May I, as an estate agent, advertise? How and Where? 

For estate agents, one of the most important ways of advertising a property available “For sale” or “To let” is through outdoor advertising, thus advertising boards that are visible to the public.  Often, however there is uncertainty from the estate agent's side, from the client or even from the general public on how and where these boards may be erected.  The Metro has rules, regulations and guidelines on how any advertisement, which is visible to the public, should look and where it may be located.

What is an Estate Agent advertising sign? 

Estate agent board means an advertisement that is temporarily displayed to advertise the fact that land, premises, development or other forms of fixed property are for sale, to let, on show or sold.  This is stated in the  Policy on Outdoor Advertising Control 923.51 Kb, approved by Council in July 2004.  If the sign is visible from any street or public place, it is seen as an outdoor advertising sign and approval should be obtained from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) prior to erecting such a sign.

The  Outdoor Advertising Control 923.51 Kb of EMM contains detail on the requirements and criteria for estate agent boards, which includes:

• Allowed in all areas of control:
  Size and height of signs:
  • maximum size : non-residential vacant erf: 6m
  • size : All other boards: 0.6m x 0.45m
  • height : Less than 3m high
  • May only be placed parallel to a boundary fence; or within boundary of erf, with a maximum of one sign per agent and a maximum of three signs per erf; or fixed to the building concerned; or attached to the boundary fence of the premises concerned; or displayed on the sidewalks to a maximum of 1 meter away from the boundaries of such premises;

• Signs shall be allowed to be displayed within the road reserve in the event of the sign being a residential sign, but shall not be displayed on road islands or medians;
• 'On Show' boards may be displayed from the nearest Class C road with no less than 60m intervals between the boards, and no more than 5 boards being displayed at any one time;
• Signs shall contain only the words 'For Sale', 'To Let', 'Sold' or 'On Show' and the name, logo, address and telephone number of the selling agent or letting agent;
• 'On Show' estate agents' boards on street reserves shall be permitted after 12:00 on Fridays on condition that they be removed before 12:00 on the following Monday;
• Any estate agent’s board exceeding 2,8m² shall require the submission of a special application.

What should Estate Agents do?

The preferred procedure, as prescribed by the Policy, to be followed by estate agents before erecting any advertising board, is as follows:

• An estate agent is to determine and define the area in which he/ she intends advertising.
• An application form can be collected from the relevant regional office.
• The application form is to be completed and accompanied by the relevant licensing fees payable in terms of the tariff schedule on an annual basis.
• Once the application is submitted and the fees paid, the estate agent will be registered on the estate agent database, thus permitting the agent to advertise in the area in which approval was granted. 

If you have already transgressed the Policy in any way, or if you want to register as an estate agent at EMM and erect advertising signs, you can obtain application forms and pay fees at your nearest Service Delivery Regional offices.  Advice, as well as full detail on the Policy, criteria and requirements on the specific sign that you want to erect, can be obtained from these offices.  If the Outdoor Advertising Regional Office observes any illegal signs, the sign may be removed and you as the owner of the sign will be fined for the offence. 

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