Has your property received a Notice of Awareness – NOA

Our surveyors are across the country in a bid to identify Knotweed and make homeowners and others aware of its presence and the options and legal obligations placed upon them. If you have received an NOA it is important for you to make yourself aware of your property and grounds and know exactly where you stand. If you have Japanese Knotweed on your property, you have no legal obligation to do anything, apart from to stop it growing onto a neighbour’s land or into the wild. To allow it to spread is now a Criminal Offence in the UK.

If you ignore it and decline to take action, the Knotweed will spread typically at least double every year. The ryzomes and roots are extensive underground and what you see above ground is only a small part of how the weed is growing and spreading deep in the ground.

There are currently only female plants in the UK, so it cannot be spread by germination or by seed, and is only spread by allowing the roots to grow and cross contamination from the roots, bringing a very small part of the root into contact with other land. A finger nail size of root is enough to spread the weed to grow in another location.

Japanese Knotweed is a controlled waste product, so you cannot pull it out and dispose of it in your garden waste bin. It can be taken to a controlled waste site where you will be charged for it to be destroyed. You can also burn Japanese Knotweed in your garden as a way of self-destroying.

We only recommend suitably qualified professionals to carry our chemical treatment to Japanese Knotweed, which is typically a 3-year program.

Japanese Knotweed in a neighbouring property

If the Knotweed can be seen in your neighbours’ grounds, it is important that you report it to them and advise that they take suitable action before it spreads to your land. Just one plant on your land can mean your property is devalued by 10%, so a £150,000 property can now be worth £135,000 with a £15,000 / 10% devaluation.

Japanese Knotweed on a neighbour’s land can ultimately affect your property as it grows, and can prevent potential buyers from proceeding with a purchase if they are aware there is Knotweed next-door which may cause a problem when no Treatment Plan and Insurance Backed Guarantee is in place.

The law says that you should not allow whether wilfully or neglectfully or otherwise something to cause nuisance from your land on to another’s, or you will be held liable under the law.

Japanese Knotweed on your land

You have no legal obligation to do anything but to prevent it from spreading. If you do nothing, the weed will grow at a rapid rate and no doubt will spread and affect neighbouring properties, and leave you liable to litigation claims from those affected.

If you have Japanese Knotweed on your land and are the Homeowner, you can request a FREE no obligation Onsite Survey from us so you get the full facts. The survey will be extensive and will also check for up to 58 other invasive plant species while we are there, and you will be presented with an extensive full colour report giving you all the facts, locations of crowns and growth, age and direction of travel and lots more, along with a personalised quotation for a recognised treatment plan that comes with a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee.

If your property is the only property affected, the only real solution is to hire a specialist treatment firm to undertake the chemical treatment plan that comes with a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee. Treatment normally lasts 3 years with a treatment at least every 3 months, and then a visual plan for 2 years to ensure no regrowth. Any regrowth that starts within the 10 years from the day the treatment plan starts, the Insurance Backed Guarantee would cover any additional treatment with no costs to you.

Japanese Knotweed coming on to your land from a neighbour

We will also detail, if possible, where the Japanese Knotweed has travelled from, and in cases where it has come from a commercial entity such as Network Rail land, Tram systems, Council land, other commercial sites such as business parks or industrial estates etc, and where we highlight this, there is a good chance you will be able to recover the full costs of treatment and the Insurance Backed Guarantee plus the 10% devaluation.

The survey would highlight this and we have access to main systems that allow us to identify the land and property around you and who owns it. If they are a commercial entity then you may prefer to choose a legal route against that land or property owner to recover the costs of a treatment plan and Insurance Backed Guarantee, as well as cash compensation for the devaluation aspect to your property. 10% is an average and this may vary claim by claim, but the representing lawyer would get specialist reports and valuations and rely on experts to provide this information so your lawyer can claim that amount from the third party on your behalf.

We have a small panel of lawyers who represent clients affected by Japanese Knotweed trespass on a NO WIN NO FEE service, meaning there are no costs to you at all upfront, and nothing for you to pay if the claim is unsuccessful.

A legal claim like this would be monitored by your lawyer and the third-party land or property owner would then have a legal obligation to treat the Japanese Knotweed on their land and on your land to ensure treatment is full and comprehensive and gets fully treated, and you would be issued with a 10-year guarantee. Compensation would also be claimed for devaluation, and may include the thigs like loss of enjoyment of your garden if you can’t use it fully because of the Knotweed and the chemical treatments going on.

Japanese Knotweed should not be underestimated. It can cause damage to homes, foundations, paths and driveways, drains, water pipes and sewer pipes, and importantly can cause devaluation of your property and stop you being able to re-mortgage or stop potential buyers being able to acquire a mortgage.

Japanese Knotweed Agency services are 100% FREE to our clients.