Japanese Knotweed

Tarmac, paving, building foundations and walls can also be easily and quickly damaged by knotweed. Due to the damage that Japanese Knotweed can cause, having it on your property can impact on the value of the property and because of the stigma attached to it, it may be more difficult to sell your home.  

What does Japanese Knotweed look like?

It can be hard to identify Japanese Knotweed, and other plants are often mistaken for it.  It can generally grow anywhere, but you may be more likely to find it if your property is situated near a railway, waterways, local walkways, park land or similar. 

Key characteristics of Japanese Knotweed are light/ mid green, shield or heart shaped leaves with a straight back edge, with tall and hollow stems that look like bamboo. The plant can grow up to 3 metres tall and has clusters of very small creamy - white flowers bloom in upright formations. You can usually identify the knotweed as there is a growth pattern of one stem per node and it forms a zig zag stem growth pattern. The plant blooms in spring and will grow fast. You will notice when it starts to grow that it grows as a red / purple colour and during the summer is when the green leaves fully form. It is late summer when you will see the white -creamy flowers.  In autumn the knotweed begins to turn yellow, and the stems go brown and it eventually dies off to ground level in the winter which means that it is not visible and will be dormant. 

How to deal with Japanese Knotweed

Japanese Knotweed is so pervasive that it is actually an offence to “plant or otherwise cause [Japanese Knotweed] to grow in the wild” under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. When trying to get remove Japanese Knotweed, contaminated soil and plant rhizomes (roots) are classed as “controlled waste”, under part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The roots of knotweed cannot simply be pulled out, they require professionals to remove them completely. It is illegal to try to remove and dispose of the plant yourself unless you are an expert in that area. You should not attempt to deal with the knotweed yourself using off the shelf weedkiller.   Although it can be costly to properly treat and remove Japanese Knotweed it is important that you deal with it in the right way. 

If you suspect that Japanese Knotweed is growing either on your property or on any neighbouring land, it is very important that you take action as soon as possible as it is generally easier removed the less established that it is.  If the knotweed has encroached on to your land from neighbouring land, you should report it to the owner of the neighbouring land immediately.  

You could be held liable to a third party if knotweed starts to encroach from your property onto their property even if it came on to your land from elsewhere in the first place.    

It is vital that if you have Japanese Knotweed on your land you seek guidance from a reputable knotweed treatment company. It can sometimes be the case that treatment carried out for Japanese Knotweed is not carried out in the correct way so that such treatment is ineffective, and the knotweed is not fully removed and the problems caused by it persist.  We can help recommend a suitable expert to you who can provide you with the required treatment that you need and also an insurance backed guarantee in respect of the treatment they provide. 

Making a claim for Japanese Knotweed:

• If Japanese knotweed has encroached onto your property from a neighbouring property you may be able to make a claim for nuisance. A claim for nuisance could include an injunction that your neighbour removes the knotweed. 
• As well as claiming for an injunction you are also able to claim damages (compensation), the cost to treat the knotweed on your land and if the value of your property reduces as a result of knotweed you may be able to claim for the loss in value of the property which is known as a diminution of value.
• Japanese knotweed can also cause difficulties if you wish to sell your property. Many lenders will not lend if you have Japanese knotweed on your property. If a sale falls through due to the presence of Japanese knotweed, you may be able to claim damages. 
• Sellers of property should always declare the presence of Japanese knotweed on the land on the TA6 form. It is a seller’s responsibility to check for the presence of it and report its existence. You may be able to claim against the seller of the property for misrepresentation or breach of contract if knotweed was not declared at the time of the sale of the property. 
• If you have had a survey on the property when purchasing it, the surveyor should have noted the presence of Japanese knotweed prior to your purchase and if they have not identified it, you may be able to make a claim against them for subsequent losses. 

Can I make a claim for Japanese Knotweed on my land? 

Whether you can bring a Japanese knotweed claim depends on a number of factors.  If any of the below apply to you, please get in touch with us to discuss further whether we can help you with a claim- 

• There is Japanese Knotweed on your land which encroached onto your property from neighbouring land within the last 6 years;
• You bought your property within the last 6 years and there is Japanese knotweed which was present at the time of the sale, but it was not included in the surveyor’s report or flagged on the TA6 form completed by the seller. 

We can offer you free advice on whether we are able to take on a claim for you or not, so if you are unsure just get in touch with us today to discuss.   

If we are able to take on your claim for Japanese Knotweed, we will arrange for your property to be inspected, and the relevant evidence obtained to prove that the knotweed has encroached on to your land and where it has come from. The necessary evidence will then be obtained about what is required for its removal, the cost of removal and any diminution in value to your property.