5% sea) or surface water Medium (1–3.3%) | as above; ABI 1-in-75 "significant" line sits here |
| 2 | High | Zone 3a (≥1% / ≥0.5%) or surface water High (≥3.3%) | as above |
| 1 | Flag | Zone 3b (≥5%), or mark-2 case outside Flood Re | PPG Table 1; Flood Re eligibility criteria |
Not claimed: internal flooding, defence benefit, that any insurer will quote. Recorded floods are a penalty, never a standalone mark (a record is not a probability).
Crime
police.uk recorded crime within ~1 mile per 1,000 residents (Census 2021 OA population), ASB rows stripped, against the England & Wales rate of ~84 per 1,000 per year (derived: 5.24m offences YE Mar 2026 ÷ 62.0m mid-2025 population; ONS publishes the counts, not the rate).
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Well below | ≤50% of national |
| 4 | Below | 50–90% |
| 3 | Typical | 90–110% |
| 2 | Above | 110–150% |
| 1 | Well above | >150% |
Mix shown as facts against national shares (violence 26%, burglary 4%, vehicle 6%). Not claimed: safe or unsafe; an insurance tier (insurers' postcode bands are proprietary, so Jackson never implies one).
Road and rail noise
Higher of road and rail, DEFRA Round 4 strategic noise map, Lden, 5 dB classes.
| Mark | Word | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Quiet | Not mapped (<55 dB Lden) | DEFRA Round 4 (2022); under WHO 2018 53/54 dB |
| 4 | Audible | 55–59.9 dB | DEFRA Round 4 |
| 3 | Busy | 60–64.9 dB | DEFRA Round 4 |
| 2 | Loud | 65–69.9 dB | DEFRA Round 4 |
| 1 | Severe | ≥70 dB | DEFRA Round 4 |
Not claimed: internal levels, aircraft or industrial noise, measured rather than modelled. Show the indicator name on the tile.
Nuisance sites
Nearest EA-permitted waste site, historic landfill, sewage works or incinerator. Only two distances are published in law or guidance: the 250 m waste consultation zone and operator odour cordons. The 500 m and 1 km steps are search radii, not health lines, and are labelled as such.
| Mark | Word | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Clear | Nothing within 1,000 m | EA Historic Landfill / Permitted Sites |
| 4 | Distant | Nearest 500–1,000 m | as above |
| 3 | Near | Nearest 250–500 m, or inside a sewage-works odour cordon | Thames Water odour guidance; EA H4 |
| 2 | Adjacent | Within 250 m of land used for waste deposit in the last 30 years | DMPO 2015 Sch. 4; EA LFTGN03; Approved Doc C |
| 1 | On-site | Inside a landfill or permitted site boundary | EA Historic Landfill |
Scrap yards, gas works, waste transfer, incinerators beyond the 250 m line: named with distance, no mark (no UK standard exists). Not claimed: odour, gas or contamination present.
Air quality
Worse of PM2.5 and NO2, DEFRA background map annual mean at the 1 km cell.
| Mark | Word | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Guideline | PM2.5 ≤5 and NO2 ≤10 | WHO AQG 2021 |
| 4 | Target | PM2.5 ≤10 and NO2 ≤20 | WHO interim; England 2040 PM2.5 target (2023 Regs) |
| 3 | Typical | PM2.5 ≤15 and NO2 ≤30 (England 2025 means: 7.5 / 13.5) | WHO interim; DEFRA 2025 statistics |
| 2 | Limit | PM2.5 ≤20 and NO2 ≤40 | Air Quality Standards Regs 2010 |
| 1 | Breach | PM2.5 >20 or NO2 >40 | as above |
Not claimed: kerbside or indoor levels, any health outcome.
Deprivation
LSOA containing the property. English IoD 2025 (in force from 30 Oct 2025) or WIMD 2025 for Wales. Decile 1 = most deprived. English and Welsh deciles are separate rankings and never compared across the border.
