Letting Board Code

The Letting Board Code is a set of rules which determine how and where letting boards can be displayed on residential properties in the Area of Special Advertisement Control (also known as the Regulation 7 Direction area) in inner north west Leeds.

The Letting Board Code is also operated, on a voluntary basis, outside of the Area of Special Advertisement Control in the Area of Housing Mix as designated by Policy H15 of the Leeds Unitary Development Plan Review 2006.

Maps of both the Area of Special Advertisement Control and Area of Housing Mix are attached to this document.

Why is there a Code

In 2005 the council applied to introduce an Area of Special Advertisement Control across parts of the inner north west Leeds wards of Headingley and Hyde Park and Woodhouse. This was in response to a growing instance of high concentrations of letting boards being erected in the area, mainly on privately rented properties. The proliferation of such letting boards created considerable amounts of excess street clutter which in turn had a harmful impact upon the visual amenity and character of local streetscenes.

The original Area of Special Advertisement Control came into effect on 1st January 2006 following approval by the Secretary of State.

What does this mean

‘To Let’ boards usually benefit from deemed advertisement consent i.e. they do not require permission from the council to be displayed on a property. The introduction of the Area of Special Advertisement Control has removed deemed advertisement consent in this area.

Do I need to apply for advertisement consent to display a ‘To Let’ board?

Strictly speaking, you do need to apply for consent in order to display a ‘To Let’ board in the Area of Special Advertisement Control. However, given the size of the area and in the interests of assisting landlords, the council will not request applications for those boards which comply with the Letting Board Code. In addition, ‘To Let’ boards which are displayed and comply with the Letting Board Code will not be subject to enforcement action by the council.

Where applications for advertisement consent are submitted they will be dealt with swiftly. However, only applications for boards which are compliant with the Letting Board Code will be considered acceptable.

What enforcement action can be taken

The council’s Planning Compliance Team carry out regular surveys of the Area of Special Advertisement Control and are pursuing prosecutions where appropriate.

The Council can immediately bring a prosecution in the Magistrates Court. The maximum fine on conviction of an offence is presently £2,500, with an additional daily fine of one-tenth of the maximum penalty on conviction of a continuing offence.

Outside of the Area of Special Advertisement Control, the Code is also operating on a voluntary basis within the ‘Area of Housing Mix’. Although the City Council do not have the power to enforce the Code outside of the Area of Special Advertisement Control, enforcement is being carried out by Spencer Properties office for the area covered by the Area of Housing Mix. The aim is to secure visual improvement across the wider area, whilst ensuring fairness between landlords/agents. Breaches of the Code may be reported to Adele Lakin – alakin@nicgroup.co.uk or tel: 0113 231 0210. Breaches of the code may result in action being taken privately by private rented sector organisations.

History of the Letting Board Code

The first Letting Board Code came into effect in 2006 following the introduction of the first Area of Special Advertisement Control (Regulation 7 Direction) in Leeds on 1 January 2006. The Code was produced in consultation with key stakeholders including representatives from the local community, landlord/agent groups, and the city’s universities.

The Code aimed to control the visual impact of ‘To Let’ boards, whilst allowing landlords to legitimately advertise their properties.

The Code was revised in December 2009 following further discussions with the aforementioned stakeholders as part of the wider consultation for the revised Area of Special Advertisement Control (Regulation 7 Direction), which came into effect on 1 February 2010.

2012 Amendments to the Letting Board Code

The latest version of the Code addresses an area where the Code was previously silent. This is in relation to the display of ‘To Let’ Boards internally in windows of properties.

Since 2011 the Area of Special Advertisement Control has witnessed a growing instance of poster-style advertisements and similar marketing materials being displayed in windows of properties. These advertisements are often much larger than ‘To Let’ boards allowed by the Letting Board Code. The display of such adverts is considered to undermine the spirit of the Letting Board Code. This type of advert can cause considerable harm to the visual amenity and character of local streetscenes where such posters or similar marketing materials are displayed in significant numbers.

Although the internal display of adverts is not restricted by the Regulation 7 Direction, the council does have other planning enforcement powers to prevent the display of such adverts. In order to allow a flexible approach to the display of ‘To Let’ boards in response to this emerging issue the council has made amendments to the Letting Board Code and accompanying guidance notes. These amendments have been made in consultation with key stakeholders and have been subject to public consultation in September and October 2012.

