--- title: Belcarra unsightly property rules and how to report question: "How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Belcarra?" place: Belcarra, British Columbia, Canada place_path: ca/bc/belcarra category: Bylaws, noise and complaints owner: municipal owner_body: Village of Belcarra sources_read: 2026-11-08 review: machine_checked canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/unsightly-property/" json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/unsightly-property.json" --- # Belcarra unsightly property rules and how to report **Question:** How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Belcarra? **Short answer:** In Belcarra, fill in the Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form and send it to the Village Office, or use the Report a Concern form on belcarra.ca. Under the Good Neighbour Bylaw an owner can be ordered to fix an unsightly parcel within 14 days. **Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of Belcarra, https://belcarra.ca) **Cost:** No bylaw notice or ticket amount is stated for this offence. On conviction, up to $10,000, six months in jail, or both. **How long:** The owner has 14 days to comply with an Order to Comply (3 days for a nuisance). **Where:** - In person: Municipal Hall, 4084 Bedwell Bay Road, Belcarra, BC V3H 4P8 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed statutory holidays).) - Phone: Village Office, 604-937-4100 - Email: Village Office, belcarra@belcarra.ca ## Key facts - **What counts:** An owner must not let a parcel become or remain unsightly, nor allow a nuisance. Examples: rubbish or discarded materials not in a closed building, graffiti (remove within 15 days), building materials over 15 days without a permit, unlicensed or non-running vehicles, grass over 30 cm, noxious weeds, stagnant water, an unsightly or unsafe fence. - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 (PDF, consolidated), ss. 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.2.2](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2021/05/Bylaw-361-2004-Good-Neighbour-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) - Official wording: "No Owner may allow a parcel owned by the Owner to become or remain unsightly." … "of filth, discarded materials, unwholesome matter, or rubbish of any kind" … "owners of a parcel shall remove graffiti within 15 days of discovery or when served with an order to comply" … "the accumulation of building materials on the parcel for more than 15 days" … "of grass in excess of 30 centimetres in length" … "a fence to become unsightly, unstable or unsafe" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **How to report:** Fill in the Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form and send it to the Village Office, 4084 Bedwell Bay Road, by email to belcarra@belcarra.ca or fax to 604-939-5034. Or use the Report a Concern form on belcarra.ca. Phone 604-937-4100. The Village relies on complaints. - Source: [Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form, Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form and procedures](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2024/08/Bylaw-Enforcement-Complaint-Form-2024-fillable.pdf) - Official wording: "FAX: 604-939-5034 OR EMAIL: belcarra@belcarra.ca" … "it is the general practice of the Village of Belcarra to rely on citizen complaints as a means of alerting bylaw enforcement of violations of its bylaws" - Source: [Report a Concern, Report a Concern page](https://belcarra.ca/report-a-concern/) - Official wording: "The personal information collected on this form is collected for the purpose of processing a concern and for administration and enforcement purposes." … "Phone 604-937-4100 or email" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **What happens next:** An officer may serve an Order to Comply: fix it within 14 days (3 days if a nuisance). The owner may appeal to Council in writing at least 72 hours before the deadline. If it is not done, the Village may do the work at the owner's expense; costs unpaid after December 31 are added to property taxes. - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 (PDF, consolidated), Parts 7.1-7.3](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2021/05/Bylaw-361-2004-Good-Neighbour-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) - Official wording: "the Bylaw Enforcement Officer may, serve on such person an Order to Comply which requires the person to remove the contravention" … "three days if the Bylaw Enforcement Officer believes the contravention is a nuisance under this bylaw" … "at least 72 hours prior to the expiry of the time given in the Order to Comply" … "the Municipality by its employees and others may enter the parcel and perform the obligations at the expense of the person defaulting" … "the cost shall be added to and form part of the taxes payable on the parcel as taxes in arrears" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Fine:** Not confirmed. The Village's current ticket schedules do not state a ticket amount for this bylaw. - **Bylaw:** Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 (PDF, consolidated), Part 1](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2021/05/Bylaw-361-2004-Good-Neighbour-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) - Official wording: "This Bylaw may be cited as Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004." - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 ## How it works The [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004]() says an owner must not let a parcel become or remain unsightly, and must not allow a nuisance. Examples include rubbish or discarded materials not in a closed building, graffiti (remove within 15 days), building materials left over 15 days without a permit, unlicensed or non-running vehicles, grass over 30 cm, noxious weeds, stagnant water, and an unsightly or unsafe fence. ## Steps 1. Fill in the [Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form](). 2. Send it to the Village Office at 4084 Bedwell Bay Road, by email to belcarra@belcarra.ca, or by fax to 604-939-5034. You can instead use the [Report a Concern]() form on belcarra.ca, or phone 604-937-4100. 3. An officer may serve the owner an Order to Comply: fix it within 14 days (3 days if it is a nuisance). ## Good to know - The owner may appeal to Council in writing at least 72 hours before the deadline. - If the work is not done, the Village may do it at the owner's expense. Costs unpaid after December 31 are added to property taxes. - The Village relies on complaints from residents. - No bylaw notice or ticket amount is stated for this bylaw in the Village's current ticket schedules. On conviction in court the bylaw sets a fine of up to $10,000 or six months in jail, or both. ## Official forms and pages - [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2021/05/Bylaw-361-2004-Good-Neighbour-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) - [Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form (PDF), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2024/08/Bylaw-Enforcement-Complaint-Form-2024-fillable.pdf) - [Report a Concern, Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/report-a-concern/) ## Related questions - [Belcarra noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/noise-rules.md) - [Belcarra bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/bylaw-fines.md) - [Belcarra backyard fire and burning rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/backyard-fire.md) ## The same question elsewhere - [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md) - [Port Moody](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-moody/unsightly-property.md) - [Anmore](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/anmore/unsightly-property.md) - [Coquitlam](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/coquitlam/unsightly-property.md) - [New Westminster](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-westminster/unsightly-property.md) - [Burnaby](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/burnaby/unsightly-property.md) - [Port Coquitlam](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-coquitlam/unsightly-property.md) ## Sources - [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 361, 2004 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2021/05/Bylaw-361-2004-Good-Neighbour-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Bylaw Enforcement Complaint Form (PDF), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2024/08/Bylaw-Enforcement-Complaint-Form-2024-fillable.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Report a Concern, Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/report-a-concern/) (read 2026-11-08) - [Contact Us, Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/contact-us/) (read 2026-11-08) - [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 520, 2018 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2024/09/Bylaw-520-2018-Bylaw-Notice-Enforcement-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 256, 1997 (PDF), Village of Belcarra](https://belcarra.ca/assets/media/2019/05/vob-bylaw-256_municipal_ticketing.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) _Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 4 of 5 facts was matched to the official text; 1 could not be confirmed. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Village of Belcarra. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/belcarra/unsightly-property/_