December 4, 2023
What is Japanese Knotweed?
Japanese Knotweed is a plant Native to East Asia and was found growing at the side of volcanos. The plant arrived in England in 1850 as a plantation ornament and the man who brought it over, Phillip von Seibold, was unaware of the environmental impact the plant has.
The plant has no preference on where it grows and shows up in residential gardens, country roads and railways, in which they plant there to help with the sound of trains. The plant can grow up to 20cm per day and up to 2-3 metres high.
How Does This Affect Your Purchase/ Sale of your Home?
Firstly, if you have Japanese Knotweed on your property, this can decrease the value, meaning you will have to sell your home for less than it is worth. This can in turn force you to sell your property for a significantly low value if you are desperate to get rid of it. On the other hand, I you are looking to purchase a home infested with Japanese Knotweed, it will be considerably cheaper, but you will have to weigh in the factor of removing the Knotweed.
It is worth pointing out that if you are selling your property, you will have to fill out a TA6 form and on this form, it will present you with a question asking you if your property is affected by Japanese Knotweed, your choices will be yes, no, and not known. If you respond no and there is Japanese Knotweed on your property, you can be potentially liable to the buyer and may have to pay a fine or pay to get the Knotweed removed.
Furthermore, even though your property’s price may go down due to it being affected by Japanese Knotweed, most mortgage lenders will not lend due to knotweed being present on the property, because the market value would’ve decreased. In recent times, some lenders will look at Japanese Knotweed mortgage application one by one to determine how bad the knotweed is, this means that there still may be a chance to get a mortgage on a Knotweed affected property, but most lenders still refuse.
How to Protect Yourself
If you want to protect yourself, you can get indemnity insurance. This should be taken out before you know about the knotweed, as some insurance companies may increase their premium or may not accept, due to the knowledge of Knotweed.
Premiums are normally £40 – £100, depending on if it is a residential or commercial property. It will cover all future, buyers, lenders, and landlords.
If you feel like your property may be impacted by Japanese Knotweed or want to protect yourself, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our property team.
Contact us at 0121 705 7571 or enquiries@wallacerobinson.co.uk.
Oliver Wheldon
Paralegal – Development Department
References
This article is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute technical, financial, legal advice or any other type of professional advice and is no substitute for specific advice based on your individual circumstances. We do not accept responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information in this article. For more information, please click here.







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