Highlands unsightly property rules and how to report
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.
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.Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), s. 1 and s. 2 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingNo 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 |
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| 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.Bylaw Enforcement, Report a Problem · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingComplaints 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 |
| 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.Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), s. 3 and s. 4; https://www.highlands.ca/sites/31/files/2025-02/Bylaw%20Procedure_201709261316423767.pdf, s. 3 Investigation · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingRemoval 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. 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. |
| 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.Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 475, 2025, Schedule A, Unsightly Premises Bylaw; Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 478, 2025, Schedule A, Appendix 3 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingAccumulated Debris 2(1) $200.00 $160.00 $240.00 Unsightly Property 2(3) $200.00 $160.00 $240.00 Unsightly Property 2(3) $200.00 |
| 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.Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887), title and s. 8 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingBY-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 |
How it works
The CRD's Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (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
- 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.
- 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
The same question in other places
Langford · View Royal · Central Saanich · Colwood · Esquimalt · Saanich
Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Bylaw Enforcement, District of Highlands (read 2026-11-08)
- Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw 1887) (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 475, 2025 (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 478, 2025 (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- 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. How answers are checked.