The city's answer is simple. Yours needs one sentence more.
Municipal bylaws in Vancouver, Winnipeg and most Canadian cities all point the same direction: the registered property owner is responsible for removal — regardless of who did it, and regardless of what any lease says. A bylaw notice goes to the owner. But inside the building, who ultimately absorbs the cost is set by your documents, and sorting that out mid-crisis is how a $300 cleaning becomes a three-week email chain. General information follows — your lease and bylaws are the final word.
Commercial landlord vs. tenant
- Check the lease's exterior-maintenance clause — in many net leases, exterior upkeep (and sometimes vandalism repair specifically) passes to the tenant or flows through common-area costs; in others the landlord holds it
- Speed beats blame — whoever pays, the party who can act fastest should book the removal; cost allocation is a bookkeeping entry, while a lingering tag costs both parties customers
- Write the one-liner now — "Graffiti is removed within 48 hours by [party], cost allocated per section [X]" in the lease or a side letter ends every future debate
Strata buildings
- Common property = strata corporation — exterior walls, fences and parkades are almost always the corporation's to maintain, making graffiti a council line item, not an owner's problem
- Limited common property is the grey zone — patios, storefront frontages in mixed-use buildings: check your bylaws for who maintains what
- Councils benefit most from standing arrangements — one pre-authorized maintenance program with a fixed fee ends the quote-approve-invoice cycle and gives every AGM a clean, documented answer
What about insurance — or making the tagger pay?
Vandalism is often covered on commercial policies, but single-incident removal usually lands below the deductible, so insurance matters mainly for major damage like etched glass — document everything either way. Recovering costs from the vandal is legally possible where they're identified and convicted, but it's rare in practice; treat restitution as a bonus, never a plan.
The real answer to "who pays?" is "less, if you decide in advance." We'll help you set the arrangement — and be the ones who make it a non-event.