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

# McBride unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** In McBride, report an unsightly property to the Village Office by phone, email or the Report a Concern form. The Maintenance Bylaw lets the Village order the owner to tidy up within 14 days, and do the work at the owner's cost if it is not done.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of McBride, https://mcbride.ca)  
**Cost:** No ticket amount is posted. Court fine up to $2,000 plus costs; each day is a new offence. Costs the Village incurs cleaning up are billed to the owner.  
**How long:** The owner has 14 days from the written notice to tidy up, and 7 days to appeal to Council.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Village Office, 250-569-2229
- Email: Village Office, mcbride@mcbride.ca
- In person: Village Office, 100 Robson Centre, 855 SW Frontage Rd., McBride, BC V0J 2E0 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed statutory holidays)

## Key facts

- **What counts:** Property must not become unsightly: garbage, discarded material, appliances or woody debris; excess grass, bushes, trees or noxious weeds; outdoor construction material (unless a building permit is active or zoned commercial or industrial use); vehicle or equipment storage or repair outside a building or screened area (unless zoned for it); graffiti; unroadworthy vehicles.
  - Source: [Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010, s. 2.8, 3.2](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/)
  - Official wording: "UNSIGHTLY and UNSIGHTLINESS includes but is not limited to:" … "No owner or occupier of real property shall permit or cause that real property to become or remain UNSIGHTLY" … "The accumulation or excess growth of grasses, bushes, trees, NOXIOUS WEEDS, or other plants." … "except where such activity is taking place entirely within a building or screened area designed for such purpose, or on properties zoned for such purposes."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **How to report:** The bylaw does not say. The Village's contact page offers a "Report a Concern" form, the Village Office phone 250-569-2229 and mcbride@mcbride.ca.
  - Source: [Contact Us, Contact page](https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us)
  - Official wording: "Report a Concern" … "Contact Us 250-569-2229 mcbride@mcbride.ca"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **What happens next:** An authorized person (RCMP, bylaw officer, building inspector) may give a written notice to tidy within 14 days. The owner may appeal to Council within 7 days. After 14 days the Village may do the work at the owner's cost; unpaid costs go onto the property taxes as arrears if not paid by Dec. 31.
  - Source: [Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010, s. 13.1, 13.2, 13.4, 13.6](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/)
  - Official wording: "An AUTHORIZED PERSON may issue a written notice to the owner or occupier of the real property to remove, clean, or otherwise tidy the UNSIGHTLINESS within 14 days of the issuance of the written notice." … "may appeal the written notice to the Council within 7 days of the issuance of the written notice." … "If after 14 days following delivery of a notice and the work required to be performed by such notice remains either wholly or partially incomplete, the VILLAGE may"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fine:** Not confirmed. No ticket amount is posted for this bylaw.
- **Bylaw:** Village of McBride Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010.
  - Source: [Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010, s. 1.0](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/)
  - Official wording: "Village of McBride Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

The Village's [Maintenance Bylaw 706](<https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/>) says property must not become unsightly. That covers garbage, discarded material, appliances or woody debris; excess grass, bushes, trees or noxious weeds; outdoor construction material (unless a building permit is active or the land is zoned commercial or industrial); vehicle or equipment storage or repair outside a building or screened area (unless zoned for it); graffiti; and unroadworthy vehicles.

## Steps

1. Report it to the Village. The bylaw does not say how, but the [Village contact page](<https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us>) offers a "Report a Concern" form, the Village Office phone 250-569-2229 and mcbride@mcbride.ca.
2. An authorized person (RCMP, bylaw officer or building inspector) may give the owner a written notice to tidy up within 14 days.
3. The owner may appeal to Council within 7 days.
4. After 14 days the Village may do the work at the owner's cost. Unpaid costs go onto the property taxes as arrears if not paid by December 31.

## Good to know

- The bylaw also bans nuisances, fouling drains and unmaintained fences, and requires snow and ice to be removed from roofs next to a highway.
- No ticket amount is posted. The maximum court fine is $2,000 plus costs of prosecution, and each day is a new offence.

## Official forms and pages

- [Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/)
- [Contact Us, Village of McBride](https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us)

## Related questions

- [McBride RV, boat and trailer parking rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/rv-boat-trailer-parking.md)
- [McBride bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/bylaw-fines.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Valemount](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/valemount/unsightly-property.md)
- [Quesnel](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/quesnel/unsightly-property.md)
- [Williams Lake](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/unsightly-property.md)
- [Prince George](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-george/unsightly-property.md)
- [Clearwater](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/clearwater/unsightly-property.md)
- [100 Mile House](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/100-mile-house/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact Us, Village of McBride](https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Bylaw library, Village of McBride](https://mcbride.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/108/) (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 McBride. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/unsightly-property/_