Bylaws related to graffiti

Graffiti includes words, drawings, or stickers applied to public surfaces in any way. It's against our Community Standards Bylaw. Property owners must remove or cover graffiti on their premises. Fines range from $150 for not removing graffiti to $5,000 for applying it. Graffiti:

• Destroys the city's beauty.
• Makes the city less appealing for visitors, businesses, and investors.
• Costs property owners to clean up.
• Can be offensive or hateful, hurting individuals or groups.

• As a citizen, you can help manage graffiti where you live by recording, reporting and removing the graffiti.
• Be aware of the graffiti services and resources available to Calgarians.
• If you become a victim of graffiti, you can take advantage of the Private Graffiti Abatement Program.

Graffiti is enforced under our Community Standards Bylaw section 19.

This is an overview of these regulations. For more detailed information, please refer to the actual bylaw. Original copies of the bylaw are available at the City Clerk's office.

If you know of a graffiti infraction on public property and would like to report it:

• If the graffiti is in progress, call 911.
• If the graffiti is not in progress, please call 311 (from within Calgary) or 403-268-CITY (2489) (from outside Calgary) or use the 311 app or:

To help us respond faster, please be ready with the following information:

• Your name and address
• A primary and alternate phone number
• The address and exact location of the property for which you wish to register a complaint
• A brief and concise description of the complaint

This information will remain confidential. No anonymous complaints will be accepted - you must identify yourself with the 311 service representative.

Please include any related photos when reporting a complaint with the 311 app. This will assist the investigating officer.

Learn more about filing a bylaw complaint and the process.