Council’s fines for ‘For Sale’ signs are working to de-clutter neighbourhoods

2 April 2017

Southwark Council’s crack down on estate agents boards that are left on streets long after properties are sold or rented is already showing signs of success.

Since the initiative came into force at the start of February, Southwark has issued 49 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £100 to companies who have left boards out more than two weeks after sales or lets are completed.

Twenty-one of these FPNs have already been paid – but most importantly several areas where clumps of decaying boards have been left on housing estates for weeks, or even months, have now been removed, including an accumulation on Mawbey House along the Old Kent Road.

Cllr Mark Williams, cabinet member for regeneration and new homes, said: “This is not about making money, more that we want to encourage companies to tidy up after themselves. Our residents have told us they don’t want to see their streets and estates cluttered with these signs. They look untidy and give a sense of transience, which can be unsettling and create the wrong impression of a community.

“It is great to see that so far the message seems to be working with a noticeable decrease in the number of these old, decaying boards having been removed.”

To ensure the FPNs are issued fairly the council will follow a Code of Practice that sets out when and why an FPN is issued, steps officers will take and the appeal process. So far four appeals have been registered.

The new procedure came into effect on Wednesday 1 February, 2017. If a sign is found to breach the policy an FPN will be issued.

Page last updated: 02 April 2017

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