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

# Port Alberni unsightly property rules and how to report

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

**Short answer:** Report it to Port Alberni's Bylaw Services by online form or by phone at 250-720-2831. Owners and occupiers must not let property become unsightly or unsanitary, for example through rubbish, overgrown grass or weeds, standing water or a derelict vehicle. A bylaw notice is $200.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Port Alberni, https://www.portalberni.ca)  
**Cost:** Bylaw notice $200 for Property Maintenance Bylaw offences ($150 if paid within 14 days; $250 if paid late). Nuisance Abatement Bylaw: $500 for a nuisance on real property; $175 in a public place.  
**Where:**
- Online: Bylaw Services complaint form, https://www.portalberni.ca/bylaw-services-complaint-form
- Phone: Bylaw Services, 250-720-2831
- In person: Public Safety Building, 3075 3rd Avenue, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 2A4 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
- By mail: City Hall, 4850 Argyle Street, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 1V8

## Key facts

- **What counts:** Owners and occupiers must not let property become unsightly or unsanitary through filth, rubbish, standing water, overgrown grass, weeds or trees, or pests. 'Unsightly' also includes graffiti, untidy building materials where no construction is under way, dead or overgrown vegetation, a derelict structure, or a derelict vehicle unless inside a fully enclosed permanent building.
  - Source: [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, 2008, consolidated to 4705-3, s. 2, s. 3(3)(a)](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf)
  - Official wording: "allow any real property they own or occupy to become or remain unsightly or" … "hazardous or overgrown grass, weeds, or trees" … "the presence of graffiti or visible storage, accumulation, or location of filth, discarded" … "a derelict vehicle on the property, unless it is inside a fully enclosed permanent" … "the untidy storage of building materials on a site where no construction is taking place" … "a derelict vehicle on the property, unless it is inside a fully enclosed permanent building"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **How to report:** Use the online Bylaw Services complaint form (preferred), drop a written complaint at the Public Safety Building (3075 3rd Ave), mail City Hall (4850 Argyle St), or call 250-720-2831. Your name is required; anonymous complaints are not accepted.
  - Source: [Bylaw Services Department, Complaint Process](https://www.portalberni.ca/bylaw-services-department)
  - Official wording: "Complete and submit the online form (preferred)" … "Submit a written complaint to the Public Safety Building @ 3075 3rd Ave" … "Call 250-720-2831" … "Anonymous complaints will not be accepted."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What happens next:** The City first seeks voluntary compliance. Under the Nuisance Abatement Bylaw, if the person fails to comply with a direction from Council, the City may abate the nuisance itself after giving the owner a chance to be heard by Council, and can recover the cost from the person, occupier or owner like a debt or property taxes.
  - Source: [Bylaw Services Department](https://www.portalberni.ca/bylaw-services-department)
  - Official wording: "The City seeks to obtain voluntary compliance on most issues through education and constructive, respectful dialogue."
  - Source: [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, 2008, consolidated to 4705-3, ss. 4-5](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf)
  - Official wording: "failed to comply with a direction from Council to abate the nuisance" … "the owner or occupier must be" … "Section 258 of the Community Charter, in the same manner as property taxes"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Bylaw notice, Property Maintenance Bylaw offences (refuse, derelict vehicle, weeds, unsightly growth and so on): $200 ($150 if paid within 14 days; $250 if paid late). Nuisance Abatement Bylaw: $500 for a nuisance on real property; $175 in a public place.
  - Source: [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 5128, 2025 (consolidated), Schedules A-18, A-16](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/5128%2C%205128-1_Bylaw%20Notice%20Enforcement%20Bylaw%20No.%205128%2C%202025_Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Accumulate refuse $200.00 $150.00 $250.00" … "Unsightly growth $200.00 $150.00 $250.00" … "Cause/permit nuisance on real" … "$500.00 $375.00 $500.00"
  - Source: [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, 2008, consolidated to 4705-3, Schedule B](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Cause/permit nuisance on 3(1) & 3(3) $500.00 real property Cause/permit nuisance in 3(2) & 3(3) $175.00 public"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Property Maintenance Bylaw 2009, Bylaw No. 4712, and City of Port Alberni Nuisance Abatement 2008, Bylaw No. 4705
  - Source: [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 5128, 2025 (consolidated), Schedule A](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/5128%2C%205128-1_Bylaw%20Notice%20Enforcement%20Bylaw%20No.%205128%2C%202025_Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Property Maintenance Bylaw 2009, Bylaw No. 4712"
  - Source: [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, 2008, consolidated to 4705-3, s. 1](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf)
  - Official wording: "City of Port Alberni Nuisance"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

The City's Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 4712 is the main bylaw on untidy property, but its copy on the City's site has no readable text, so this answer cannot quote it. The [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705](<https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf>) says owners and occupiers must not let property become unsightly or unsanitary through filth, rubbish, standing water, overgrown grass, weeds or trees, or pests. "Unsightly" also includes graffiti, untidy building materials where no construction is under way, dead or overgrown vegetation, a derelict structure, or a derelict vehicle unless inside a fully enclosed permanent building.

## Steps

1. Note the address and what you see.
2. Use the online Bylaw Services complaint form (preferred), drop a written complaint at the Public Safety Building, mail City Hall, or call 250-720-2831. Your name is required; anonymous complaints are not accepted.
3. The City first seeks voluntary compliance.

## Good to know

- Under the Nuisance Abatement Bylaw, if the person fails to comply with a direction from Council, the City may abate the nuisance itself after giving the owner a chance to be heard by Council, and can recover the cost from the person, occupier or owner like a debt or property taxes.
- The Property Maintenance Bylaw's own notice and time-to-comply steps could not be read. The bylaw notice schedule lists accumulating refuse, derelict vehicles, construction material, noxious weeds, unsightly growth, standing water, ground openings, insects, rats, graffiti and depositing refuse.
- A bylaw notice for those offences is $200 ($150 if paid within 14 days, $250 if paid late) under the [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 5128](<https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/5128%2C%205128-1_Bylaw%20Notice%20Enforcement%20Bylaw%20No.%205128%2C%202025_Consolidated.pdf>). The Nuisance Abatement Bylaw's ticket schedule is $500 for a nuisance on real property and $175 in a public place.

## Official forms and pages

- [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, consolidated (PDF)](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf)
- [Bylaw Services Department, City of Port Alberni](https://www.portalberni.ca/bylaw-services-department)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md)
- [Qualicum Beach](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/qualicum-beach/unsightly-property.md)
- [Parksville](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/parksville/unsightly-property.md)
- [Cumberland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/cumberland/unsightly-property.md)
- [Comox](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/comox/unsightly-property.md)
- [Courtenay](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/courtenay/unsightly-property.md)
- [Lantzville](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lantzville/unsightly-property.md)

## Sources

- [Bylaw Services Department, City of Port Alberni](https://www.portalberni.ca/bylaw-services-department) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Nuisance Abatement Bylaw No. 4705, 2008, consolidated to 4705-3 (PDF)](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/4705_4969_4705-2_4705-3_Nuisance%20Abatement_Consolidated_ao.pdf) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 5128, 2025 (consolidated) (PDF)](https://www.portalberni.ca/sites/default/files/bylaws/5128%2C%205128-1_Bylaw%20Notice%20Enforcement%20Bylaw%20No.%205128%2C%202025_Consolidated.pdf) (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 Port Alberni. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alberni/unsightly-property/_