---
title: Metchosin unsightly property rules and how to report
question: "How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in Metchosin?"
place: Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/metchosin
category: Bylaws, noise and complaints
owner: municipal
owner_body: District of Metchosin
sources_read: 2026-11-06
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/metchosin/unsightly-property/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/metchosin/unsightly-property.json"
---

# Metchosin unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** In Metchosin, report an unsightly property through the Contact Us form on the District's website (choose "Bylaw") or call Municipal Hall at 250-474-3167. The Unsightly Premises Bylaw covers rubbish and unsightly premises. It does not mention overgrown grass. The ticket is $250.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (District of Metchosin, https://www.metchosin.ca)  
**Cost:** Ticket: $250.  
**How long:** The bylaw sets no notice step and no fixed time to comply.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Municipal Hall, 250-474-3167 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Online: Contact Us form (choose "Bylaw"), https://www.metchosin.ca/contact-us

## Key facts

- **What counts:** Owners and occupiers must not let filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect around their premises, and must not let the premises become or stay unsightly from public view. No one may put graffiti on walls or fences, or throw bottles, broken glass or rubbish in open space. Discarded materials include unused or stripped vehicles, trailers and boats not stored in a manner that denotes value.
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises Bylaw 2004, No. 474, ss. 2-3](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/)
  - Official wording: "No owner or occupier of a real property shall cause or permit filth, discarded materials or" … "rubbish to collect or accumulate around their premises" … "unsightly from public view." … "means visible from a highway or by occupants of adjacent property." … "No person shall place graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on or adjacent to a public" … "not stored in a manner that denotes value"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **How to report:** Use the online inquiry form on the District's Contact Us page (choose "Bylaw") or call Municipal Hall at 250-474-3167. Officers enter premises "upon a complaint".
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises Bylaw 2004, No. 474, s. 6](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/)
  - Official wording: "Every bylaw enforcement officer is hereby authorized to enter, upon a complaint any premises in"
  - Source: [Contact Us | District of Metchosin, Contact Us form](https://www.metchosin.ca/contact-us)
  - Official wording: "General InquiryBylawPublic WorksReport a Problem"
  - Source: [Contact Us](https://www.metchosin.ca/contact-us-0)
  - Official wording: "| MUNICIPAL HALL 4450 Happy Valley Road Victoria BC V9C 3Z3 Tel: 250-474-3167 Fax: 250-474-6298 | General Correspondence info@metchosin.ca"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What happens next:** The bylaw requires owners to remove unsightly accumulations at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner. If they do not, the District may enter and remove them at the owner's expense; unpaid charges on December 31 are added to the property taxes.
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises Bylaw 2004, No. 474, ss. 4-5](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/)
  - Official wording: "shall remove from it any unsightly" … "and the charges for doing so, if unpaid on December 31st in any year, shall be added to"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Municipal ticket (Schedule 2): $250 for accumulated rubbish, an unsightly property, graffiti, depositing rubbish or failing to remove rubbish.
  - Source: [Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw 2004, No. 475, Schedule 2](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/912/)
  - Official wording: "1. Accumulated Rubbish 3(1) $250" … "2. Unsightly Property 3(2) $250"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Unsightly Premises Bylaw, 2004, No. 474
  - Source: [Unsightly Premises Bylaw 2004, No. 474, s. 1](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/)
  - Official wording: "Unsightly Premises Bylaw, 2004, No. 474"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

The [Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 474](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/) says owners and occupiers must not let filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect around their premises, and must not let the premises become or stay unsightly from public view. No one may put graffiti on walls or fences, or throw bottles, broken glass or rubbish in open space. Discarded materials include unused or stripped vehicles, trailers and boats not stored in a manner that denotes value. The bylaw does not mention overgrown grass or vegetation.

## Steps

1. Use the online inquiry form on the District's Contact Us page and choose "Bylaw", or call Municipal Hall at 250-474-3167.
2. Officers enter premises upon a complaint.

## Good to know

- Owners must remove unsightly accumulations at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner. If they do not, the District may enter and remove them at the owner's expense. Unpaid charges on December 31 are added to the property taxes.
- The bylaw sets no notice step and no fixed time to comply.
- A municipal ticket is $250.

## Official forms and pages

- [Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 474](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/)

## Related questions

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

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Colwood](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/colwood/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)
- [Sooke](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/sooke/unsightly-property.md)
- [Esquimalt](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/esquimalt/unsightly-property.md)
- [Victoria](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/victoria/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Unsightly Premises Bylaw 2004, No. 474, District of Metchosin](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/278/) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw 2004, No. 475, District of Metchosin](https://metchosin.civicweb.net/document/912/) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Contact Us, District of Metchosin](https://www.metchosin.ca/contact-us-0) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Contact Us | District of Metchosin](https://www.metchosin.ca/contact-us) (read 2026-11-06)

_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 Metchosin. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/metchosin/unsightly-property/_