Clampdown on Illegal Agents' Boards Urged
Councillor urges prosecution for estate agents that ignore the law
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Cllr. Thompson - “Time to clamp down on illegal estate agents boards” ChiswickW4.com's property database is the most comprehensive there is with thousands of searches being made on it every week. Virtually every property for sale of let in Chiswick is featured New Figures show Chiswick property prices on the rise Times accuses Foxtons of engaging in "Board Wars"
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Cllr Peter Thompson has urged Hounslow Council to take action against illegal estate agents boards.
His main concern is the practice of displaying multiple boards on one site.
 Note: The boards in this picture are not necessarily illegally displayed |
He said:“It is about time that we launched an initiative to combat the increasing problem and clutter created by these unlawful boards. These can ruin the appearance of a street. I know about this from personal experience as at one stage over the summer the property next door to my home had four different estate agents advertising it as for sale!"
This is an offence liable to prosecution, as only one board should be displayed at any one house, or 2 back to back.
Councillor Thompson has written to the Executive Member responsible asking her to write to estate agents in the Borough asking for their co-operation in sticking to these regulations and then prosecute those agents who continue to flout the law.
The initiative mirrors a similar scheme in Richmond Borough which saw the successful prosecution of Featherstone Leigh for breach of the regulations. The company pleaded guilty and were fined a total of £1,100 with £695 costs.
Richmond Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, Cllr David Marlow, said: “We are clamping down on unlawful boards, which can ruin the appearance of some streets.
“This latest prosecution should act as a warning to agents who flout the law. We will take tough action in these cases and press for strong penalties.”
November 22, 2003