Armstrong unsightly property rules and how to report
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.
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.Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 4.1; Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 1.6 (Unsightly) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingNo owner, occupier or tenant of real property will allow or permit the property to become or remain unsightly. 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 |
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| 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.Bylaw Compliance and Services, Bylaw Compliance & Services page · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingPlease 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 |
| 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.Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 4.8, 4.9, 4.12, 4.13; Bylaw Compliance and Services, Bylaw Compliance & Services page · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingmay 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 The City works toward voluntary compliance whenever possible. |
| 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).Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated, Schedule 6; Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated, s. 5(b) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingUnsightly 4.1 $150.00 $100.00 Failure to maintain 4.4 (a, b, c, $150.00 $100.00 Column 4 represents the fine payable if payment is received within 30 days |
| Bylaw | City of Armstrong Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018 (Part 4, Property Maintenance; definition of Unsightly amended by Bylaw No. 1900, 2022).Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated, s. 1.2 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingThis Bylaw may be cited as “City of Armstrong Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018”. |
How it works
Under the City of Armstrong's Good Neighbour Bylaw, 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
- 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.
- 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
The same question in other places
Spallumcheen · Enderby · Vernon · Coldstream · Lumby · Lake Country
Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1829, 2018, consolidated (PDF), City of Armstrong (read 2026-11-05)
- Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 1889, 2022, consolidated (PDF), City of Armstrong (read 2026-11-05)
- Bylaw Compliance and Services, City of Armstrong (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. How answers are checked.