Hot topic: estate agents' boards

Hot topic: estate agents' boards

Should we ban 'for sale' signs?

Hammersmith & Fulham council is blitzing estate agents' boards.  

In one crackdown, more than 350 were removed in Fulham, following complaints from residents. Previously, it was common to see hundreds of boards in the area and up to a dozen on a single property.

And the council recently called in ten of the borough’s leading estate agents to discuss ways to tackle the blight of estate agents' boards in more of the borough's streets.

All of them were in favour of tougher action and half of them backed the idea of banning the boards outright - read more.

Should 'for sale' signs be banned altogether?

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Yes, please do ban all boards from the borough as soon as possible. Every board is an eyesore and estate agents care less about leaving their boards up or removing them as appropriate, they just see it as free advertising. With all the communication technology there is today and with the change in the way people shop and access information, I believe they are completely unnecessary. All these boards are visual litter and many times end up as literally litter - in short, they do nothing to improve the community. 
From Mark Heron on 18/11/09

These boards are hideous and ruin the look of the street. I'm sure they hinder rather than help sales. I represent Stonor Road NHW and we would all like them banned. 
From Angela Chew on 17/11/09

Please ban all boards from the borough. There certainly are fewer boards in my street now than there were a year ago, but every board is an eyesore. Some estate agents are acting very responsibly about not using boards in our conservation area, but others do not and will not, until there is a complete ban on them. As stated before, these boards are litter and do nothing to enhance the community and are also not necessary in this age of Internet access.
From Mary Pillai on 13/04/09

In my opinion the boards should be banned. Estate agents use the internet to market the properties. 
From Lucy Esejomo on 09/04/09

The growth of other more effective types of marketing such as the internet, means boards are far less important for estate agents’ sales than they once were. They are effective as a means of establishing an agent's presence/market share in an area and thus winning more new instructions from vendors. A blanket ban on boards would help level the playing field, make the borough a more attractive place, benefit the environment, make less work for the council and save tax payers’ money. What are we waiting for? Blanket ban boards now!
From Z. Morgan on 02/04/09

I have complained endlessly to the estate agents but have had boards consistently outside our flat for nearly 2 years, even though all the flats are leased.  One of the occupants pulled the sign down before Christmas and it was back up within a day!  Please ban these signs for good.  Thanks. 
From Bernadette Day on 02/04/09

Estate agents' boards are unsightly, damage property and serve no real purpose other than providing free advertising for estate agents.  Streets with flats on them have ‘For Sale’ or ‘To Let’ boards up on pretty much a permanent basis.  Now that agents can advertise properties via the internet, it is time to eliminate these boards altogether.
From Martin Conder on 10/03/09

I would fully support the banning of estate agents’ boards.  They are unsightly and make the local area look cheap.  I can not believe they actually assist the agents in selling/letting the property – I think they only serve as a billboard for free advertising for the estate agents.  
From Keith Hallman on 04/09/08

The worst type of estate agents' boards are those that are fixed onto batons which are nailed onto the front elevation of buildings, usually above shops. When the property is sold or let, the boards are rarely taken down. The signs rot eventually, leaving a sea of ancient batons nailed to the walls; for example, look up the next time you pass the shopping parade at the top of Fulham Palace Road. If the batons are removed, the brickwork is damaged in the process. No respect is shown to our Victorian buildings. Therefore, I think that these boards should be banned as soon as possible, with penalties for agents using this method of advertising.
From Susan Douglas on 20/08/08

Please ban them from the whole borough. I do not know of one person who thinks they serve a useful purpose. At least ban them from Mornington Avenue, a small cul-de-sac, where we sometimes have 40+ signs.. At present, there are four ‘For Sale’ signs for one flat.
From Mary Pillai on 16/04/08

I do believe that estate agent banners are as bad as litter in the street. The Council should introduce chargeable permits for displaying these boards and the estate agents should be able to display them only for a month, with no extension possible. It is a disgrace how they use the boards to get free publicity, without any respect for people who live in surrounding properties.
From Nicolas Kroplewski on 14/04/08

I agree that estate agents’ boards should be banned from LBHF streets completely. Hammersmith Grove is particularly bad, where there are always many boards up. Currently, one estate agent has 2 at one property on Hammersmith Grove. These things are an eyesore and should definitely be banned from this street, which is in a conservation area.
From Valerie Millar on 07/04/08

Please ban these signs as they reduce the aesthetic quality of the streets and they are rarely managed or removed properly.
From William Muir on 06/04/08

Why not charge a local tax per board - say £10 per day and add to local resources. Estate agents make so much money out of us after all.
From Anonymous on 01/04/08

The residents do not want to see these boards, and now half the agents are in favour of banning them.
From David Hinman on 29/03/08

Please ban estate agent boards; they reduce quality of life and only serve to provide free advertising for agents. I speak as a landlord who has become incrementally more annoyed with Foxtons each of the four times they have put up a board on my property despite my expressed instruction to contrary. Needless to say I have always destroyed board immediately, but never had a problem in letting the flat.
From William Strode  on 21/02/08

The approach adopted in Westminster works well with restrictions on size, positioning and colour. I suggest these are adopted.
From Simon Stone on 19/02/08

A few estate agents put the "for sale" sign on my door step although the house was not for sale. It is time estate agents are forbidden to put those horrible signs on houses. Robbers and squatters might want to take a look inside the houses with a "for sale" sign as they might think the house is empty. Therefore I judge these signs are a risk to our security.
From Morena Barbieri on 14/02/08

I dislike seeing estate agents' boards, but do think they have a use in helping market the sale of a property. However, I suspect that 'to let' signs are less worthwhile. What I do object to is the new fashion for advertising school fairs using estate agents' boards, promoting the estate agency at the same time. The signs clutter the neighbourhood, and I can't imagine that the estate agents' principal motive is to support the borough's schools.
From Patricia Chacon on 04/02/08

You don’t answer any emails. I have contacted you a few times regarding an estate agent's sales board. It is just one-way communication. I can’t see why you ask for feedback.
From Anonymous on 12/01/08

I wish you could expand your ban on estate agents' advertising boards to being borough-wide!
From P. James on 21/12/07

In your e-h&f newsletter it was stated that estate agents' boards had been outlawed in parts of the borough. Can we expect this ban to be extended across the whole borough? I live in Moore Park Road, SW6, and there have been many problems with vandals using the boards as weapons - once a board was even set on fire and the fire brigade called. I look forward to your comments.
From Alan Rayner on 16/11/07