The rule that surprises every new property owner
Vancouver's Graffiti By-law No. 7343 rests on a principle that feels backwards the first time you meet it: the property owner — the victim of the vandalism — is the one legally required to clean it up. The bylaw requires owners to keep their property free of graffiti, and it gives the City real teeth to enforce that.
How enforcement actually works
- The complaint — graffiti gets reported (by inspectors, neighbours, or anyone via the City's channels) and the property goes on file
- The notice — the City serves the registered owner a notice requiring removal, with a 10-day deadline
- City removal, your invoice — miss the deadline and the City can arrange removal itself and bill the cost to you. You lose control of the method, the timing and the price
- The other side of the ledger — the bylaw also sets a minimum $500 fine per offence for anyone caught applying graffiti without the owner's consent
The day a notice arrives: your checklist
A 10-day window is comfortable if you act on day one and stressful on day seven. The sequence that protects you:
- Photograph everything first — wide shots and close-ups, dated. This supports insurance, strata records, and proof of compliance
- Keep the notice — note the served date and count your deadline from it, not from when it reached your desk
- Book removal immediately — professional removal inside the window is routine; a rush job on day nine is not. Send us a photo and the notice, and we build the deadline into the schedule
- Keep the completion record — our photo-documented before/after gives you a dated compliance file if the City ever asks
The smarter position: never get the notice
Bylaw notices go to properties where graffiti sits long enough to be reported. Buildings on a patrol & maintenance program are cleaned before anyone files a complaint — which is why our program clients simply don't receive them. If your property is a repeat target, an anti-graffiti coating turns each future incident into a minutes-long wipe instead of a removal job with a clock on it.
Holding a notice right now? Text a photo of it and the graffiti to (778) 200-8343 — we'll quote same-day and get you compliant with days to spare.