---
title: Canal Flats unsightly property rules and how to report
question: "How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Canal Flats?"
place: Canal Flats, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/canal-flats
category: Bylaws, noise and complaints
owner: municipal
owner_body: Village of Canal Flats
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/unsightly-property/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/unsightly-property.json"
---

# Canal Flats unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** In Canal Flats, report an unsightly property on the Village's Bylaw Enforcement Form. Bring it to the Village Office, email it to village@canalflats.ca, or mail it to PO Box 159. An officer can issue a compliance order.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of Canal Flats, https://www.canalflats.ca)  
**Cost:** Fine: a ticket amount set in the Municipal Ticket Information bylaw, or $100 to $10,000 plus costs on conviction.  
**Where:**
- In person: Village Office (Columbia Discovery Centre), 8866 Grainger Road, Canal Flats, BC V0B 1B0 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed 12:00 to 1:00))
- Phone: Village Office, 250-349-5462
- Email: Village Office, village@canalflats.ca
- Phone: Community Enhancement Officer (Bylaw and Dog Control), 250-420-7121

## Key facts

- **What counts:** An owner or occupier must not: store a dismantled or broken-down vehicle, boat, trailer or RV, or one in disrepair (mould, flat tires), unless it is in an enclosed building and not visible; keep building materials over 15 days without a building permit unless stored out of sight; let uncontrolled vegetation, cut branches, leaves, dead bushes, unstacked firewood, dirt piles or uncontained compost accumulate; leave graffiti visible from a public place; let grass or weeds exceed 10 inches; or provide harbourage for rodents. Buildings and fences must not fall into disrepair.
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026, Part 2, property standards, ss. 3-4](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
  - Official wording: "Store a motor vehicle, boat, trailer or recreational vehicle" … "Accumulate building materials for more than 15 days without a valid building permit" … "Unstacked firewood" … "Cause or permit grass, weeds or similar ground cover on the property to be over 10 inches in" … "height, or" … "a building or structure on the property does not fall into such a state of disrepair that it"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **How to report:** Pick up or print a Bylaw Enforcement Form from the Village website. Bring it in person to the Village Office at 8866 Grainger Road, email it to village@canalflats.ca, or mail it to PO Box 159, Canal Flats, BC.
  - Source: [Canal Flats adopts Good Neighbour Bylaw, news post, July 22, 2026](https://www.canalflats.ca/canal-flats-adopts-good-neighbour-bylaw/)
  - Official wording: "please pick up or print out a Bylaw Enforcement Form from our website" … "emailed to village@canalflats.ca mailed to PO Box 159, Canal Flats, BC"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **What happens next:** A bylaw enforcement officer may issue a compliance order stating the problem and a compliance date. If the order is not met in time, the Village may do the work and charge the owner or occupier its actual costs, including administration. A request for Council to reconsider an order or cost bill must be made in writing to the Corporate Officer within 10 calendar days.
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026, ss. 35-39, 53](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
  - Official wording: "may issue a compliance order" … "may at all reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, enter the property and bring about such compliance at the cost of the" … "within ten" … "(10) calendar days from receiving the compliance order"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fine:** Good Neighbour Bylaw s. 44: a fine set in the Municipal Ticket Information bylaw, or $100 to $10,000 plus costs on conviction. The posted ticket schedules list unsightly premises only under the repealed Bylaw 179 (municipal ticket $100; bylaw notice $100, $75 within 14 days, $125 after 28 days); none yet for Bylaw 296.
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026, s. 44](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
  - Official wording: "not less than One Hundred Dollars($100) and not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000)" … "Shall be liable to a fine set our in the Village of Canal Flats Municipal Ticket Information, as" … "Village of Canal Flats Unsightly Premise Bylaw No. 179, 2016"
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 231, 2020, Schedule B (Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 179, 2016)](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/47771/)
  - Official wording: "Allowing property to become or remain unsightly 3(a) $100.00"
  - Source: [Bylaw Notice Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication System Bylaw No. 242, 2021, Bylaw 242, Schedule A](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/20426/)
  - Official wording: "Allowing property to become" … "or remain unsightly" … "$100 $75 $125 Yes"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Village of Canal Flats Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026, Citation](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
  - Official wording: "Village of Canal Flats Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026"
  - Source: [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026, s. 58](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
  - Official wording: "Village of Canal Flats Unsightly Premise Bylaw No. 179, 2016"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

The property standards in the [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/) say an owner or occupier must not:

- store a dismantled or broken-down vehicle, boat, trailer or RV, or one in disrepair (mould, flat tires), unless it is in an enclosed building and not visible;
- keep building materials over 15 days without a building permit unless stored out of sight;
- let cut branches, leaves, dead bushes, unstacked firewood, dirt piles or uncontained compost accumulate;
- leave graffiti visible from a public place, let grass or weeds exceed 10 inches, or provide harbourage for rodents.

Buildings and fences must not fall into disrepair.

## Steps

1. Pick up or print a Bylaw Enforcement Form from the Village website.
2. Bring it in person to the Village Office at 8866 Grainger Road, email it to village@canalflats.ca, or mail it to PO Box 159, Canal Flats, BC.
3. A bylaw enforcement officer may issue a compliance order stating the problem and a compliance date.

## Good to know

- If the order is not met in time, the Village may do the work and charge the owner or occupier its actual costs, including administration.
- To ask Council to reconsider an order or cost bill, write to the Corporate Officer within 10 calendar days.
- Fine: a ticket amount set in the Municipal Ticket Information bylaw, or $100 to $10,000 plus costs on conviction. The posted ticket schedules still list unsightly premises only under the repealed Unsightly Premises Bylaw (municipal ticket $100; bylaw notice $100, $75 within 14 days, $125 after 28 days). Confirm with the Village.
- Questions: Village office 250-349-5462 or Community Enhancement Officer 250-420-7121.

## Official forms and pages

- [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026 (PDF)](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/)
- [Canal Flats adopts Good Neighbour Bylaw](https://www.canalflats.ca/canal-flats-adopts-good-neighbour-bylaw/)

## Related questions

- [Canal Flats bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/bylaw-fines.md)
- [Canal Flats noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/noise-rules.md)
- [Canal Flats RV, boat and trailer parking rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/rv-boat-trailer-parking.md)
- [Canal Flats backyard fire and burning rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/backyard-fire.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Invermere](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/invermere/unsightly-property.md)
- [Radium Hot Springs](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/radium-hot-springs/unsightly-property.md)
- [Kimberley](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kimberley/unsightly-property.md)
- [Elkford](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/elkford/unsightly-property.md)
- [Cranbrook](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/cranbrook/unsightly-property.md)
- [Kaslo](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kaslo/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 296, 2026 (PDF), Village of Canal Flats](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/48953/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Canal Flats adopts Good Neighbour Bylaw, Village of Canal Flats](https://www.canalflats.ca/canal-flats-adopts-good-neighbour-bylaw/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Bylaw Notice Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication System Bylaw No. 242, 2021 (PDF), Village of Canal Flats](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/20426/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 231, 2020 (PDF), Village of Canal Flats](https://canalflats.civicweb.net/document/47771/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact Us, Village of Canal Flats](https://www.canalflats.ca/contact-us/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Village Office, Village of Canal Flats](https://www.canalflats.ca/village-services/village-office/) (read 2026-11-08)

_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 Village of Canal Flats. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/canal-flats/unsightly-property/_