Japanese knotweed is a fast-growing weed that can be difficult, and expensive, to remove. Paul Hampson, solicitor at CEL Solicitors, explains exactly what Japanese knotweed is and how it can affect you and your home.
“Japanese knotweed is an aggressive weed that has taken hold of towns and countryside over the last 100 years. It was brought in in the 19th century as a decorative plant. The plant itself is relatively attractive. It starts growing in early spring and its first shoots look a bit like asparagus stems.
The problem is it quickly grows and by early summer it can often be two metres high. It will flower and there will be small, white flowers at the tip. As autumn sets in, the plant starts to die back and the roots begin to look a bit like bamboo.
It is not illegal to have knotweed on your home, but it is a big problem. Because it grows so quickly, it takes over the whole vegetation, so if you do have any other plants or shrubs in the area they can often be overtaken and die back.
The other and more pressing issue is that it can cause damage to buildings and structures and where there’s a weakness in an area, it can grow through it. So often you’ll find that the knotweed can even grow through the brickwork and be coming into your home. If you’ve got knotweed on your property, then you unfortunately have a problem.
Not only is it expensive to treat, but it can also affect the value of your home.
It is highly recommended that you do get it treated because if it does spread from your property onto neighbouring property, you may find that your neighbours have a legal claim against you. Because of the associated costs with it, it is sensible to see whether you can try and recover these from anyone. If you feel that the knotweed is on your land through no fault of your own, then you may have a claim.
It is quite difficult to determine whether you do have a claim or not and that’s really why you need to seek specialist legal advice on it. We can determine whether you do have a legal claim. We can then look to pursue the defendant and we can put you in contact with the best experts so that you can get the knotweed treated.
