Q. I live in a very scenic area in Limerick City. The house next door has been vacant for some time, and I understand the owners live abroad. The house has been for sale for over three years and during all that time there have been two large auctioneers signs prominently displayed. They are very unsightly and one of the signs actually hinders the light getting into my house and blocks my view. I contacted the auctioneer about the matter and was told basically it was none of my business. What can I do?
Dear Reader,
The first point to note is that under the Planning Regulations 2001 (Class 9), advertisements relating to the sale or letting of any property are considered exempted development.
That said, there are certain conditions governing same. The 2001 Planning Act states that only one advertisement is permitted to be exhibited on the property, so strictly speaking the display of two signs on your neighbour’s property does appear to contravene the exception to 2001 regulations.
You have already contacted the auctioneer to no avail, but you might contact them again stating that that the second sign contravenes planning and request that it be removed and specifically ask them to remove the one that is blocking your view and light.
If the auctioneer does not remove the sign, you can contact the planning department.
Secondly, you say that the auctioneers sign is very large. The 2001 Act states that the size of the advertisement must not exceed 1.2 meters so you could maybe measure the signs to see if they contravene this condition.
Another condition is that the advertisement must be removed within seven days after the sale or letting of the land is agreed. This would not appear to apply to you as I understand the property is still for sale.
Some county councils consider a sale/letting of land completed once a “sale agreed” sign has been erected and will issue a fine, seven days following this event, if they are notified.
That said, this policy does not seem to be uniform across the country so you should contact the enforcement section of your council’s planning department to establish their approach.
In short, bar matters as aforementioned, the current Irish legislation appears to allow the signs to be displayed without limit prior to a “sale agreed” sign being erected.
Finally, if the sign does contravene conditions mentioned above you should contact the auctioneer and ask them to contact the owner of the property letting the owner that the sign contravenes planning laws and you will go to the council if the matter is not rectified. Three years seems to be an inordinate length of time for a sign to be up on a property and I would agree that it cannot be serving any useful purpose at this point.
