Surrey Snow Removal Bylaw: What Commercial Property Owners Must Know | Invictus Snowfighters

If you manage a commercial, industrial, or multi-family property in Surrey, BC, the City's snow removal rules are not a suggestion — they're written into Bylaw No. 13007, and they carry a daily fine for every day a sidewalk stays uncleared. Most property managers know "clear the walkway" is expected. Fewer know the exact deadline, who the obligation actually falls on, or what happens after a neighbor or passerby reports it. That gap is where fines and, worse, slip-and-fall claims tend to start.

This guide walks through what Surrey's snow removal bylaw actually says, how the City enforces it, and what a commercial property should have in place before the first snowfall — not after.

What Surrey's Snow Removal Bylaw Actually Requires

The requirement sits in Section 80 of the City of Surrey's Highway and Traffic Bylaw No. 13007. Section 80(1) states that "every owner or occupier of commercial, industrial or multi-family dwelling premises shall remove all snow and ice from any sidewalk or walkway bordering such premises not later than 1000 hours on the day following the snowfall, on every day except a holiday as defined in the Interpretation Act." Section 80(2) sets the same 10:00 a.m. next-day deadline for single-family and duplex residential properties.

Two details in that wording matter more than they first appear. First, the obligation covers "any sidewalk or walkway bordering" the property — the bylaw's text is about the pedestrian path, not the parking lot or drive aisle. Second, the clock resets every day it snows: the deadline is 10:00 a.m. "on every day except a holiday," which is a recurring obligation for the length of a storm, not a single overnight task.

Why "10:00 A.M. the Day Following the Snowfall" Trips Up Commercial Properties

Residential owners tend to interpret the deadline literally: it snowed, so shovel by 10 the next morning. Commercial and multi-family properties run into a different problem — coverage. A single-family driveway takes one person a few minutes; a commercial frontage, a multi-building complex, or a mixed retail block can mean hundreds of linear feet of sidewalk, cleared before tenants, staff, and customers start arriving for the day. If a property relies on a maintenance crew that also handles landscaping or general upkeep, snow clearing competes with every other item on that crew's list on the one morning it matters most.

The bylaw doesn't grant an exception for property size or portfolio complexity. A five-building commercial park has the same 10:00 a.m. deadline as a single storefront. That's the reason property managers who oversee multiple Surrey addresses generally move to a dedicated snow and ice contractor rather than folding it into a landscaping contract — the response time math simply doesn't work otherwise once a property crosses a certain size.

What Counts as "Commercial, Industrial, or Multi-Family" Under Section 80(1)

The bylaw's Section 80(1) category is broad by design: it applies to commercial premises, industrial premises, and multi-family dwellings as a single group, distinct from the single-family and duplex category in Section 80(2). In practice, that means office buildings, retail centers, warehouses, industrial yards, apartment buildings, and mixed-use developments in Surrey all fall under the same 10:00 a.m. deadline and the same commercial fine schedule — regardless of whether the building is owner-occupied or leased out to tenants.

The bylaw places the duty on "every owner or occupier," which means a landlord and a tenant can both be on the hook depending on the lease's maintenance clause. Commercial leases frequently assign snow and ice removal to the tenant or to a property management company acting on the owner's behalf; the bylaw itself doesn't resolve that question, so it's worth confirming which party is actually named responsible in the lease before assuming compliance is someone else's job.

The Cost of Non-Compliance: Fines and What Follows the Ticket

The City's own guidance on winter snow and ice control confirms the enforcement mechanism is complaint-driven: a resident or business reports an un-shovelled sidewalk (online or by calling 604-591-4370), the property receives a notice, and if it isn't brought into compliance within the response window, a fine follows. Under the bylaw's penalty schedule, a Section 80(1) violation for a business property carries a fine of $55 if paid within the early-payment period, rising to $80 if it isn't — and because the obligation resets daily during an active snow event, an uncleared walkway that stretches across a multi-day storm can generate a separate fine for each morning it's missed.

Building a Compliance Plan Before the Season Starts

A property that waits for the first snowfall to figure out who's clearing the sidewalk by 10:00 a.m. is already behind. The properties that consistently meet Surrey's deadline share a few things in common: a named responsible party in the lease or management agreement, a vendor with enough equipment and crew depth to hit every address on a route before 10:00 a.m. rather than after, and a documented log of when each clearing pass happened — useful for the bylaw and essential if a claim ever questions the timeline.

How Invictus Keeps Surrey Properties Compliant

Invictus services the Surrey market as part of the same I-5 corridor coverage that extends from Vancouver and the Tri-Cities through Seattle and Portland — coverage the company describes as its core differentiator, since no other regional provider services that full span with its own crews and equipment rather than subcontracting it out. For larger or multi-address portfolios, that geography also brings an economy-of-scale advantage: bundling several Surrey properties, or Surrey alongside nearby Burnaby or Coquitlam addresses, onto one contract typically costs less per square foot than managing separate vendors at each site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bylaw No. 13007 cover parking lots, or only sidewalks?
Section 80(1)'s text applies to "any sidewalk or walkway bordering" the property — it doesn't itself create a parking-lot clearing requirement. That said, most commercial leases and general liability insurance policies expect parking areas kept reasonably clear as well, so a compliance plan built only around the sidewalk deadline is usually incomplete.

What exactly does "the day following the snowfall" mean?
The deadline is 10:00 a.m. on the day after it snows, every day the obligation applies, except statutory holidays as defined under BC's Interpretation Act. During a multi-day storm, that 10:00 a.m. deadline applies fresh each morning.

How does the City find out a sidewalk wasn't cleared?
Enforcement is complaint-driven. A resident or business reports the address online or by phone, the City issues a notice, and a fine follows if the property isn't brought into compliance within the response window.

What's the actual fine for a business that misses the deadline?
$55 if paid within the early-payment period, $80 if it isn't, per violation — and because the requirement resets daily during an active snow event, an uncleared walkway across a multi-day storm can mean a separate fine for each missed morning.

Surrey's 10:00 a.m. deadline is easy to state and, for a multi-building or multi-tenant property, genuinely hard to hit without a plan built around it. If your portfolio includes Surrey addresses and you'd rather have that plan in place before the first snowfall than after a notice arrives, request a quote from Invictus Snowfighters and get your properties covered for the season.