--- title: View Royal unsightly property rules and how to report question: "How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property?" place: View Royal, British Columbia, Canada place_path: ca/bc/view-royal category: Bylaws, noise and complaints owner: municipal owner_body: Town of View Royal sources_read: 2026-11-05 review: machine_checked canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/unsightly-property/" json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/unsightly-property.json" --- # View Royal unsightly property rules and how to report **Question:** How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property? **Short answer:** In the Town of View Royal, report it to Bylaw Enforcement at 250-727-7903 or bylawcompliance@viewroyal.ca. The Property Maintenance Bylaw 512 requires owners to keep yards free of rubbish and derelict vehicles and clear of brush and noxious weeds. The municipal ticket is $100. **Who handles it:** Municipal (Town of View Royal, https://www.viewroyal.ca) **Cost:** Municipal ticket $100 for failing to remove unsightly materials or rubbish, a prohibited accumulation, prohibited graffiti, or failing to comply with a notice; $200 for obstructing the Inspector. Court fine up to $10,000. **Where:** - Phone: Bylaw Enforcement, 250-727-7903 - Email: Bylaw Enforcement, bylawcompliance@viewroyal.ca - In person: Bylaw Complaint Form drop-off box, Town Hall, 45 View Royal Avenue ## Key facts - **What counts:** Yards must be kept free of accumulations of filth, discarded materials, derelict vehicle bodies and parts, litter, trash and rubbish that are unsightly or a health or accident hazard. Owners and occupiers must keep property clear of brush and noxious weeds, must not let it become or remain unsightly, and must not allow water or rubbish to collect around it. Graffiti is banned. - Source: [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006), s. 5.1.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - Official wording: "All yards shall be kept free of all accumulation of filth, discarded materials," … "Owners or occupiers of real property or their agents shall keep their property clear of" … "owners or occupiers of real property are prohibited from allowing their real" … "persons are prohibited from placing graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on or" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 - **How to report:** Contact Bylaw Enforcement: phone 250-727-7903, email bylawcompliance@viewroyal.ca, or fill out a Bylaw Complaint Form and email it or drop it in the box at Town Hall (45 View Royal Ave). The Town requires your name, address and phone number. - Source: [Bylaw Enforcement, Bylaw Inquiry or Complaint](https://www.viewroyal.ca/EN/main/municipal/bylaw-enforcement.html) - Official wording: "Phone: 250-727-7903" … "Email: bylawcompliance@viewroyal.ca" … "a Bylaw Complaint Form can be filled out and emailed to Bylaw Enforcement or dropped off at the Town" … "The Town requires the complainant to provide their name, address and phone number" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 - **What happens next:** The Inspector may give the owner and occupier a written notice stating what must be corrected and a reasonable time to do it. Owners must remove unsightly accumulations or graffiti. If they do not, the Town may enter and remove them at the owner's expense; unpaid costs on December 31 are added to the property taxes. - Source: [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006), s. 2.4, 2.5.5, 5.6](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - Official wording: "The Inspector may give notice in accordance with this part to the Owner and to the" … "Shall state a reasonable time within which the repairs or other actions are to be" … "may enter on the real property" … "and effect the removal at the expense of the person who has failed to" - Source: [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006), s. 5.6.3](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - Official wording: "the costs shall be added to and form part of" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 - **Fine:** Municipal ticket: $100 each for failing to remove unsightly materials or rubbish, for a prohibited collection or accumulation, for prohibited graffiti, and for failing to comply with a notice; $200 for obstructing the Inspector. Court fine up to $10,000. - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 643 (PDF, to May 2026), Schedule 9, Schedule 9, Property Maintenance](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/643%20MTI%20Bylaw%20No.%20643,%202007%20-%20May%202026.pdf) - Official wording: "Failure to remove unsightly materials/rubbish 5(1)(1) $100." … "Prohibited collection/accumulation of matter 5(2) $100." … "Prohibited graffiti 5(5)(1) $100." … "Obstruction of inspector 2(10) $200." - Source: [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006), s. 2.11.2](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - Official wording: "penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)." - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 - **Bylaw:** Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 - Source: [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006), s. 1.1](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - Official wording: "This bylaw may be cited for all purposes as the "Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512," - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 ## How it works [Property Maintenance Bylaw 512]() applies to all real property in the Town of View Royal. Yards must be free of filth, discarded materials (including unused or stripped vehicles, trailers and boats, and machinery), litter, trash and rubbish that are unsightly or a health or accident hazard. Owners and occupiers must keep property clear of brush and noxious weeds, must not let it become or stay unsightly, and must not let water or rubbish collect around it. Graffiti is banned. The copy on the Town's site is a 2006 consolidation. ## Steps 1. Note the address and what is wrong. 2. Call Bylaw Enforcement at 250-727-7903 or email bylawcompliance@viewroyal.ca, or fill out a Bylaw Complaint Form and email it or drop it in the box at Town Hall (45 View Royal Ave). The Town requires your name, address and phone number. 3. The Inspector may give the owner and occupier a written notice stating what must be corrected and a reasonable time to do it. ## Good to know - If the owner does not comply, the Town may enter and remove the material at the owner's expense. Costs unpaid on December 31 are added to the property taxes. - Tickets are $100 each for failing to remove unsightly materials or rubbish, a prohibited accumulation, prohibited graffiti, or not following a notice. Obstructing the Inspector is $200. - The bylaw text we read gives no grass height for a private lot. Ask Bylaw Enforcement if overgrowth is your concern. - The Town's page says enforcement varies by case and some matters are treated as civil. ## Official forms and pages - [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF)](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) - [Bylaw Complaint Form (PDF)](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Municipal~Services/Bylaw-Enforcement/2025%20Bylaw%20Complaint%20Form.pdf) ## Related questions - [View Royal bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/bylaw-fines.md) ## The same question elsewhere - [Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property.md) - [Esquimalt](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/esquimalt/unsightly-property.md) - [Colwood](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/colwood/unsightly-property.md) - [Victoria](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/victoria/unsightly-property.md) - [Langford](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langford/unsightly-property.md) - [Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/saanich/unsightly-property.md) - [Highlands](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/unsightly-property.md) ## Sources - [Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 512, 2003 (PDF, consolidated to November 2006)](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/512%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%202003.pdf) (read 2026-11-05) - [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 643 (PDF, to May 2026), Schedule 9](https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/643%20MTI%20Bylaw%20No.%20643,%202007%20-%20May%202026.pdf) (read 2026-11-05) - [Bylaw Enforcement, Town of View Royal](https://www.viewroyal.ca/EN/main/municipal/bylaw-enforcement.html) (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 Town of View Royal. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/unsightly-property/_