Japanese knotweed
What should you ask if the knotweed is on a verge or a path rather than in the garden?
Ask whose land it is, and do not assume the RICS category for “within the boundaries” applies to a council verge. The 2022 journal uses category D for infestation off site within three metres of the boundary, which is a report, not the same action as plants inside the garden. The surveyor may not know who owns the verge.
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?
Category D in the RICS journal is the off-site case within three metres. Categories A, B and C are about plants in relation to the property’s structures and amenity. A plant in the street is not automatically your remediation bill. It can still matter if it is within three metres, which is why the standard says report it. GOV.UK tells people not to let knotweed spread. It does not transfer a verge into your title.
Your solicitor asks who owns the land. The survey records what was seen and where. If the plant is inside the fence, say so and get the specialist the journal expects. If it is outside, do not pay for a full excavation of the pavement on the strength of a survey sentence. Write down the distance the surveyor estimated, and remember an estimate from the pavement is not a measured survey.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the plant inside the boundary, or outside, and how far?
- Are you giving a management category, and which one?
- Did you see it affecting a structure, or only growing on the verge?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell your solicitor the location before you agree a knotweed clause.
- Do not spray a council verge yourself. That can spread it and it may not be your land.
- If it is inside the garden, follow the specialist recommendation. The verge question is then the wrong question.
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 three metres include the pavement?
The journal’s category D is about distance to the boundary, not about who maintains the street. Measure from the boundary. Ownership is a legal question.
Can you use category A for a verge?
Category A is visible material damage to a significant structure. A plant in the gutter of a road does not become category A because it is large.