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

# Courtenay unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** To report an unsightly property or graffiti in the City of Courtenay, call Bylaw Enforcement at 250-334-4441, email bylaw@courtenay.ca or use the service request form. The rules are in the Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804. The City does not respond to anonymous complaints.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Courtenay, https://www.courtenay.ca)  
**Cost:** A bylaw notice for an unsightly property is $100 ($75 if paid within 14 days; $125 if paid late).  
**Where:**
- Phone: Bylaw Enforcement, 250-334-4441 ext. 5 (Seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.)
- Email: Bylaw Enforcement, bylaw@courtenay.ca
- Online: Bylaw complaint form, https://digitalsmartforms.ca/f/l/CourtenayBylawComplaint

## Key facts

- **What counts:** Owners and occupiers must not let property become unsightly through filth, discarded materials, rubbish or graffiti, or let stagnant water or rubbish collect. "Unsightly" includes dirt, gravel, refuse, broken or useless items and vehicles no longer roadworthy. They must also keep property clear of noxious weeds, wild grass and untended growth.
  - Source: [Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804, 2014, s. 3(a), s. 2(a), s. 4](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/prevention-public-nuisances-bylaw-no-2804-2014)
  - Official wording: "No owner or occupier of real property shall allow such property to become or to remain unsightly by the accumulation thereon of any filth, discarded materials, rubbish or graffiti of any kind." … "“Unsightly” includes dirt, gravel, bark mulch or refuse and all discarded, broken" … "keep such property clear of noxious weeds, wild grass and other untended growth;"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **How to report:** Call Bylaw Enforcement at 250-334-4441, email bylaw@courtenay.ca or use the Service Request Form. The City does not respond to anonymous complaints.
  - Source: [Unsightly premises and graffiti](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/unsightly-premises-and-graffiti)
  - Official wording: "To report unsightly premises or graffiti, call Bylaw Enforcement at 250-334-4441, email bylaw@courtenay.ca or use the Service Request Form"
  - Source: [Bylaws, Contact Bylaw Enforcement](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws)
  - Official wording: "We do not respond to anonymous complaints."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What happens next:** Officers serve a notice and the owner must remove the material "forthwith". If not done, the City may enter and clean up at the owner's expense; unpaid costs after December 31 are added to the property taxes as taxes in arrears. Repeat problems can fall under the Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 2987, 2019.
  - Source: [Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804, 2014, s. 3(b), 3(c), s. 21](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/prevention-public-nuisances-bylaw-no-2804-2014)
  - Official wording: "shall forthwith, upon receipt of notice given" … "Where an owner or occupier of real property fails to comply with a requirement for" … "the cost shall be added to and form part of the taxes payable on the property as taxes in arrears."
  - Source: [Problem properties and enforcement, Chronic nuisance properties](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/problem-properties-and-enforcement)
  - Official wording: "Under the Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 2987, 2019, the City can:"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Bylaw notice: unsightly property $100 ($75 if paid within 14 days; $125 if paid late). Failing to remove graffiti $200 ($150 early; $250 late). Failing to clear vegetation $100.
  - Source: [Municipal Enforcement Bylaw No. 3185, Appendix A, Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/3185-municipal-enforcement-bylaw-no-3185pdf)
  - Official wording: "Unsightly property 3(a) $100.00 $75.00 $125.00 Yes" … "Fail to remove graffiti 3(b) $200.00 $150.00 $250.00 Yes" … "Fail to clear vegetation 4(i) $100.00 $75.00 $125.00 Yes"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804, 2014
  - Source: [Municipal Enforcement Bylaw No. 3185, Appendix A, Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/3185-municipal-enforcement-bylaw-no-3185pdf)
  - Official wording: "PREVENTION OF PUBLIC NUISANCES BYLAW NO. 2804, 2014"
  - Source: [Unsightly premises and graffiti](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/unsightly-premises-and-graffiti)
  - Official wording: "Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

The City of Courtenay's [Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/prevention-public-nuisances-bylaw-no-2804-2014) says owners and occupiers must not let property become unsightly through filth, discarded materials, rubbish or graffiti, or let stagnant water or rubbish collect. "Unsightly" includes dirt, gravel, refuse, broken or useless items and vehicles no longer roadworthy. Owners must also keep property clear of noxious weeds, wild grass and untended growth.

## Steps

1. Note the address and what you see.
2. Report it through the bylaw complaint form, by email to bylaw@courtenay.ca or by calling 250-334-4441.
3. Give your name. The City does not respond to anonymous complaints.

## Good to know

- The City focuses on education and voluntary compliance first.
- An officer serves a notice and the owner must remove the material "forthwith". If not done, the City may clean up at the owner's expense, and unpaid costs after December 31 are added to the property taxes as taxes in arrears. The bylaw gives no fixed number of days.
- Bylaw notices: unsightly property $100; failing to remove graffiti $200 ($150 early; $250 late); failing to clear vegetation $100.
- Repeat problems can fall under the Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw No. 2987, 2019.

## Official forms and pages

- [Unsightly premises and graffiti, City of Courtenay](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/unsightly-premises-and-graffiti)
- [Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw 2804 (PDF)](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/prevention-public-nuisances-bylaw-no-2804-2014)

## Related questions

- [Courtenay noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/courtenay/noise-rules.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Comox](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/comox/unsightly-property.md)
- [Cumberland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/cumberland/unsightly-property.md)
- [Powell River](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/powell-river/unsightly-property.md)
- [Campbell River](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/campbell-river/unsightly-property.md)
- [Port Alberni](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alberni/unsightly-property.md)
- [Qualicum Beach](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/qualicum-beach/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Unsightly premises and graffiti, City of Courtenay](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/unsightly-premises-and-graffiti) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Problem properties and enforcement, City of Courtenay](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws/problem-properties-and-enforcement) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Prevention of Public Nuisances Bylaw No. 2804, 2014 (PDF)](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/prevention-public-nuisances-bylaw-no-2804-2014) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Municipal Enforcement Bylaw No. 3185 (PDF)](https://www.courtenay.ca/media/file/3185-municipal-enforcement-bylaw-no-3185pdf) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Bylaws, City of Courtenay](https://www.courtenay.ca/services/bylaws) (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 Courtenay. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/courtenay/unsightly-property/_