Guide
Estate agent board rules in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, for sale and to let boards have deemed consent under Class 3 of the Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, as long as the board is on the property being marketed, there is only one board (or two joined boards), it is no larger than 2 square metres (2.5 square metres joined), it is not illuminated, and it is removed within 14 days of completion or the tenancy being granted.
Estate agent boards do not need a planning application in Northern Ireland, but only because the regulations give them what is called deemed consent. That consent comes with conditions, and a board that breaks any one of them is an unauthorised advertisement. This is what the conditions are, taken from the regulations themselves.
Where the rules come from
The Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 grant deemed consent to the classes of advertisement listed in Part 1 of Schedule 3. Class 3(1) covers "an advertisement relating to the sale or letting, for residential, agricultural, industrial or commercial use or for development for such use, of the land or premises on which it is displayed". That is every for sale and to let board an agency puts up.
The conditions a board has to meet
- It goes on the property being marketed. The class only covers a board on "the land or premises on which it is displayed". A board at the entrance to a development, on a neighbour's railing or on a lamp post is outside it.
- One board per property. Not more than one advertisement, made up of a single board or two joined boards. Where more than one is displayed, the first to go up is the one that is permitted.
- Size. No more than 2 square metres, or 2.5 square metres in total for two joined boards. Agricultural land is allowed up to 10 square metres.
- Sold and Let boards. A sale or letting can only be announced by adding a statement to the existing board that it has been agreed or completed, subject to contract. A separate Sold board is not covered.
- Removal. The board must be removed within 14 days after the sale is completed or the tenancy is granted.
- Height. No part of the board can be more than 5 metres above ground level. When only part of a building is for sale or to let, the limit is the lowest part of that section where displaying it is reasonably practicable.
- Projection. A board fixed to a building can project no more than 1 metre from the face of the building.
- No illumination, and no letter or symbol more than 0.3 metres tall.
The standard conditions
Every advertisement with deemed consent also has to meet the standard conditions in Schedule 1 of the regulations. For boards the ones that matter are that the board is kept clean and tidy, that it is only displayed with the permission of the owner of the site, that removal is carried out to the council's reasonable satisfaction, and that it does not obscure a road sign or make the road hazardous.
What happens when a board breaks the rules
A board outside these conditions needs express advertisement consent, which means a planning application. Without it, displaying the board is an offence under section 175 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, and councils investigate reported boards through their planning enforcement teams. Ards and North Down Borough Council, for example, publishes guidance saying it looks for four things: the board on the actual property rather than at the entrance to a development, one board per property, removal within 14 days of completion, and the size limits.
Councils can also ask the Department to direct that deemed consent does not apply in a particular area or case, and can order a particular board or site to be discontinued if it is seriously harming the amenity of the area or public safety. So a street that has had problems can be treated more strictly than the general rule.
Where agencies actually get caught
Almost never on size. Standard boards are well inside the limit. The two conditions that catch branches are removal and location: the board that is still up six weeks after completion, and the board put at the entrance to a new development instead of on the plot. Both are process problems. On our system the removal is raised as a job the moment the sale is marked complete, and boards are only ever erected on the property the order is for.
This guide summarises the regulations as they stand and is not legal advice. For a specific property, your council's planning team is the authority. If you want boards handled inside the rules without anyone having to remember them, see our estate agent board service.