Japanese knotweed and selling a house

If you need a professional to eradicate it, cc it is not a negligible problem. It's a serious one. People are right to be 'obsessed' by it.

www.unbiased.co.uk/news/mortgages/the-truth-about-japanese-knotweed#:~:text=AECOM's%20principal%20ecologist%2C%20the%20aptly,'

Getting the elecricity compan to get rid of it is one thing, if it is coming from waste land or the land of a private indivdual, who may not be able to afford a good contractor, or any contractor at all, is another matter and, personally, I would not touch a house with JKW.

Katie59

Most buyers won’t pay for a full survey so what they get is a report with so many caveats, it’s meaningless, often highlighting work that does not need doing, instead of investigating further.

So true. Then they encounter problems later which a more expensive survey would have shown up. Spoiling the ship for a ha’porth of tar.

From Environet.

knotweed?
The presence of Japanese knotweed on a property is specifically classed as a “material fact”, under Regulation 5 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, meaning there is a legal requirement on estate agents to make prospective buyers aware of Japanese knotweed.
Estate agents are not, however responsible for looking for, or identifying Japanese knotweed on a property they have been contracted to sell.
We believe that all estate agents should be able to recognise Japanese knotweed and provide sound advice to their clients. Early detection and treatment, including an Insurance Backed Guarantee will reduce the chance of a sale falling through later down the line.

My son bought a flat with Japanese Knotweed then sold it a few years later having taken out JK insurance. The fact he had insurance didn't deter the new purchasers. Good luck it's very prevalent in parts of S London.

My son was refused a mortgage on a property with Japanese knotweed.
I would walk away from the property

Insurance is only ever as good as the provider and for a fixed time. I wouldn’t touch a property with JK.

We also had knotweed at the bottom of our last garden, as did our neighbour. We and they got rid of it by going out EVERY morning and pulling out or cutting down EVERY new shoot. It did succumb after a few months and did not reappear.