How Much can Japanese Knotweed Devalue a Property?

Japanese knotweed house price calculator

It’s a question we’re often asked, so we’ve teamed up with Expert Surveyors Ltd, the leading dedicated provider of RICS expert property valuation reports in the UK and created JK-VIM, a valuation impact model that gives indicative price reductions.

  • Explore how the value of a property can be reduced if it is affected by Japanese Knotweed
  • See the effect on value of a property if the knotweed is eliminated
  • Most will first require the knotweed is professionally treated
  • Most will also require the work to have an Insurance-backed Guarantee (IBG)
  • Our 2019 YouGov research revealed that half of all buyers would simply walk away from a property affected by knotweed
  • It also revealed that most others would look for significant price reductions
  • In legal cases, damages are awarded to cover the cost of treatment/removal
  • They also include diminution in value, the blight caused from the risk of knotweed re-growing
  • Read more about Japanese knotweed and the law here

JK-VIM gives an indicative valuation and includes revised valuations for the property if it has the benefit of a 10-year IBG following either herbicide treatment or physical removal. In most cases the cost of herbicide treatment or physical removal will be considerably less than the value added back onto the property by getting a professional firm to tackle the knotweed.

For high-value properties the extra cost of physical removal over herbicide treatment is often justified on purely economic grounds, when the residual diminution is considered. Removing the problem minimises the blight.

One last thing, actual market price, as opposed to a valuation, is the price that a willing buyer and a willing seller agree to – they are not necessarily the same!

Start fixing your invasive plant problem today by requesting a survey

Need help or advice?

Call or email to speak to the specialists

GET IN TOUCH

Our team of experts is available between 9am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday to answer your enquiries and advise you on the next steps

Want a survey?

Request a survey online in less than two minutes by simply uploading a photograph and providing a few brief details. A member of the team will swiftly come back to you with further information and our availability.

Need quick plant identification?

There’s no need to wait for a survey. Simply upload an image to our identification form and one of our invasive plant experts will take a look and let you know, free of charge.

Contact our team of experts today