…and how surveyors need to respond
by Jonathan Milner, MRICS – Technical & Development Surveyor at Home Surveying.
Jonathan is a member of the RICS Governing Council for Residential Property, and a candidate in the 2023 RICS Governing Council Elections for the Residential Property Group seat.
In both my current roles, I’m always looking for ways to improve survey quality. Keeping up with the latest developments in the field matters too. One challenge has dominated the last 12 months. Is climate change shifting the growing season of Japanese knotweed and other invasive plants? And what does that mean for surveyors?
The winter defence no longer holds
In the past, surveyors could rely on the winter season as part of a defence. If they missed Japanese knotweed during a survey, the season helped explain why. The plant would die back in winter, making it hard to spot.
The changing climate has shifted things. Japanese knotweed no longer dies back as much as it used to. Surveyors who fail to identify it during a winter survey may no longer have the season as a defence. That matters if someone later finds the plant on the property.
How Home Surveying is responding
At Home Surveying, we know about these changes and are responding to them. We recognise that historic training may no longer fit today’s conditions. So we’re taking steps to keep our surveyors alert to Japanese knotweed all year round. We provide ongoing training and support. We also invest in the latest detection methods to help us identify the plant more accurately.
The wider industry catches up
The wider industry is also gathering evidence on what the changing growing seasons mean. The findings will shape how inspection standards evolve alongside the climate.
A proactive approach right now
That work continues. In the meantime, every surveyor must consider Japanese knotweed when attending a property — regardless of the time of year. This message has been a core element of our winter CPD sessions with the Home Surveying team. We’ll emphasise it again when the ‘traditional’ growing season ends later this year. A proactive approach beats waiting on case law to dictate changes to our inspection protocols. Common sense matters when a threat keeps evolving.
Staying agile
Shifting growing seasons for this invasive, costly plant isn’t a unique challenge for our industry. It does illustrate something important though. Surveyors must stay agile. Continued focus on training and development helps the whole team stay aware of changes in the environment.
Our commitment
At Home Surveying, we stay up to date with the latest developments in the field. We also make sure our surveyors have the knowledge and tools they need to identify Japanese knotweed all year round. This protects our clients from the financial risks tied to this invasive plant. It also helps them make informed decisions when buying or selling property.
selling property.
