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Question Title: Problems with ivy
| Question: 440 |
| I am managing an older Edwardian property which has a substantial amount of ivy growing up the front wall. The tenants are responsible in the tenancy agreement for maintaining the garden but are complaining that it is difficult and expensive to control this plant and want to have it removed. The landlord does not want this to happen. What can I do? What are the sort of problems that can be caused?
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| Answer: |
As in all cases of this sort you will need to try and find a compromise. Clearly there will be a cost involved in controlling the ivy but this would have been apparent to the tenant when they took on the property. The landlord also has an interest in ensuring that the structure of the property is not damaged.
Self-clinging climbers do not usually cause damage to wall surfaces, but ivy supports itself by aerial roots and where these penetrate cracks or joints they may cause structural damage, particularly when the mortar is both soft and not too corrosive (e.g. the older lime mortars).
Ivy's dense cover can also hide defects in the fabric of the building or hinder maintenance work. Ivy may also provide access for intruders and harbour pests such as mice. Another problem is to keep growth away from gutters and paint work. Large climbers can pose a risk to house foundations. Such problems are most likely with older buildings, those with thin foundations and those built on shrinkable clay soils. Ivy, however, can be killed by severing the stem and treating the stump with ammonium sulphamate - a weedkiller.
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References:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Handbook |
Chapter 11 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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