Invasive plant consultancy Environet UK is hosting a webinar on 21st October, 2022 at 10am aimed at property professionals including estate agents, conveyancers and surveyors, to provide the latest insight into Japanese knotweed and its impact on the sale or purchase of residential property.
The hour-long webinar, which will be repeated on 14th February, 2023, will cover common issues arising from the presence of Japanese knotweed when buying or selling property and how to deal with them – plus important clarification on the recently revised RICS Guidance.
In January this year, RICS published a new Guidance Note, Japanese Knotweed: Guidance for Professional Valuers and Surveyors, replacing the previous Information Paper. The new guidance scrapped the “7 metre rule” in favour of a more nuanced approach and placed an increased focus on control methods of treating knotweed, such as herbicide treatments. This webinar will help property professionals apply the guidance to everyday situations, avoid common pitfalls and keep property transactions on track.
This comes after it has been reported conveyancers are risking potential buyers of new-build homes to the threat of Japanese knotweed by failing to ask developers about the invasive plant.
Completion of a standard TA6 Law Society Property Information Form, which asks a direct question about whether a property is affected by knotweed, is not a legal requirement for new-build sales. Many of the questions, concerning building alterations for example, are not relevant, while others, relating to warranties and guarantees would be provided separately by the developer and covered under the standard NHBC guarantee for new build homes.
The webinar will be led by Environet director Mat Day, a leading expert in invasive plants who is regularly called upon as an Expert Witness in legal cases relating to knotweed misrepresentation, negligence and encroachment. At the end of the event there will be an open Q&A session answering participants’ specific questions, with every registered attendee receiving a full delegate pack along with a copy of Japanese Knotweed: Unearthing the Truth, written by Environet founder and MD Nic Seal.
Webinar host Mat Day commented:
“This webinar offers the opportunity for property professionals to get to grips with the latest guidance and best practice relating to Japanese knotweed, a problem which we estimate affects around 900,000 homes in the UK. With legal claims relating to misrepresentation and encroachment on the rise, it’s more important than ever that estate agents, surveyors and conveyancers are armed with the facts and are clear on their role in protecting the interests of their customers.”
To sign up, at a fee of £49 plus VAT, visit: https://www.environetuk.com/webinars-seminars
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