Q My next-door neighbour has had a “For Sale” sign up for more than a year. I hate the things. Two weeks ago another board from a different agent also appeared. There are already far too many in my street and it really blights the area. My neighbour is obviously desperate to sell and says that the agents insist on having a board up. Can I do anything about the proliferation of signs?

A It is quite common for estate agents’ printed terms and conditions to require the seller to have a “For Sale” or a “To Let” board up during the marketing period — though this is usually limited to situations where a board is legally permitted. Estate agents’ boards are subject to the planning control laws that cover other outdoor advertising. In some parts of Bath and London the local authorities have obtained special “Article 7 directions”, which require specific planning permission from the council before any sign can be put up — and this has cut the number of agents’ boards in these areas almost to none.

For the rest of us, “To Let” and “For Sale” boards don’t need planning permission if they satisfy Class 3A of Schedule 3 to Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. The regulations try to define what is allowed in great detail. For example, the rules allow only one sign per house or flat and require the board to be removed within 14 days of the sale or letting of property. The regulations also set a maximum size of 0.5 sq m for domestic premises and 2 sq m for commercial properties. There are detailed restrictions on the size of double (or “conjoined”) boards, limits on height, the distance any sign can project into the street, the size of lettering and so on.

Estate agents have become adept at exploiting these rules by creating all manner of shapes and sizes of boards. However, if the agent breaks the regulations, this is a breach of planning law and the council can prosecute the agent and the homeowner. Local authorities do prosecute and there have been several high-profile cases relating to sales or lettings boards. In 1988 the House of Lords decided that an estate agent in Richmond-upon-Thames was not at fault when another agent put up a second board without its knowledge. In 2006 a High Court judge threw out an appeal by a Cardiff letting agent on the grounds that it had not taken reasonable steps to get the board taken down after 14 days.

In your case, the second board breaches Schedule 3 of the regulations and action can almost certainly be taken against both the second agent and your neighbour.

The writer is a barrister at Tanfield Chambers. E-mail your questions to:

brief.encounter@thetimes.co.uk

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

• First-time buyer

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers