Overview

This bill amends the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 to restrict the display of external advertisements for property lettings. It gives local housing authorities more control over such advertisements and introduces penalties for non-compliance.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Amendment of Regulations: It removes the automatic permission (deemed consent) for displaying advertisements relating to property lettings from the existing regulations.
• Housing Authority Responsibilities: Local housing authorities are granted the power to create local by-laws governing the display of external letting advertisements within their areas. If an authority doesn't establish specific rules, displaying such advertisements becomes prohibited.
• Offences and Penalties: Displaying prohibited advertisements becomes a criminal offence, punishable by a fine. Repeat offenders face a higher fine.
• Geographic Scope and Enforcement: The bill applies only to England and comes into effect two months after parliamentary passage.

Government Spending

The bill is unlikely to directly increase or decrease government spending. The costs associated with enforcement would fall upon local authorities, potentially influencing their budgets, however no specific figures are provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

• Letting Agents: May face restrictions on advertising practices, requiring compliance with local authority by-laws.
• Landlords: Will need to comply with any new local regulations on displaying letting advertisements.
• Local Housing Authorities: Will have increased responsibilities for regulating letting advertisements and enforcing the new rules.
• Residents: May see a reduction in the number of external letting advertisements in their areas.

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