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

# Highlands unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** In Highlands, send a written complaint with your name, address and phone number to the District's Bylaw Officer. The unsightly premises bylaw bars letting rubbish, discarded materials or filth collect, or letting a property become unsightly. The fine is $200.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (District of Highlands, https://www.highlands.ca)  
**Cost:** Bylaw notice $200 ($160 if paid within 14 days); municipal ticket $200.  
**How long:** A written complaint is investigated within five business days. The owner is generally given up to 30 days to fix it.  
**Where:**
- Online: Report an Issue form, https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/bylaw/bylaw-enforcement
- Phone: District Office, 250-474-1773
- By mail: Mail or drop off in person, 1980 Millstream Road, Victoria BC V9B 6H1

## Key facts

- **What counts:** An owner or occupier must not let water, filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect or accumulate around the premises, or allow the property to become or remain unsightly. Nobody may deposit bottles, broken glass or rubbish in an open place or place graffiti. 'Discarded materials' includes unused or stripped vehicles, trailers, boats and machinery.
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), s. 1 and s. 2](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b)
  - Official wording: "No Owner or Occupier of Real Property shall cause or permit water, filth, discarded materials" … "No Owner or Occupier of Real Property shall allow the real property to become or to remain" … "No person shall place graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on or adjacent to a public place." … "unused or stripped"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **How to report:** Send a written complaint to the District's Bylaw Officer with your name, address and phone number: online through the Report an Issue form, by email, fax 250-474-3677, mail to 1980 Millstream Road, Victoria BC V9B 6H1, or in person at the District Office. Urgent health and safety matters may be reported without writing.
  - Source: [Bylaw Enforcement, Report a Problem](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/bylaw/bylaw-enforcement)
  - Official wording: "Complaints must be submitted in writing, with the exception of those that identify urgent contraventions" … "Online through our Report an Issue form" … "including property maintenance, excessive noise, unauthorized land alterations"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **What happens next:** A written complaint is investigated within five business days. If there is a violation, the owner is told to fix it at once or within a set time, generally up to 30 days. Bylaw 1887 s. 4 lets the Regional District clear it at the owner's cost, added to taxes if unpaid December 31.
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), s. 3 and s. 4](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b)
  - Official wording: "Removal is to be done at a reasonable" … "time and in a reasonable manner." … "may enter and effect the removal or clearance at the expense of the owner or" … "shall be added to and form part of the taxes payable on that Real Property as taxes in arrears."
  - Source: [https://www.highlands.ca/sites/31/files/2025-02/Bylaw%20Procedure_201709261316423767.pdf, s. 3 Investigation](https://www.highlands.ca/sites/31/files/2025-02/Bylaw%20Procedure_201709261316423767.pdf)
  - Official wording: "This initial investigation shall occur within five business days of receiving the" … "issue immediately or within a specified time period. Generally this time period will be" … "up to thirty days."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fine:** Accumulated debris, depositing rubbish, unsightly property, graffiti, or failing to remove rubbish or graffiti: bylaw notice $200 ($160 within 14 days; $240 after 28 days); municipal ticket $200.
  - Source: [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 475, 2025, Schedule A, Unsightly Premises Bylaw](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1623)
  - Official wording: "Accumulated Debris 2(1) $200.00 $160.00 $240.00" … "Unsightly Property 2(3) $200.00 $160.00 $240.00"
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 478, 2025, Schedule A, Appendix 3](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1635)
  - Official wording: "Unsightly Property 2(3) $200.00"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw No. 1887). Its title covers other electoral areas, but Highlands' ticket bylaws list it; the District does not post it. Confirm with the District.
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), title and s. 8](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b)
  - Official wording: "BY-LAW NO. 1887" … "This by-law may be cited for all purposes as "Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991"." … "ELECTORAL AREAS OF LANGFORD, SOOKE, SALT SPRING ISLAND AND THE" … "OUTER GULF ISLANDS OF THE CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

The CRD's [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b) (Bylaw 1887) says an owner or occupier must not let water, filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect around the premises, or let the property become or remain unsightly. "Discarded materials" includes unused or stripped vehicles, trailers, boats and machinery. Nobody may deposit bottles, broken glass or rubbish in an open place or place graffiti.

## Steps

1. Send a written complaint to the District's Bylaw Officer with your name, address and phone number. Use the Report an Issue form, email, fax 250-474-3677, mail, or drop it off at the District Office. Urgent health and safety matters may be reported without writing.
2. The District investigates within five business days. If there is a violation, the owner is told to fix it at once or within a set time, generally up to 30 days.

## Good to know

- Fine for accumulated debris, depositing rubbish, unsightly property or graffiti: bylaw notice $200 ($160 within 14 days; $240 after 28 days); municipal ticket $200.
- The bylaw lets the Regional District clear a property at the owner's cost, added to taxes if unpaid on December 31. It sets no notice period.
- The bylaw's own title names other electoral areas and the District does not post it, so confirm with the District that it applies. The District's page also lists property maintenance as a complaint it investigates.

## Official forms and pages

- [Bylaw Enforcement, District of Highlands](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/bylaw/bylaw-enforcement)
- [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887) (PDF)](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b)

## Related questions

- [Highlands bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/bylaw-fines.md)
- [Highlands noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/noise-rules.md)
- [Highlands RV, boat and trailer parking rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/rv-boat-trailer-parking.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Langford](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langford/unsightly-property.md)
- [View Royal](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/unsightly-property.md)
- [Central Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/central-saanich/unsightly-property.md)
- [Colwood](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/colwood/unsightly-property.md)
- [Esquimalt](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/esquimalt/unsightly-property.md)
- [Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/saanich/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Bylaw Enforcement, District of Highlands](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/bylaw/bylaw-enforcement) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887) (PDF)](https://www.crd.ca/media/file/1887-unsightly-premises-bylaw-no-1-1991b) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 475, 2025 (PDF)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1623) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 478, 2025 (PDF)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1635) (read 2026-11-08)
- [https://www.highlands.ca/sites/31/files/2025-02/Bylaw%20Procedure_201709261316423767.pdf](https://www.highlands.ca/sites/31/files/2025-02/Bylaw%20Procedure_201709261316423767.pdf) (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 District of Highlands. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/unsightly-property/_