13/05/2026
Japanese Knotweed and Mortgage Risks: A Case in Lancashire
Referred to us by a Japanese Knotweed survey & treatment specialist who found us online, a couple living in the Bolton area in Lancashire were trying to buy a house. They were using a different mortgage adviser, but the mortgage lender declined the application due to the presence of Japanese Knotweed in the garden. I was asked if I could help.
The house they were looking to buy a house that had an infestation is in the front garden, within a hedgerow. The seller had indicated that the hedge had been periodically cut back & had (infrequently) been treated in the past with Roundup, as part of general garden maintenance although there was significant regrowth.
A 5-year plan was put in place for a herbicide treatment/monitoring plan consisting of up to 2 visits per year over a 3-year period for the purpose of treating the affected areas with the appropriate herbicide and monitoring progress. On completion of the treatment/monitoring plan the area will be inspected annually for a further 2 years with any regrowth subsequently retreated.
The application was not straight forward because in addition to their being Japanese knotweed in the front garden, the house was a few yards from a disused coal mine shaft and the clients’ credit history was not great either.
We did manage to find a lender who could help, and the couple moved in 2 months later.