Council joins handful of authorities to obtain order covering lettings boards

Newcastle City Council has become one of the few authorities to have successfully obtained Government approval for a Regulation 7 order covering lettings boards.

The move means that ‘To Let’ boards will need advertisement consent from January if they are to be put up in popular areas of the city such as Jesmond, Heaton and Gosforth.

Landlords and lettings agents will have three months to take down signs or face court action and fines of up to £2,500.

Cllr Ged Bell, Cabinet member for Investment and Development, said: “The council has tried for a number of years to reduce the amount of lettings boards in certain areas of the city, even introducing a voluntary code for landlords.

“Residents tell us that too many boards spoil areas and negatively affect house prices, particularly in areas like Jesmond and Sandyford that often contain student households.”

Cllr Bell added: “We are very pleased the Planning Inspector agrees with us that we need more powers to take firmer action against landlords and letting agents who pepper our streets with these intrusive ‘to let’ boards.

“This Regulation 7 direction gives us the power to take enforcement action against a significant minority and address an issue which is a persistent concern for residents in some of our most densely populated neighbourhoods.”

The new powers apply from January 2015 and will remain in place for an indefinite period of time, the council said.

Leeds City Council has had a Regulation 7 To Let board policy in place since 1 January 2006. Its code can be found here.

This story was updated on 12 September.