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Dispute Resolution

The dispute resolution process at the Residential Tenancy Branch www.rto.gov.bc.ca is designed so that people can represent themselves.  There are several useful guides to assist people in preparing for a hearing:

• Chapter 10 of TRAC Tenant Survival Guide: Dispute Resolution
• UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) Manual
• Residential Tenancy Branch Guide for Landlords and Tenants
• Adminlawbc.ca Video Guides to Administrative Law (Content also available in Chinese, Spanish, and Punjabi)

IMPORTANT! Make sure that you look at the policy guidelines and fact sheets on the Residential Tenancy Branch Website when you are preparing for a hearing!

• Residential Tenancy Branch Guidelines
• Fact Sheets
  

The Residential Tenancy Branch publishes a newsletter called “Window on RTB” that has more information:

• Role of Information Officer (November 2006)
• Dispute Resolution: Decisions (January 2007)
• Dispute Resolution: Conference Call Hearings (October 2007)
• Dispute Resolution: Role of Information Officer (July 2008)
• Dispute Resolution: Decisions Available Online (October 2008)
• Condition Inspections (October 2009)
• Canceling Unneeded Dispute Resolution Hearings (May 2010)

Applications for dispute resolution can be taken to the Residential Tenancy Branch offices, filed online, or taken to any Government Agent Office locations.

Useful links following a dispute resolution decision are:

• Enforcing an order after winning at dispute resolution.
• Applying for an interim stay of an order of possession.
• Judicial Review
• BC Supreme Court

If a Dispute Resolution Officer has issued a decision against you and you want advice on judicial review, see:

• Community Legal Assistance Society
• "Judicial Review: An Overview"

For information about bailiffs see:

• Debt Collection Page of Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority