Property Maintenance Complaints

Saskatoon's Property Maintenance & Nuisance Abatement Bylaw 8175 requires property owners in the City of Saskatoon to maintain houses, buildings, and yards to an acceptable standard. Property owners are responsible for ensuring yards are kept free and clean from garbage and debris, junked vehicles, and excessive growth of weeds and grass.

The Bylaw applies to all residential, commercial or industrial properties in the City of Saskatoon.

Report a Bylaw Infraction

Enforcement Authority

  • all members of Saskatoon Fire Department may, at any reasonable time, enter any building, structure, or property for the purpose of enforcing this Bylaw
  • private homes MAY NOT be entered without the consent of the occupant
  • if you have safety concerns about your house, contact your area inspector at 306-975-2578
  • members may take anything with them that they need to assist in the performance of the inspection

Closing of Buildings

  • department officers may TEMPORARILY close a building for the purpose of conducting an inspection
  • only the Fire Chief can close a building if he is of the opinion that there is an imminent threat to public health or safety
  • if you feel that a building is a threat to public health or safety, contact your area inspector, or Fire Marshal during business hours or call the Safety and Property Maintenance Hotline at 306-975-2828 (Emergencies should be reported to 9-1-1)

Vacant Buildings

If a building is vacant, abandoned or unoccupied and poses a hazard to public health or safety it must be secured against unauthorized entry:

  • if you can, contact the owner and have the owner secure the building so that it can not be easily entered. This would mean that all doors and windows that are accessible be boarded up with ½ inch OSB or plywood and secured with 2 inch wood screws.
  • if you cannot contact the owner or the owner fails to secure the building to your satisfaction, call the area Inspector and turn the building over to Saskatoon Fire Department for appropriate action. After regular business hours or on weekends, contact the Safety and Property Maintenance Hotline.

Junked Vehicles

A junked vehicle:

  • has no current valid license plates attached to it or;
  • is in a rusted, wrecked, dismantled, partly dismantled, inoperative or abandoned condition and is not within a structure (garage) and;
  • is located on private property and does not form part of a lawful business (body shop)

If you discover a junked vehicle or a restoration project on private property you can:

  • request the owner remove the vehicle and/or
  • report your concerns to the Safety and Property Maintenance Hotline at 306-975-2828

Untidy Unsightly Property

The bylaw states that property must be kept free and clean from:

  • garbage and junk
  • junked vehicles and dismantled machinery
  • excessive growth of weeds and grass
  • holes and excavations that could cause an accident
  • infestation of rodents, vermin and insects
  • areas that may allow water to pond