The Letting Board Code

The Code states:

1. Only one ‘To Let’ board per building will be permitted.

2. Each board will conform to the following layout: 34cm x 48cm or 48cm x 34cm.

3. a) The board shall be mounted flush to the wall above/around the front door, or if that is not possible, it shall be mounted flush to the wall on the street frontage elevation. In either instance, no part of the board shall be higher than first-floor window sill level.

3. b) Alternatively the board shall be displayed internally in a ground floor window facing the street frontage, but not in addition to a board displayed externally.

4. The board shall have a white background with black text. Up to 20% of the board may be occupied by a logo (which may be in colour).

5. One board shall be permitted per landlord/agent per street. However, if a landlord/agent specifies on the board, the number of bedrooms in the advertised property, one board shall be permitted per type of property, up to a maximum of three per street.

For properties on Headingley Lane, Cardigan Road, Kirkstall Lane, Burley Road, Kirkstall Road and Otley Road one board shall be permitted per landlord/agent, per property, per block, but with no more than 6 boards over the whole length of the road at any one time. Please see the attached maps for further details in terms of designated blocks, and where the roads fall in relation to the direction area and the voluntary area.

6. There shall be no ‘Let By’ signs.

7. ‘To Let’ boards shall be removed not later than 14 days after the granting of a tenancy for the room, house or flat in question.

8. All ‘To Let’ boards shall be removed by 1 November each year with no new boards being erected until 1 December.

(for further information on the Code see further guidance notes)

Further Guidance Notes

Code Point 1

Only one board per building or block will be permitted. A ‘traditional’ style house converted into flats will still only be able to have one board at any one time. The same applies to blocks of flats.

Code Point 3a

Under Code point 3a the board shall be mounted flush with the wall above/around the front door of the property. If that is not possible, if the door is to the side for example, a board shall be permitted on the street-frontage elevation of the property. No part of any boards will be permitted above first-floor window sill level. No boards will be permitted on gable ends. Boards will not be permitted on front boundary walls or other similar features.

Code Point 3b

Under Code point 3b the board shall be displayed only in a ground floor window facing the street frontage. Only one board shall be permitted per property. Any board displayed internally must meet the requirements of Code points 2 and 4. A board will not be permitted to be displayed both in a window and externally on the property under Code point 3a.

Landlords should consider carefully whether the display of a board in a window will lead to privacy concerns for existing tenants.

Any poster-style advertisement or other marketing material advertising a property to let or a letting related service displayed in any window of a property that does not comply with the Letting Board Code, and code point 2 in particular, will be subject to discontinuance action by the council.

Code Point 5

On most streets, only one board is permitted per landlord/agent, per street. However, if the board specifies the numbers of bedrooms in the property advertised, one board shall be permitted per type of property up to a maximum of three (e.g. you could have boards advertising a three bed, four bed and a five bed property). The number of bedrooms must be stated on the actual board itself.

Only on the specified longer roads, a landlord/agent will be permitted to have one board in each designated block, up to a maximum of six along the entire road. Blocks are defined as a frontage between side streets and are illustrated on the attached plan.

Code Point 7

The boards shall be removed not later than 14 days of the granting of a tenancy for the room, house or flat in question, as required by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007.

Boards are required to be removed not later than 14 days after the granting of a tenancy for the room, house or flat in question. However, if a board is displayed internally in a ground floor window landlords/agents should consider removing such a board promptly if this is likely to lead to privacy concerns for a new tenant, particularly if the board is displayed in a bedroom window.

Code Point 8

No board shall be permitted during the ‘board free month’ from 1st November to 1st December.

General Notes

Within the Conservation Area and on Listed Buildings, care should be taken to avoid damaging brickwork/stonework and/or mortar. Many historic buildings in the area are built using soft stone, which is easily eroded and damaged. Care should also be taken to avoid damaging any decorative features.

The Code is designed to inform landlords/agents about what type of boards are likely to be acceptable. However, applications may be submitted where a board would not strictly accord with the code, perhaps in instances of exceptional special circumstance.

Gazetteer of Streets within the Direction Area

The lists of streets below are those which are within the Area of Special Advertisement Control, where compliance with the code is compulsory. The lists of streets is correct at the time of printing, but if in doubt, please contact us for further advice.