On 13 February 2026, the Secretary of State formally approved Nottingham City Council’s application for a Regulation 7 Direction, reinstating restrictions on the display of “To Let” boards in nine areas of the city.
Importantly, this Direction has been granted in perpetuity, recognising the long‑term impact that excessive letting boards have on local neighbourhoods, conservation areas, and community wellbeing.
These controls apply to areas with high concentrations of student accommodation and other HMOs, where traditional boards have previously resulted in significant visual clutter and have contributed to a sense of transience in the local community.
The following documents were issued with the decision by the Secretary of State.
- Secretary of State – Letter
- Map of restriction areas.
- Legal Challenge note
- Letting Boards Restriction - official
- Report to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Key Dates for Implementation
- 13 February 2026 – Secretary of State approval issued
- 27 March 2026 – End of the 6‑week High Court challenge period
- 27 March 2026 – Statutory notice published in The London Gazette and Metro
- 13 April 2026 – Regulation 7 Direction comes into force
- From 16 March to 20 April 2026 – Communication strategy starts to make people aware of the restrictions and what they mean.
- 20 April 2026 – Formal enforcement commences
What This Means for Landlords and Letting Agents
From 13 April 2026, all Class 3A letting boards within the designated areas will require express advertisement consent. Without consent, they will be unlawful.
The Council strongly encourages landlords and agents to begin removing any existing boards as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the formal amnesty period.
Once enforcement begins on 20 April 2026, non‑compliant boards may be subject to:
- Removal by the Council
- Recovery of associated costs
- Prosecution, including fines of up to £2,500 per board and £250 per day for continuing offences
What This Means for Residents
If you are aware of any unauthorised To Let boards within the restriction areas, you will be encouraged to report them in due course. This will help the Council to build a detailed record of the locations of these boards and take appropriate action against landlords and letting agents who are not complying with the restrictions.
The Direction will come into force on 13 April 2026. The Council is currently developing an online reporting tool; however, in the meantime, from 13 April onwards, any unauthorised To Let boards can be reported by emailing planning@nottinghamcity.gov.uk with the subject line “Letting Board Restriction”. Please include the letting agency or landlord’s details, the address where the unauthorised board is located, and photographs of the board.
Next Steps
Over the coming weeks, Nottingham City Council will:
- Publish the statutory notice in The London Gazette and Metro
- Updating this webpage including ability for residents and interested parties to report To Let signs that do not comply with the restrictions.
- Write to letting agents, stakeholders, and consultation respondents
- Issue wider communications, including a press release and My Nottingham News update
- Make available clear public guidance on how to report unauthorised boards
- Prepare enforcement materials, including warning letters and updated processes
Formal notifications and updates to this web page will be issued shortly.
The Direction restricting deemed consent for letting boards has expired. Nottingham City Council is currently in the process of applying for a new Direction from the Secretary of State to reinstate these controls.
The proposal has been formally submitted, and preliminary work is underway to develop an enforcement strategy that will ensure compliance with the proposed restrictions.
The City Council applied for the original Direction in 2011 as increasing concerns were raised by citizens, residents groups and local councillors about the excessive and unregulated large number of letting boards being displayed for long periods of the year having a harmful impact on the character and visual appearance of several neighbourhoods, particularly in areas containing high concentrations of private rental properties catering for the student market, and putting increasing pressure on students to find accommodation very early in the year.
Another major concern of many permanent residents was not only the visual impact of the boards but that they identify the area as one where there is a transitory population, negatively reducing its attractiveness for families to live there.
There were also community safety concerns allied to the display of letting boards as it is well known that many of these properties will be occupied by students and can highlight properties which remain vacant for large parts of the year.
The Police had previously expressed concerns that student houses in particular are targeted for burglaries and the display of letting boards can contribute towards their easy identification.
We recognised that it would be unreasonable to require property owners to apply for advertisement consent for every new letting board in the area, so we created a design guide for letting boards.
This document provided guidance for landlords wishing to display letting boards on their residential properties in the Direction Area, and letting boards displayed in compliance with the guidance would not be subject to enforcement action.
The implementation of the restrictions together with the design guidance resulted in the immediate transformation of the visual appearance of these areas and residents well-being.
In order to ensure we are able to conserve the visual amenity and character of local street scenes, we will be kindly asking agents to continue following the guidelines set out in this document whilst we undertake the statutory process to apply for the Regulation 7 Direction.
Our preference is always to work in partnership with the agents and we hope this request will be observed. In the event we are issued with a new Regulation 7 Direction and this request has not been observed then we would have to consider undertaking enforcement action to enable any boards not meeting the guidelines to be removed.
Monitoring how landlords and agents follow the criteria is made easier by the requirement that all letting boards should be removed between 1 October and 31 December of any one year.
To view detailed guidance on how the rules operate, please see below:
- Click to view a copy of the Design Guidance for Letting Boards and detailed maps of the areas
Detailed below is an overview map of the 9 areas that are proposed to be subject to Letting Board restrictions
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
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7 |
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8 |
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9 |
If you have any general questions or would like further information on the restrictions, consultation or guidance please contact below
- Email: - planning@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
- Call - 0115 876 4447
Contact us
Planning
LH Box 5
Loxley House
Station Street
Nottingham
NG2 3NG
development.management@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Tel: 0115 876 4447
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