RICS Launches Japanese Knotweed Consultation

NEW ADVICE for the assessment of Japanese knotweed in UK properties has been published today for consultation by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The move is designed to more realistically and accurately assess the impact on buildings of the invasive weed. It will have a knock-on effect for developers and housebuilders who find Japanese knotweed on site.

Knotweed

Currently the presence of Japanese knotweed within the footprint of a property could prolong or derail its sale, even when it is managed with effective treatment.

However, the RICS is working with the HCLG Select Committee and DEFRA to establish a management framework that sets out how sales can proceed, even where knotweed is present.

With an estimated 1.45 million homes affected by Japanese knotweed in the UK, the weed’s presence can devalue a property or cause sales to fall through entirely. This is due to incorrect information about the plant that has been fuelled by fears around what it is capable of doing. With appropriate steps taken using expert professionals the perennial weed can be managed.

RICS Guidance

The new RICS guidance will set out an easy-to-follow management framework which aims to establish how surveyors will provide preliminary assessment and initial mortgage lending or pre-purchase advice.

It will also set out an objective classification system that will flag the most serious instances of knotweed infestation.

It will give detailed industry guidance for property valuers and the lending community so that instances of knotweed found during a routine valuation do not turn a dream house purchase into a potential nightmare.

Philip Santo, the author of the new guidance, said: “Creating confidence and awareness that knotweed isn’t a death sentence for home sales is a key principle behind this guidance – it’s certainly not the ‘bogey plant’ that some make it out to be.

“In most instances the weed can be remediated with effective treatment – so it’s critical that all those involved in the home buying and selling process have access to unbiased, factual information, that sets out when they need to obtain reputable remediation services.”

Parliament examined the problem, and the House of Commons Science Technology Select Committee subsequently published its results in a report called Japanese knotweed and the built environment in 2019.

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