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Resources and other useful links

Sharing is caring and what better way to show you that we care than to provide you with some useful resources to help you with your tenancy issues.

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Below we have assembled a number of free resources for you to review - resources that we regularly use ourselves when helping our clients. If you have any questions about what's linked below, you can always get in touch and we will gladly assist you!

Tenancy basics

If you're curious about tenancy law, the starting point for any tenancy related matters are the resources linked to below. We'll give you a brief explanation how each of these links can help you:

  1. The Residential Tenancy Act (RTA)

    • This RTA governs every aspect of residential landlord/tenant relationships in the Province of British Columbia. It is also the piece of legislation that establishes the Residential Tenancy Branch and allows it to govern and resolve disputes related to the RTA. You'll want to have a read through this first. ​

  2. The Residential Tenancy Regulations​

    • While the RTA establishes the laws surrounding residential tenancies, these regulations are rules that derive their authority from the RTA. 

  3. The Manufactured Home Act (MHA)

    • Similar to the RTA, the MHA governs every aspect of landlord/tenant relationships for manufactured homes in the Province of British Columbia. The MHA also grants the Residential Tenancy Branch the authority to govern and resolve disputes related to the MHA. If you live in a manufactured home, you will want to be familiar with this Act.

  4. The Manufactured Home Regulations​

    • Similar to the RTA's regulations, the MHA's regulations outline the rules that derive their authority from the MHA.

  5. The RTB's Tenancy Policy Guidelines

    • The RTB's policy guidelines expand on the RTA and provide helpful resources that explain the law in plain language. These policy guidelines also provide useful examples for common situations that landlords and tenants encounter, by explaining what an "entitlement to quiet enjoyment" means or what the "rights and responsibilities of co-tenants" are, for example.​

  6. The Residential Tenancy Branch's website (RTB)

    • If you haven't been already, you should check out the RTB's website. It has a ton of resources for landlords and tenants and is the source for the most up-to-date information on tenancy matters in the province.​

  7. The RTB's Forms​

    • We always recommend using the RTB's standard forms, as they are drafted by the RTB and comply with the laws set out in the RTB and the MHA. These forms are updated frequently, so we also recommend that you download the latest forms whenever you need to use them. 

If you're at a stage where curiosity has turned into necessity, we have put together a list of resources that may be able to help you:

  1. Starting / managing a RTB dispute

    • Although the RTB accepts paper applications, the vast majority of disputes are started online using the RTB's Dispute Access Site. Please note that if you're wanting to start a claim, you need to have a Basic BCeID. If you're simply adding evidence, you need to have your "dispute access code" handy.

  2. The Hearing Process

    • This link will take you to the RTB's website which links to three useful guides prepared by the government outlining how to prepare for a hearing, what to expect at a hearing, and what to do after you receive a decision. ​

  3. The RTB's Rules of Procedure​

    • There are rules and procedures that you have to abide by when moving your dispute through the RTB's dispute resolution and arbitration process, and this link directs you to the rules that you will need to follow. Please note that this link will take you to a PDF, not to a website.

  4. Past RTB Decisions

    • The RTB publishes anonymized versions of its past decisions on its website. While these past decisions are not binding on arbitrators in other RTB hearings (or even the court!), searching through past decisions will give you an idea about the facts arbitrators consider when rendering their decisions.​

  5. The Community Legal Assistance Society's (CLAS) Judicial Review Self-Help Guide

    • Judicial reviews tend to be more difficult and time consuming than underlying RTB processes and this is one of the reasons that CLAS has prepared this self-help guide. ​

  6. CanLII

    • The RTB's decisions are only published on the RTB's website (linked above under "Past RTB Decision"), but the RTB does not publish decisions rendered in Supreme Court. That's where CanLII comes in. Although this database lists the majority of written decisions in the province, a search using the terms "Residential Tenancy" and "Judicial Review" (both in quotations) will list some RTB cases that were judicially reviewed as well as the outcome of the review. ​

The more advanced stuff

Free help?

It's no secret that hiring a lawyer can be expensive and we understand that not everybody can afford to do so. That's why we have assembled a number of free resources that may be able to help you with your tenancy dispute:

  1. Renting it Right (for tenants)

    • This website was produced by two publicly funded organizations providing a free online learning platform that teaches BC tenants how to find rental housing, maintain problem-free tenancies, and resolve legal disputes with landlords.

  2. Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) (for tenants)​

    • TRAC's website provides an online guide to better understanding landlord-tenant law in British Columbia 

  3. The Community Legal Assistance Society's (CLAS) Judicial Review Self-Help Guide

    • Judicial reviews tend to be more difficult and time consuming than underlying RTB processes and this is one of the reasons that CLAS has prepared this self-help guide. ​This guide is useful for both landlords and tenants.

  4. Access Pro Bono's Residential Tenancy Program

    • Access Pro Bono provides free legal assistance and representation to low and modest income individuals (both tenants and landlords) who are contending with tenancy law issues before the Residential Tenancy Branch. 

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