At SE Knotweed, we set out the law on Japanese knotweed plainly: having it is not an offence, causing it to spread into the wild is, its soil is controlled waste, and encroachment from a neighbour is a private nuisance question. A survey gives the evidence any claim rests on.
Having Japanese knotweed on your own land is not an offence. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 14(2) and Schedule 9, it is an offence to plant it or otherwise cause it to grow in the wild, which covers letting it spread beyond your boundary.
At SE Knotweed, we treat and contain a stand so you stay the right side of that duty, and a survey records the position for your file.
Knotweed and the soil around it are controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and section 34 places a duty of care on whoever produces it. It must be carried by a registered waste carrier, tracked on a waste transfer note and taken to a licensed facility.
We handle that chain on excavation work and give you the paperwork, which a solicitor or the Environment Agency may ask to see.
You must declare knotweed when selling. Question 7.8 of the TA6 Property Information Form asks about it directly, and since 2020 you may only answer No if you are certain there is no rhizome above or below ground or within 3 metres of the boundary.
A survey gives you the certainty to answer honestly, and a false answer can lead to a misrepresentation claim after completion.
You may be able to bring a private nuisance claim where knotweed has encroached from a neighbour who knew about it and failed to act, recovering the cost of treatment and any interference with the use of your land. The encroachment claims page sets out what a claim needs.
Claims turn on the facts and on the neighbour being in breach of a duty, so take legal advice before proceeding.
In Davies v Bridgend County Borough Council [2024] UKSC 15, the Supreme Court held that a residual fall in a property's value is not recoverable in nuisance where the encroachment occurred before the defendant was in breach of any duty.
It is an important limit, so we state it accurately rather than promising a payout, and the diminution page explains what it means for a claim.
The RICS Professional Standard 2022 replaced the older 7 metre zone with a 3 metre zone and grades a case by management Categories A to D. It also states that sound, modern foundations are unlikely to suffer structural damage from knotweed.
That standard is the language valuers and lenders use, and our survey records your site against it.
Tell us the address and what a surveyor flagged. We confirm the plant, record the RICS category and set out the figures.