A council crackdown on letting boards is underway in one of the UK’s biggest cities after a court appeal was thrown out.
The city’s Labour council has launched enforcement action against letting agents after complaints from residents in two areas.
The council told a court that the boards weee being used less as advertisements of properties to let as opportunities to promote agency brands.
In addition they alleged the boards were seen as identifying properties as targets for burglaries and anti-social behaviour.
A council spokesperson tells the local news website Birmingham Live: “The Property Licensing team has taken enforcement action to address the proliferation of letting agent boards on roads following long-standing concerns raised by residents, community representatives and local stakeholders.
“For many years, residents have raised concerns about visual blight, the over-commercialisation of the area, the impact on community cohesion, and the perception that boards can identify student properties as potential targets for crime.
“Due to the proximity of the universities, the ward has a very high concentration of privately rented housing, providing essential short-term accommodation for students studying in the area.
“In this context, the widespread use of letting boards had become a visible and persistent feature of residential streets.
