Another council has been given the go ahead to ban To Let boards in part of a city - with government backing.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has told Lincoln council that it can ban the display of boards on certain streets, predominantly those in strong student accommodation areas.
The application for the ban came after the council considered the results of several consultations in what it describes as “problem areas” within the city.
Some residents allegedly claimed the boards were an unnecessary eyesore.
However, the figures involved are not large: a total of 134 consultation responses were received by the council, with 85 of those calling for a total ban on the boards.
The government has now given the directive to remove the deemed consent for using letting boards in certain areas of the city.
The council’s planning manager Kieron Manning says: “In recent years, the council has witnessed a significant increase in the number of complaints about the proliferation of To Let boards in certain parts of the city.
“Any letting sign should be a temporary feature but, when signs are left up too long in areas containing high numbers of rental properties, they can begin to dominate the street scene.
“We became aware that some signs were staying almost all-year-round and this was beginning to have a negative effect on the look and feel of our streets, so we decided to take pro-active action to solve the problem.
“We are very pleased that government has listened and agreed to allow us to implement the ban. We don’t expect this to have a negative impact on the city’s rental market as searches are now mostly done online, and people who are interested in moving to these particular areas will be able to find homes to rent very easily on the internet.
“In addition, they can also visit and call letting agents direct for an up-to-date overview of properties available.”
The proposal for a total ban will now go to the council’s executive committee for final approval before implementation of the directive can begin on April 8.
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You could argue its cosmetic and the government wants them to go to hide how bad things really are on the high street, it doesn't look attractive or enticing on most high streets. THEIR FAULT with the high rates they took the high streets from the locals due to corporates taking over, now the corporations are moving to retail estates but the rates are still there.hmm, I bet retail parks are cheaper in rates ???? don't know not an expert so I could be talking poo but it makes sense. . They look awful scattered over those such High streets (Give back to the local people based on % of profit not size of business) areas but not for the normal day to day sales a letting usage. Not everyone has the net and its the quickest way to grab attention with trawling RM or Zoopla. The laws are already there The use of illegal signs is contrary to planning regulations [Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulation 1992 but sadly some the local governments don't have the resources to act due to cuts. Sound like a further "use us against us" again. Punish all for the sake of a few seems like fees ban again really. :) Just saying.
Generally, I think it's the same issue for most regulations in the sector - a few ruin it for the many.
There are areas in my hometown of Leicester where there are To Let boards up all year round due to advertising of student private properties. It put off residential tenants, annoys the local residents and gives the perception the the area is having issues with letting/selling.
To Let boards are a great way to advertise to the local area and I often see one property have a board, followed by another 2/3 locally in the next few weeks - marketing gold some may say! Banning them does seem like punishment for those who refuse to be practical about their boards.
However, I will also note that I have never used a board for advertising properties. I am a small agency based online and coming up to 5 years of business and not a single property of mine advertised online, has required a board to be let, and be let in excellent timeframes. In fact, the one property I have ever been dual agency on, had their board outside the house and it resulted in a potential tenant knocking on the owners door at 8pm on a Friday night wanting to come in and view!
I feel from a marketing perspective, boards can be an invaluable tool to get listings and lead to a referral word of mouth type of advert that money cannot buy. But from a letting perspective solely, no I don't think they are essential at all.
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