Japanese Knotweed

THE1OT

Hi all,
First time poster and seeking help!

My house move recently fell through after my buyer's survey showed up Japanese Knotweed on the council owned land behind my house. The JK isn't on my land. The council pay a management company to manage the land called NPS. they are treating the JK and they currently treat it according to how they should, by spraying it yearly and keeping it down.

Apparently there isn't a mortgage lender in the country that is willing to lend on a house that has JK on it, or near it (5 metres i believe) So as the company won't remove it completely i am unable to sell my house, as this problem will arise again and again on every new survey that is done. It leaves me looking to accept a cash offer, which would lose me approx 20k or I rent my house out and end up with two mortgages and one house i don't want anymore.

I have contacted my local councillor who has been helpful but hasn't come up with any help yet. All the local estate agents want is me to sell quickly so they get a sale. I don't have a legal case as the JK is being managed and if I go and move the stuff myself i am breaking the law and could face a fine or prison.

And breathe......

Any advice, new ideas, or help would be massively appreciated. I hope I have posted in the right place!

Thanks all

chickaroonee

Sell at auction? You won't get a great price though.

lessonlearned

Commiserations!!!

Not sure how much I can help you but I will share my experience.

Tried to purchase a house recently, only to find Japanese Knotweed in the garden, largish garden so not of immediate threat to the house. Also JK in a couple of neighbouring gardens.

I decided not to purchase the house. However, Nationwide were prepared to lend ......They said that the JK was within permitted distances as long as steps were taken to eradicate it.

So it appears that there are some lenders who are prepared to lend under certain conditions.

My understanding is yes there are very strict requirements for the removal and dispersal of JK. In fact if I am not mistaken, like asbestos removal, this has to be done by licensed contractors.

You also need to set up exclusion zones, changing shoes etc so as not to spread the contamination.

My understanding is that spraying keeps it under control but does not eradicate it. TBH I'm not sure that spraying is enough because of what you can't see......ie the roots. I believe they are called rhisomes (the same as rhubarb).

Ideally the management company should be taking steps to remove it, eg digging it up, replacing the soil etc. Obviously this is a very expensive option - we're talking ££££'s here. They are taking the cheaper "keeping it under control" option.

I suggest you talk with your local council - they might be able to force the management company to do it properly.

In the end I felt that because the JK was in the gardens of adjoining properties I wouldn't take the risk. Yes I would faithfully work to eradicate it but could the owners of the neighbouring properties be trusted to do the same.

So I walked away, shame really because I really loved the house.

I hope you manage to resolve the issue, it must be a real worry.

Davesnave

Knotweed can be eradicated, but short of digging it up with a JCB, chemical methods have to be undertaken in the correct way.

It almost sounds as if this contractor has got a nice little number there, returning each year to repeat the treatment instead of getting rid!

To be effective, the chemical glyphosate, in concentrated form, needs to be injected through a syringe into the stems in the autumn when the knotweed is drawing all its sap back into the roots, deep underground. That way, the chemical is taken down into the root sections, which it simply won't reach by spraying in summer, no matter how "effective" that might look.

We have a forum member called RAS who is much more experienced in this than I am. You could pm for further advice.

There are also mortgage consultants on this forum who may see this and advise too. It's not a lost cause.

Yorkie1

I can certainly verify that the injection method of glyphosate is effective - it worked on our allotments site.

Perhaps it's worth asking your councillor if the council can look into instructing the contractor to use this alternative method?

Mojisola

lessonlearned wrote: »

Ideally the management company should be taking steps to remove it, eg digging it up, replacing the soil etc. Obviously this is a very expensive option - we're talking ££££'s here. They are taking the cheaper "keeping it under control" option.

I suggest you talk with your local council - they might be able to force the management company to do it properly.

The JK is on council land so the council will taking the cheapest option possible to keep it under control.

THE1OT

Thank you all for replying. It's a tough pill to swallow when you are faced with knocking 20 % off the house value. I could probably pay a contractor to shift it, and then sell my house for market value but that would take time. It took us a whole year to find one buyer. We do feel under a lot of pressure to move, school catchment areas and fast growing toddlers. However I can't believe this isn't a bigger issue. Now I know what Knotweed looks like its everywhere. Surely there are more who face this plight? Feels like a distinct choice between stay and fight or cut my losses and run! Thanks again,

daveyjp

There is the legal route as landowners have to get rid of it. Done properly it can be removed in a year with spraying.

I had a dozen or so outbreaks treated last year and inspecting this year there is no regrowth.

lessonlearned

My son works in a garden centre and and when we were deciding whether or not to proceed with our purchase he delved and talked to some of their specialists.

They all said that the glyphosate injection method was very effective but that several treatments might be required.

I have used this method myself when we had some trees and old hedging cut down and wanted to remove the stumps and roots. It would have proved both extremely costly to have them removed, plus we couldn't get diggers round the side of the house anyway so we used glyphosate. It took three treatments in the end but we did manage to kill everything off.

I am sure the Council can be compelled to eradicate the stuff, even if it is on council land.....Not quite sure who would do the compelling though.

Don't give up without a fight. A 20% hit on your house price is a tough one.

Can you afford to rent it out so that you can move on. Then you can continue the fight. When you have won you can then market your property for it's full value when everything has been sorted.

lessonlearned

daveyjp wrote: »

There is the legal route as landowners have to get rid of it. Done properly it can be removed in a year with spraying.

I had a dozen or so outbreaks treated last year and inspecting this year there is no regrowth.

That's good news. A word of warning - the blasted stuff can lie dormant for as long as 20 years. Yes I did a lot of research....

I guess you just have to do regular inspections and then pounce if you see any regrowth.

Apparently the rhisomes can grow a metre a month during the growing season and a 1cm piece of rhisome can turn into a new plant in 10 days.

Vigilance is the watchword.

PasturesNew

Oh dear, lots of laws on this.