Question 1

What happens if a seller lies about Japanese knotweed before the sale?

Accepted Answer

Selling a house with Japanese knotweed can be challenging. The plant is now well-documented, as well as its damaging impact on home values. Informed buyers are now much more vigilant when inspecting properties, this has led to some sellers choosing to lie about the presence of Japanese knotweed in order to push through a quick sale and thereby rid themselves of the property. These scenarios lead to a great deal of wasted time and money on behalf of the prospective buyers. A prospective buyer may have arranged the sale of their existing home, paid for surveys and legal fees before discovering the Japanese knotweed and being forced to pull out of the purchase. As no contract has been signed between the two parties at this point, the seller cannot be made liable for the costs that the buyer has incurred in the lead up to the failed house purchase.

Question 2

What can I do if I discover the seller has lied after the sale has been finalised?

Accepted Answer

If the Japanese knotweed infestation is discovered after the sale has been put through then the buyer is in a better position to claim for damages, as a formal contract has been signed. Those who have bought a property with knotweed may be able to claim compensation against the owner for misrepresenting the property, depending on the level of deception or negligence on the part of the seller.

Question 3

Can I sue the seller for misrepresentation if they lie about Japanese knotweed?

Accepted Answer

If a seller lies about Japanese knotweed in the lead up to the sale then they may find that they have to compensate the new owner for misrepresenting the property. It’s possible to pursue a no win no fee property misrepresentation claim against a previous seller in the case that the buyer has been misled to believe that there is no Japanese knotweed present on the property, or even if the seller has failed to mention the presence of Japanese knotweed.

Question 4

Can estate agents lie about the presence of Japanese knotweed?

Accepted Answer

Estate agents have an obligation to present properties as honestly as possible. They’re bound by Consumer Regulations that have been put in place to ensure that agents aren’t allowed to simply lie about the homes that they’re selling. These regulations also require estate agents to inform any potential buyers about any materials facts that would affect the decision to make the purchase. Guidelines appended to these regulations stipulate Japanese knotweed as ‘material’, so an ethical, professional estate agent should not lie about its presence. If they are proved to do so then they are open to claims from the buyer dealing with them and they could be banned from working as an estate agent.

Question 5

What if a seller knows about the knotweed but is not specifically asked about it by the buyer?

Accepted Answer

One of the tenets that is often discussed when dealing with enquiries related to purchasing houses is ‘buyer beware’. The basic premise of this being that if a buyer does not ask the seller specifically about certain aspects of the house, then the buyer will not be able to claim compensation when they discover something untoward about the property. The introduction of the TA6 Property Information Form has helped to avoid situations where sellers avoid informing buyers about the presence of Japanese knotweed, however, there are still some cases where they are not used, for example in certain property auctions.

Question 6

What happens if the information provide the TA6 form was correct when given to the buyer, but then incorrect by the time of purchase?

Accepted Answer

The seller of a property is obligated to ensure that any information they have provided to the buyer is kept up to date, right up to the day of the exchange. This means that if the seller initially reports, truthfully, that there is no knotweed present on the property and then later discovers an infestation, they are obligated by law to inform the prospective seller. There is a stipulation in the standard TA6 Property Information Form that requires the seller to inform their solicitor in the event of a change in the answer that they have initially provided.  Failure to communicate this change could lead to potential claim against the seller for misrepresentation.

Question 7

What can I do if the seller lied on the TA6 property information form?

Accepted Answer

There is a specific question on The Law Society’s Property Information Form which relates to the seller’s knowledge of Japanese knotweed on their property.

The question requires the seller to say whether the property they are selling is ‘affected by Japanese knotweed’ and gives three options as answers: ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘not known’. Should knotweed be found on the property after the seller has selected ‘no’ or ‘not known’, then it’s possible to pursue a claim for compensation.

They will be proven to have made a fraudulent misrepresentation if it can be proved that they ought to have not known about the presence, or in the case where they had no reasonable grounds for believing the property was affected by knotweed. For example, a seller can not claim that they aren’t aware of the Japanese knotweed on their property when their garden is overrun by the plant.

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