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Salt Spring Island unsightly property rules and how to report

How do I report an unsightly property or illegal land use?

Salt Spring Island, British ColumbiaChecked against official textSources read 2026-11-05

Short answer

On Salt Spring Island, an unincorporated area, the CRD's Unsightly Premises Bylaw 1887 bans rubbish, junk and graffiti on a property, so report it to CRD Bylaw Services. Illegal land use (zoning, extra dwellings, soil dumping) is enforced by Islands Trust, which takes a written Report a Concern form.

Key facts

What countsAn owner or occupier must not let water, filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect around the premises, throw bottles or glass in open places, or let the property become or stay unsightly. Graffiti on or next to a public place is banned. 'Discarded materials' includes unused or stripped vehicles, trailers, boats and machinery.CRD Bylaw 1887, Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991, ss. 1-2 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
Official wording
No Owner or Occupier of Real Property shall allow the real property to become or to remain unsightly;
unused or stripped automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, vessels, machinery, mechanical or metal parts
No person shall place graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on or adjacent to a public place.
How to reportContact CRD Bylaw Services: 250.474.3351 or 1.800.665.7899 in office hours, email bylaw@crd.bc.ca, or submit a complaint online.Bylaw Compliance, Capital Regional District, Submitting a Complaint · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
Official wording
you can call CRD Bylaw Services at 250.474.3351 or 1.800.665.7899 during regular office hours or submit a complaint online.
Email bylaw@crd.bc.ca
What happens nextOwners must remove unsightly accumulations at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner. If they do not, the CRD may enter and clear the property at the owner's expense; unpaid charges on December 31 are added to the property taxes as taxes in arrears.CRD Bylaw 1887, Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991, ss. 3-4 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
Official wording
shall remove from it any unsightly accumulation of filth, discarded materials, rubbish or graffiti
may enter and effect the removal or clearance at the expense of the owner or occupier defaulting
Fine$250 for each unsightly premises offence (ticket): accumulated debris, littering, unsightly property, graffiti, or property not cleaned.CRD Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw 1857 (consolidated March 2025), Sched. 4 (Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
Official wording
Unsightly property 2. (3) $250.00
Accumulated debris 2. (1) $250.00
BylawUnsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991 (CRD Bylaw No. 1887)CRD Bylaw 1887, Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991, title; Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991 | Capital Regional District, CRD bylaw directory · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
Official wording
A BY-LAW TO PROHIBIT UNSIGHTLY PREMISES WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE ELECTORAL AREAS OF LANGFORD, SOOKE, SALT SPRING ISLAND AND THE
This by-law may be cited for all purposes as "Unsightly Premises By-law No. 1, 1991".
To prohibit unsightly premises within the electoral areas of the Capital Regional District.

How it works

Salt Spring Island has no municipal bylaw office. Under the CRD's Unsightly Premises Bylaw 1887, an owner or occupier must not let water, filth, discarded materials or rubbish collect around the premises, throw bottles or glass in open places, or let the property become or stay unsightly. Graffiti on or next to a public place is banned. "Discarded materials" includes unused or stripped vehicles, trailers, boats and machinery.

Steps

  1. For junk, rubbish or graffiti, contact CRD Bylaw Services: 250.474.3351 or 1.800.665.7899 in office hours, email bylaw@crd.bc.ca, or submit a complaint online. The CRD encourages talking first to those responsible.
  2. For illegal land use such as zoning breaches, extra dwellings or soil dumping, send Islands Trust a written Report a Concern form.

Good to know

  • Owners must remove unsightly accumulations at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner. The bylaw sets no notice period or deadline.
  • If they do not, the CRD may enter and clear the property at the owner's expense. Unpaid charges on December 31 are added to the property taxes as taxes in arrears.
  • Bylaw officers may enter land at reasonable times to check compliance.
  • Ticket: $250 for each unsightly premises offence (CRD Bylaw 1857). The CRD does not respond to matters under another agency's authority.

Official forms and pages

The same question in other places

Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality →

Sources

  1. CRD Bylaw 1887, Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991 (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
  2. Bylaw Compliance, Capital Regional District (read 2026-11-05)
  3. Bylaw Compliance and Enforcement, Islands Trust (Salt Spring) (read 2026-11-05)
  4. Report a Concern, Islands Trust (read 2026-11-05)
  5. CRD Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw 1857 (consolidated March 2025) (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
  6. Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 1, 1991 | Capital Regional District (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. How answers are checked.