Q. Japanese knotweed growing next door has spread into our garden but it hasn’t yet affected the house. I have read that there has been a recent appeal case about it. What is the latest position?
A. Japanese knotweed’s long-held reputation as a “bogey plant” is not entirely fair, but it still affects property values. The threat to building structures caused by the roots (or rhizomes) has been widely known about since 2013, since the publication of a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors information paper. The fast-growing plant is a prescribed invasive species, and environmental law says it must be removed by licensed contractors and disposed of at special waste sites.
The Law Society property information form TA6 asks sellers whether their land or adjacent
