If you receive an order of possession either from the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) or from your landlord, you can apply to the RTB for review consideration to have the order of possession set aside. You have 2 days from the date you received the order to apply to the RTB for review consideration.
You can apply for an internal review in any of the following situations:
- You were unable to attend all or part of the RTB hearing due to circumstances that could not be anticipated and were beyond your control;
- You have new and relevant evidence that was unavailable at the time of the RTB hearing and materially affects the decision;
- You submitted material evidence before the original hearing but after the deadline due to circumstances that could not be anticipated and were beyond the party’s control, and that evidence was not before the arbitrator at the original hearing;
- A person who performed administrative tasks for the director made a procedural error that materially affected the result of the original hearing;
- A technical irregularity or error occurred that materially affected the result of the original hearing;
- The original decision or order was obtained by fraud and you have evidence that proves the fraud;
- In the original hearing, the arbitrator did not determine an issue that they were required to determine; or
- in the original hearing, the arbitrator determined an issue that they did not have jurisdiction to determine.
You can learn more about what each of these situations and how terms like ‘fraud’ are interpreted at the Residential Tenancy Branch’s website section on applying for review of a decision. If you think any of the above points might describe your situation, you should go to the RTB office or website, or the nearest Service BC office, and request a review as soon as possible. The RTB should be able to confirm that you have filed for review if your landlord calls to ask.
Legally, a landlord is not entitled to force you out of your rental unit until the RTB has made a decision about your application for review. However, some landlords may not know this or may try to ignore the law.
It is very important to tell your landlord you have filed a review. Give your landlord a copy of the review application stamped by the Residential Tenancy Branch.
You can also use this template letter designed by the TRAC Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre which will inform your landlord that you have filed for review consideration.
Be warned: the review decision from the RTB can come down at any time. If the review decision goes against you, your landlord will be able to take immediate steps to force you out as of the date and time on the order of possession. If that date has passed by the time the review decision comes down, and the RTB does not grant your request for a review, your landlord can take steps to evict you right away.
You can download a copy of the Residential Tenancy Branch’s review consideration form.
You can learn more about applying for review consideration on the Residential Tenancy Branch website.