---
title: Armstrong unsightly property rules and how to report
question: "How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Armstrong?"
place: Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/armstrong
category: Bylaws, noise and complaints
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Armstrong
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/armstrong/unsightly-property/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/armstrong/unsightly-property.json"
---

# Armstrong unsightly property rules and how to report

**Question:** How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Armstrong?

**Short answer:** To report an unsightly or overgrown property in the City of Armstrong, use the complaint form on the City's bylaw page or call City Hall at 250-546-3023, with your name and contact details. The Good Neighbour Bylaw treats grass or weeds over 20.32 cm (8 inches) as unsightly.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Armstrong, https://www.cityofarmstrong.bc.ca)  
**Cost:** Municipal ticket $150, or $100 if paid within 30 days, for an unsightly property or for failing to maintain the boulevard. If the City does the clean-up, the owner pays its costs.  
**Where:**
- Online: Bylaw complaint form, https://www.cityofarmstrong.bc.ca/departments/bylaw-enforcement/
- Phone: City Hall, 250-546-3023
- Email: City Hall, info@cityofarmstrong.bc.ca

## Key facts

- **What counts:** The owner, occupier or tenant must not let property become or stay unsightly. Unsightly includes: stored building material (no building permit, not covered); derelict or unlicensed vehicles unless in a carport/garage out of sight; accumulations of refuse, dead vegetation, noxious weeds, grass or weeds over 20.32 cm (8 in.) or overgrowth; graffiti; and tents or tarps hiding unsightly items.
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 4.1](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485)
  - Official wording: "No owner, occupier or tenant of real property will allow or permit the property to become or remain unsightly."
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 1.6 (Unsightly)](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485)
  - Official wording: "presence of grass or weeds exceeding 20.32 centimetres" … "allowing or permitting graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on or adjacent to a public" … "the use of a tent, canopy, shelter and/or tarp or similar product to store or conceal"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **How to report:** Use the complaint form on the City's Bylaw Compliance & Services page, or call City Hall at 250-546-3023. Give your name, address, phone and email, the address of the complaint and a description; anonymous complaints are not accepted.
  - Source: [Bylaw Compliance and Services, Bylaw Compliance & Services page](https://www.cityofarmstrong.bc.ca/departments/bylaw-enforcement/)
  - Official wording: "Please complete the form below or call City Hall:" … "Phone: 250-546-3023 Please Note: Anonymous complaints are not accepted." … "Address of Complaint Description of concern"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What happens next:** A Bylaw Enforcement Officer may issue an order, served personally or by registered mail, setting a deadline to comply. If it is not met, the City may do the work at the owner's cost; unpaid costs after a 30-day demand can be added to the property tax roll. The City aims first for voluntary compliance.
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 4.8, 4.9, 4.12, 4.13](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485)
  - Official wording: "may issue an order requiring the owner or person responsible for the real property to" … "sufficient if a copy of the order" … "may at all reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, enter the real property and bring about" … "within 30 days of receipt of a demand for payment by the City" … "the City may have the costs added to the real property tax roll"
  - Source: [Bylaw Compliance and Services, Bylaw Compliance & Services page](https://www.cityofarmstrong.bc.ca/departments/bylaw-enforcement/)
  - Official wording: "The City works toward voluntary compliance whenever possible."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Municipal ticket "Unsightly" (s. 4.1): $150, or $100 if paid within 30 days of receiving the ticket. Failure to maintain boulevard (s. 4.4): $150 ($100).
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated, Schedule 6](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/165574)
  - Official wording: "Unsightly 4.1 $150.00 $100.00" … "Failure to maintain 4.4 (a, b, c, $150.00 $100.00"
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated, s. 5(b)](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/165574)
  - Official wording: "Column 4 represents the fine payable if payment is received within 30 days"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** City of Armstrong Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018 (Part 4, Property Maintenance; definition of Unsightly amended by Bylaw No. 1900, 2022).
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 1.2](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485)
  - Official wording: "This Bylaw may be cited as “City of Armstrong Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018”."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Under the City of Armstrong's [Good Neighbour Bylaw](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485), the owner, occupier or tenant must not let a property become or stay "unsightly". Enforcement is complaint-based, and the City aims first for voluntary compliance.

## Steps

1. Use the complaint form on the Bylaw Compliance and Services page, or call 250-546-3023. Give your name, address, phone and email, the address of the property and a description. Anonymous complaints are not accepted.
2. A Bylaw Enforcement Officer may issue an order, served personally or by registered mail, with a deadline to comply.

## Good to know

- Unsightly includes, but is not limited to: stored building material without a building permit and not covered; derelict or unlicensed vehicles unless in a carport or garage out of sight; piles of refuse; dead vegetation; noxious weeds; grass or weeds over 20.32 cm (8 in.) or overgrowth; graffiti; and tents or tarps hiding unsightly items.
- The City may exempt managed natural landscapes. Normal farm practices are exempt.
- Owners must also keep the boulevard beside their property clean, trimmed and free of noxious weeds.
- If an order is not met, the City may do the work at the owner's cost. Costs unpaid after a 30-day demand can be added to the property tax roll.
- For repeat non-compliance on vacant land in the same calendar year, the City may do the work without notice.

## Official forms and pages

- [Good Neighbour Bylaw 1829, 2018, consolidated (PDF)](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485)

## Related questions

- [Armstrong noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/armstrong/noise-rules.md)
- [Armstrong bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/armstrong/bylaw-fines.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Spallumcheen](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/spallumcheen/unsightly-property.md)
- [Enderby](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/enderby/unsightly-property.md)
- [Vernon](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/vernon/unsightly-property.md)
- [Coldstream](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/coldstream/unsightly-property.md)
- [Lumby](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lumby/unsightly-property.md)
- [Lake Country](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-country/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated (PDF), City of Armstrong](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/161485) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated (PDF), City of Armstrong](https://armstrong.civicweb.net/document/165574) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Bylaw Compliance and Services, City of Armstrong](https://www.cityofarmstrong.bc.ca/departments/bylaw-enforcement/) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 5 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Armstrong. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/armstrong/unsightly-property/_