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Least deprived | Decile 9–10 |
| 4 | Lower | Decile 7–8 |
| 3 | Typical | Decile 5–6 |
| 2 | Higher | Decile 3–4 |
| 1 | Most deprived | Decile 1–2 |
Not claimed: affluence, or anything about individuals (MHCLG: "deprivation, not affluence").
What homes sell for: asking vs sold
Area median asking vs median sold, same type, 12 months (HM Land Registry Price Paid). National anchor: sellers accept about 4.4% below asking (Zoopla HPI Aug 2026), with Zoopla's own 5% and 10% bands.
| Mark | Word | Rule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Tight | Gap 0–2% | |
| 4 | Below average | 2–4% | |
| 3 | Typical | 4–5% | |
| 2 | Wide | 5–10% | |
| 1 | Very wide | >10% | Not claimed: that any home is mispriced, what to offer, a valuation. |
Twelve-month price trend vs the nation
Local authority UK HPI 12-month change minus England (+1.1%) or Wales (+2.6%), July 2026 release.
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Well ahead | ≥3.0 points above |
| 4 | Ahead | +1.0 to +2.9 |
| 3 | In line | within ±1.0 |
| 2 | Behind | −1.0 to −2.9 |
| 1 | Well behind | ≥3.0 below |
Not claimed: future prices; that rising is good for a buyer. This is momentum, labelled as such.
Market heat (paid tiers only)
Regional days to find a buyer (Rightmove HPI; area level needs licensed data). National 64 days Aug 2026; 2026 range 60–81; right-priced 36; reduced 127.
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Fast | ≤40 days |
| 4 | Brisk | 41–60 |
| 3 | Typical | 61–81 |
| 2 | Slow | 82–127 |
| 1 | Very slow | >127 |
Not claimed: that a fast market favours the buyer at purchase; resale liquidity only.
Nearest railway station
Walking distance on the network (CIHT 2000: 800 m acceptable, 1,200 m preferred maximum, 2 km commuting maximum), then station size from ORR Table 1410 entries and exits (2024-25 quintiles: 20th pct 46,796; median 232,031; 80th pct 1,034,854). ONS anchor: 57% of E&W residents live within a 30-minute walk of a station.
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Walk, major | ≤800 m to a top-quintile station |
| 4 | Walk | ≤800 m to any station, or ≤1,200 m to a top-quintile |
| 3 | Long walk | ≤2 km to any station |
| 2 | Drive, busy | >2 km; nearest station above median usage |
| 1 | Drive, quiet | >2 km; nearest station below median usage |
Not claimed: journey time, frequency, fares.
Broadband
Best fixed service at the postcode, Ofcom Connected Nations (Spring 2026: UK gigabit 89%, superfast 98%; Wales 85 / 97).
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Full fibre | Gigabit-capable and full fibre |
| 4 | Gigabit | Gigabit-capable, not full fibre |
| 3 | Superfast | 30 Mbit/s to under 1 Gbit/s |
| 2 | Decent only | 10 to under 30 Mbit/s |
| 1 | Below USO | Under 10 Mbit/s down or 1 Mbit/s up |
Not claimed: actual speed, provider, price.
Water hardness
Supplier-published mg/l CaCO₃ for the postcode, DWI's five bands. The only regulatory line is 200 mg/l (Approved Document L scale-treatment provision).
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Soft | ≤100 |
| 4 | Slightly hard | 100–150 |
| 3 | Moderately hard | 150–200 |
| 2 | Hard | 200–300 |
| 1 | Very hard | >300 |
Not claimed: any health effect; that tap hardness matches the zone figure.
