Estate agents' boards could be banned from historic properties because their sheer number is blighting Brighton and Hove's best buildings.

A voluntary limit on the number of boards outside the homes is being breached and now the city council is considering action.

Brighton and Hove prides itself on having some of Britain's finest Regency and Victorian squares and terraces.

These days, few of their handsome buildings are occupied by one family, with most divided into flats and bedsitters.

As a result, there are constant changes in occupation.

Estate agents are naturally keen to indicate these desirable flats and maisonettes are on the market.

But while one For Sale board may look acceptable on a suburban house, a forest of them blights the beauty of the best buildings.

For many years there has been a voluntary agreement with the estate agents' association restricting the number of boards to one per property.

But this understanding is not working as well as before and the council is on the verge of banning boards outside historic buildings.

The proposal is going before the environment committee at a meeting on March 13.

Consultation with people living in Grade I and II* listed buildings in the city last year revealed 95 per cent felt the growing number of boards was damaging and they should be banned.

If agreed, the ban will be applied to parts of Adelaide Crescent, Palmeira Square, Church Road, Brunswick Place, Brunswick Square, Brunswick Terrace, Arundel Terrace, Chichester Terrace, Lewes Crescent, Sussex Square, Montpelier Crescent and Vernon Terrace.

It will be restricted to these streets because support for it is strongest there.

A voluntary code worked well for many years after it was introduced in both Brighton and Hove.

However, an increasing number of agents do not belong to the official association and fail to follow it.

Last year, the council undertook a survey of the squares.

It found 30 boards in Brunswick Place, which contains only 70 properties.

Under the new scheme, agents would have to apply for permission if they wanted to put up a board outside a listed building.

Environment councillor Chris Morley said: "The housing boom has meant more and more For Sale boards are going up around the city and they can be very intrusive in historic streets.

"Consultation with residents has shown they are firmly in favour of a ban and we are considering applying to the Government for consent to legalise it in certain areas."

John Small, secretary of the Regency Society, realised the extent of the problem when he was taking pictures for an annual lecture on conservation he gives to Hove Civic Society.

He took pictures of properties in Powis Square, Brighton, and realised some of the boards were still there from the previous year.

He said it was clear some agents were keeping up signs almost all the time at properties where there were frequent lettings.

Mr Small also thought the problem was not confined to areas with Grade I and II* buildings.

It applied to whole districts where there were large buildings, often divided into flats, in conservation areas.

He especially criticised the practice of estate agents putting up Sold signs, saying they served no useful purpose.

He had hoped the voluntary code could be properly enforced and extended and was disappointed it was failing.

However, he did have reservations, saying the ban proposal was was like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

For agents to go through the rigmarole of applying for planning permission could cause problems for the city's already overstretched planning department.

He said: "If the council does take this step, let us suck it and see.

"I hope things will be generally better in the areas where it is applied."

Brunswick councillor Paul Elgood said: "Getting rid of the boards would actually be welcomed by many agents, who would be able to sell houses in the finest squares without them."

Paul Bonett, a leading members of the city estate agents' association, said it supported the council's moves.

But he said: "We cannot do anything about the rogue agents who are not members of the association."

Mr Bonett, whose firm Bonetts covers many historic areas of the city, said the association was hoping for good results.