Buyers wake up to risks posed by invasive bamboo

Buyers wake up to invasive bamboo risks: First-time buyer Lois Connelly threatened to walk away from first home in Bristol over bamboo infestation – case study.

Invasive bamboo is increasingly being flagged by surveyors as an issue when affected properties are bought and sold, forcing sellers to either take action to remove it or accept a discount on the price to reflect removal costs.

Between June and December 2023, invasive plant specialist Environet saw a 55% annual increase in enquiries for bamboo removal relating to property transactions, indicating that buyers are becoming more aware of the risks and insisting that problematic bamboo infestations are dealt with.

First-time buyer Lois Connelly, an NHS worker, was in the process of buying a terraced house in Bristol in autumn 2023 when her Homebuyer Report raised an issue with bamboo in the front and back gardens, advising her to seek expert advice.

Lois said:

“It was my sister who spotted the bamboo initially when we viewed the property.

“It had been planted directly into the ground in both the back and front gardens.

“Although it had been cut back, we could see it had spread and was growing right up against the house on both sides.

“When the surveyor flagged it up on his report, recommending that it be checked by an expert, I realised I was going to have to do something about it.”

A survey undertaken by Environet determined that the bamboo was a ‘running’ variety which was already posing a threat to underground services, including pipes and drains, and had begun to encroach into the neighbouring property.

Lois requested a reduction in the price agreed to fund the professional bamboo removal work. Advised by their estate agent, the vendor refused at first, feeling the work was unnecessary. Only when she withdrew her offer, did the seller finally agree to a price reduction covering half of the removal costs.

Lois said:

“The bamboo was already on the run and it was only a matter of time until it started causing damage to the property.

“As it was already encroaching into next door’s garden, I was also worried about the risk of a legal case against me as the new homeowner.

“To me, this situation really highlights the lack of awareness around invasive bamboo, as even the seller’s estate agent didn’t seem to recognise the problem at first.

“I would advise anyone buying a property with bamboo in the garden to have a professional survey done and if necessary, be prepared to walk away if the seller won’t resolve it.”

Hardy, fast-growing and tolerant of most soil types, bamboo is popular for its screening qualities, creating privacy in overlooked gardens. Commonly planted in borders and along boundary fences, it has the ability to push through brickwork, drains, patios, cavity walls and even cracks or weaknesses in concrete. In 2022, at a property in Hampshire, a bamboo infestation that had spread from next door exploited a weakness in the foundations of a property to emerge through the floor in the living room, hall and kitchen, resulting in the excavation of the entire ground floor at a cost of over £100,000.

Bamboo is removed by excavating the root ball from the ground and removing every long lateral rhizome from the ground. Even if they’re severed, any rhizomes left behind will regrow via new shoots emerging from the nodes that grow along the stem. It typically costs around £3,500 +VAT to remove bamboo from a residential property.

Nic Seal, founder of Environet, said:

“In my view, bamboo is at least as destructive as Japanese knotweed, due to the astonishing rate at which the runners grow, enabling it to spread and cause damage more quickly.

“Surveyors are flagging the issue much more frequently than they were a couple of years ago and buyers are rightly insisting that bamboo infestations are properly dealt with.

“In addition to damage to the property and garden, buyers need to consider the risk of a legal case from a neighbour if the bamboo has encroached into their property, which could be expensive to resolve.”

Sellers are legally required to declare the presence of Japanese knotweed on a property when completing the TA6 Property Information Form, but bamboo does not need to be declared. Buyers should therefore be vigilant for signs of the plant on viewings, for example, canes which have been cut back, or new shoots emerging from the ground.

A good surveyor should flag a bamboo infestation that’s running the risk of damage or encroachment, and a professional bamboo survey will determine the extent of the infestation and estimated removal costs.

Kindly shared by Environet UK

Picture courtesy of Environet UK