Planning applications nearby (paid tiers)
Banded by statutory type, not by count: MHCLG publishes volumes per authority, never per radius, so a "lot per mile" number would be invented. Major = 10+ dwellings or ≥0.5 ha residential; ≥1,000 m² or ≥1 ha other (DMPO 2015 art. 2).
| Mark | Word | Rule (last 12 months, ~1 mile) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Householder only | No minor or major applications |
| 4 | Small works | Minor only |
| 3 | One major | One application over a major threshold |
| 2 | Several major | 2–3 major |
| 1 | Large-scale | ≥4 major, or one scheme ≥0.5 ha residential / ≥1 ha other |
Not claimed: that anything will be built, or that it is good or bad for the street (87% of decisions are grants).
Schools (paid tiers)
An Outstanding/Good share is declined: single-word grades ended Sept 2024 and report cards from Nov 2025 carry no overall grade, so the two systems cannot be blended. Bandable: share of schools within statutory walking distance (2 miles under 8, 3 miles at 8+) whose latest outcome is in the lowest category, against the national 8–10%.
| Mark | Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | None flagged | 0% |
| 4 | Below national | under 8% |
| 3 | Typical | 8–10% |
| 2 | Above national | 10–20% |
| 1 | Double national | over 20% |
Not claimed: catchment, admission odds, quality.
Ground: clay shrink-swell (paid tiers; candidate for the free check)
BGS GeoSure classes map one-to-one: A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1. BGS's own words: C "possible", D "probable", E "significant" increase in insurance risk. Not claimed: that subsidence has occurred; not a foundation or tree survey.
Radon, coal, knotweed (paid tiers)
| Mark | Rule | |---|---| | 5 | Radon <1% of homes above 200 Bq/m³; outside a coalfield; no knotweed record within 3 m | | 4 | Radon 1–3% (Affected Area, no protection required) | | 3 | Radon 3–10% (basic protection), or coalfield needing a CON29M | | 2 | Radon >10% (full protection), or a Development High Risk Area | | 1 | Radon >30% and a Development High Risk Area |
Sources: UKHSA/BGS Indicative Atlas; BR 211; Law Society CON29M; RICS knotweed standard 2022. Not claimed: a radon measurement, a mining report, a knotweed survey.
Work nearby (paid tiers, provisional)
Nomis jobs density (jobs ÷ residents 16–64), GB 2024 = 0.85. 5 ≥1.00 · 4 0.85–0.99 · 3 0.70–0.84 · 2 0.55–0.69 · 1 <0.55. Marks 3–1 are proportional steps with no published basis and are provisional until replaced by Nomis regional quantiles. Not claimed: that the buyer can get those jobs.
Amenities on foot (paid tiers)
Worst of shop, GP and park on the walking network. CIHT 2000: 400 m desirable, 800 m acceptable, 1,200 m preferred maximum, 2 km ceiling; Natural England 2023: ≥2 ha green within 300 m, neighbourhood green within 1 km. 5 all ≤400 m and green ≤300 m · 4 all ≤800 m and green ≤1 km · 3 all ≤1,200 m · 2 any 1,200–2,000 m · 1 any >2 km.
Shown as facts, never marked
- Population density and "who lives here": Census 2021 facts and the ONS rural-urban class. Denser is not better or worse.
- Recorded floods on their own: a penalty inside the flood mark only.
- Crime as an insurance tier: proprietary; never implied.
- Scrap yards, gas works, waste transfer beyond 250 m: named with distance.
- Aircraft noise: DEFRA coverage is not uniform.
What the free check shows in full
Flood, crime, noise, nearest station: four marks with their word and one line. Every other tile shows the five empty bars, the lock, and "in the £9 Instant Report". The asking-price band lives in the person-checked report.
Short on time? Let us run the checks for you
Viewing this weekend and don't fancy an afternoon of maps? The free Foolproof Viewing Check pulls the headline tiles for any address you're looking at — no card, no sign-up.
Want the whole area read by hand and written up, checked and signed off by a real person before it reaches you? That's the Jackson pre-purchase area report. Software does the legwork so it's quick and affordable; a person makes the call so you can trust it. Reports start from £29.