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Japanese knotweed

Journalist: Anna Sagar, Mortgage Solutions / Specialist Lending Solutions

ended 26. January 2023

Interested to get broker views on Japanese knotweed. 

According to The Times, a homeseller faces a £200,000 bill after losing Japanese knotweed case. The buyer discovered Japanese knotweed in the garden after the sale and successfully sued the seller. 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/homeseller-faces-200-000-bill-after-losing-japanese-knotweed-case-kls55kl7c 

  1. Is this a unique case? 
  2. Will this change anything for buyers and sellers?
  3. What advice would you give to a buyer or seller whose property has Japanese knotweed?

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
This case illustrates how it is important to disclose all of the facts when selling a property. The judge seems to have concluded, that on a balance of probability, the seller knew about the knotweed and purposely or recklessly did not disclose it to the buyer. It shouldn't be looked at through the prism of knotweed as the outcome would have been the same if the property had subsidence that the seller knew about and didn't disclose, though I'm sure the bill would have been less.

Although horrible stuff, knotweed can be dealt and I'd advise this route rather than selling your house while the problem persists as the value will collapse and no one would be able to mortgage it.
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Mark Hosker
Mortgage Adviser at Cyborg Finance
Japanese knotweed is a significant concern for buyers and sellers of properties. As a mortgage broker, we have experience assisting clients with properties that have this invasive species. Lenders have strict guidelines in place regarding knotweed, and it is crucial for sellers to follow the approved steps for handling it. DIY solutions can result in severe penalties, and an insurance-backed treatment plan must be in place before the sale can be completed. While the recommended remedial works don't need to be completed before the mortgage funds release, it is advisable to do so. To buyers, our advice is to ensure a proper valuation survey is completed to identify the problem and after that ensure the seller has an insurance-backed treatment plan in place before purchasing the property.
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Dan Osman
Head of Later Life Lending (Age 55+) at UK Moneyman
Although you would hope that even a standard valuation would pick up evidence of Japanese Knotweed, disclosure would always be the best policy - if it is there, it will make itself known soon enough and the repercussions, as evidenced by this case, can be far worse than the admittedly high cost of remedy.
Working in the later life space, I referred to a lender for their view on how the problem would be dealt with if not identified at the point of sale/re-mortgage and their response was emphatic that they would compassionately work with the borrower to rectify the situation. This makes sense as the invasive nature of the plant risks the security of both the client and lender but it was nice to have it confirmed.
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David Conway
Director at Clayhall Financial Services Ltd
I think this is quite an extreme case given there's an attempt to misrepresent the facts and the award seems out of proportion to the actual costs of remediation. In most cases of JK the seller doesn't know, and if the buyer didn't notice, didn't have a survey, and the valuer didn't pick it up I cannot see why the liability is on the seller. The current owner can get knotweed treated and lenders have a capacity for tolerance depending on how close it is to the house (not to mention, in this case it seems one lender has already lent on it, and will continue to do so for the duration of the mortgage).