Estate agent ‘Asbos’ for illegal signs

Harrow council wants to hand out the warnings to unscrupulous agents who put signs up outside houses they are not even selling.

The councils will make use of the Responsible Retailer Agreement, introduced last year to crack down on shops which block the pavement with goods or rubbish.

Council leaders now plan to use the powers to reduce the number of estate agents' signs.

In one recent case, a wall at Daniel House, a block of flats in Rickmansworth Road, Pinner, was plastered with For Sale' boards even though no properties in the development were on the market.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "Most of the signs are advertising property that is already sold or let. That effectively is, in my view, free billboard advertising.

"I am continually phoning the estate agents to remove their boards but they just fob me off and never come and remove their signs.

"In fact, estate agents are using this entire junction, including across the road, as a mega-billboard."

In another case reported to Harrow council,
estate agents attached three For Sale' boards to a street sign.

Harrow council's deputy leader and portfolio holder for environment and community safety, Susan Hall, said: "With a depressed housing market, estate agents' signs are hanging around on street corners in greater numbers and for longer than ever.

"However, a slump in housing sales is not a licence for dodgy estate agents to take a hammer and nails to any piece of the street they like for free advertising.

"If they do not obey the law, they will find us, and not new buyers, moving in."

Four estate agents in Harrow have agreed to sign up to the Responsible Retailers Agreement after being approached by the local authority. The agreement lasts for 12 months.

The agreement scheme was launched in Harrow last September.

If a retailer breaches the agreement, the local authority can take legal action. Placing a "For Sale" board on council property - such as a road sign or side of a wall - without permission constitutes obstruction of a public highway.

If a board is nailed onto private property, it is classed as criminal damage and could lead to police prosecution. The owner of the property could also take action through the civil courts for damage to property.