Japanese knotweed
A lender's question about knotweed is unanswered and the survey saw no stands. Has the survey filled in the lender's form?
No. The survey has not filled in the lender's form. The knotweed question on that form is unanswered, and the survey saw no stands. Those are different documents. A visual note that no stands were seen is not a completed answer in the lender's box, and it is not a statement the seller has signed. The survey did not walk the form, did not write the lender's reply, and did not convert an empty question into a no. Someone still has to answer the form.
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?
Lenders ask about knotweed because they want a declared position, usually from the seller, on their own paperwork. A home survey looks at the grounds it could see and says what plants were or were not apparent. Not seeing stands is a limited observation. It can miss growth beyond the fence, a treated crown, or a season when the plant is down. It still does not become the lender's completed question. Leaving the form blank and hoping the survey sentence will be pasted in leaves the lender's question unanswered.
Ask the solicitor who is responsible for the lender's knotweed question and get it answered on that form. Keep the survey sentence, that no stands were seen, as the survey sentence. Do not tell the lender the form is complete because the report was quiet. Do not describe no stands seen as a guarantee the ground is clear. The home survey has not signed the mortgage paper.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Who has left the lender's knotweed question unanswered?
- What did the survey actually say it saw, as against what the form asks?
- Has anyone copied the survey into the lender's form, or is the form still blank?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not treat the survey as having filled in the lender's form.
- Get the knotweed question answered on the form itself.
- Keep no stands seen as a survey limit, not as the lender's declaration.
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
If no stands were seen, can you tick the lender's box as no?
Not on the strength of the survey. The survey saw no stands and did not fill in the form. The lender's question is for the person the form names, usually the seller. A blank box is still blank. Ticking it from a survey sentence would invent an answer the survey did not write on that paper.
Does a winter visit with bare borders answer the form?
It answers neither fully. Bare borders can hide a plant that is down for the season, so no stands seen is already a limited note. It is certainly not a completed lender's form. The survey has not filled that form in. Season of the visit is one more reason not to paste the survey into the lender's box.