Japanese knotweed
Canes lean over the fence from next door and none were found in this soil. What was not dug on this side?
The soil on this side was not dug. Canes lean over the fence from next door, and none were found in this soil at the surface. That is a look at growth above ground, not an excavation of this garden. Rhizomes can cross a boundary below the surface without a cane showing on this plot. The survey has not identified the canes in a laboratory and has not cleared this ground. GOV.UK's concern is about not causing Japanese knotweed to spread. Absence of canes in view is not a dig, and it is not a clearance.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Knotweed is identified from the plant, not from a neighbour's reputation. Canes over a fence are a reason to be careful. They are not a map of how far any rhizome has travelled, and they are not proof the canes are knotweed if nobody qualified has said so. This side of the fence was walked, not excavated. A home survey does not trench a border. The sentence that none were found in this soil means none were seen in the soil. It does not mean the ground was turned over.
Tell the solicitor about the canes next door and about the lack of a dig on this side. Do not cut the canes down and carry them through this garden. If a specialist survey of the ground is required, instruct it, and let that person decide whether to excavate. The home survey has not done that work. A lender asking about knotweed is asking a question this visit left open below the surface.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was this side of the fence excavated?
- Do canes next door prove rhizomes are absent here?
- Has a laboratory named the canes?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat this soil as not dug.
- Tell the solicitor about the canes and the limit.
- Instruct a specialist if the ground itself must be investigated.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does a tidy lawn on this side close the question?
No. A tidy surface is mowing and looking, not a dig. Rhizomes do not have to show as canes in the lawn. The survey recorded what was visible and said this soil was not opened. Keep that limit. Do not tell a lender the garden was cleared because the grass looked ordinary on the day of the visit.
Should the canes be pulled down to see them more clearly?
No. Pulling growth through the fence risks spreading a plant that may be knotweed, which GOV.UK tells you not to cause to spread. The survey has not asked you to do that, and it has not identified the canes. Leave them. Identification and any dig belong to a specialist instruction, not to a tug on the neighbour's stems.