The END of 'TO LET' Boards

A Portswood councillor has put a motion forward to the City Council to take action against letting boards, following pressure from SUSU.

Letting boards have long been one of the many student housing related woes, with agencies putting them up as early as October and frequently leaving them up even after the property has been let (which is against the law).

Letting boards have been linked to pressurising students into rushing for housing, as well as to increases in crime (from a burglar’s perspective they are a sure-fire sign of a student house containing a laptop for each housemate).

Portswood councillor Adrian Vinson took the following motion to Southampton City Council:

This Council recognises the concerns of residents in many parts of the city at the forest of ‘to let’, ‘for sale’ and ‘sold by’ boards and posters, left in place for considerable periods of time, which is blighting neighbourhoods. Council notes that, in the age of the internet, such signs are no longer the principle means of attracting tenants. Council therefore urges the Executive to make full use of the powers available to curb the excessive display of such signs, including consideration of the adoption of a Regulation 7 Direction under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations, and a rigorous Lettings Board Code as adopted by Leeds City Council and others.

On Saturday SUSU met with representatives from the police, the City Council and the Labour Party, as well as several residents’ associations, to determine a course of action following the motion. A complete ban on letting boards is being considered, though there are concerns that this could be too extreme and hinder the house hunting process. Alternatively, a code of conduct similar to that of Leeds Uni is a more likely option.

Any students interested in getting involved with the letting boards issue or several important others regarding housing can join the discussion in the SUSU Housing Campaign Facebook group.