conveyancing

Conveyancing is a traditional service and it generates a steady stream of topics and news. A case which made the press involved Japanese Knotweed and was used to prepare the below. Japanese Knotweed is a problem most people have heard of and a topic of interest.

Japanese Knotweed – An Important Court Update

Japanese Knotweed is a term no home owner wants to hear and a court judgment in July 2018 made the issue all the more worrying for property owners. In a case involving Network Rail, the court decided that Japanese Knotweed on neighbouring land was a problem that justified compensation.

The neighbours argued that Japanese Knotweed was present on Network Rail’s neighbouring land and would put off people buying their house. The neighbours’ land had not been contaminated but they argued people might be put off buying their house or its value would be reduced. The courts initially agreed but Network Rail appealed. The latest judgment rejects the appeal and keeps the original decision in place but for slightly different reasons.

The court decided that although the Japenese Knotweed growth had not reached the neighbours’ land, it was close enough to interfere their enjoyment and use of the land and specifically because of the spread of Knotweed rhyzomes on the neighbours’ land. Network Rail needed to compensate them because of the damage their land had caused to the value of the neighbours’ property.

This means that land owners who do not address a Japanese Knotweed problem on their land, face the risk of being sued by the adjoining land owner before it actually reaches and contaminates the adjoining land.

When selling a property, pre-contract enquiries retain a specific question about the presence of Japanese Knotweed and it is important to respond to the question accurately and truthfully. An inaccurate response could result in a seller being sued afterwards as it can be a difficult and costly problem to eradicate.

Some interesting research by the Environment Agency found that only 19% of home owners could actually identify Japenese Knotweed. The research involved showing five photos of different weeds and vines and only one in five correctly identified the Japenese Knotweed. The other plants next to the Knotweed photo were Bindweed, Houttuynia, Russian Vine and Common Ivy.