Resolving Landlord Tenant Issues With the RTDRS
The RTDRS is a service that helps both landlords and tenants resolve tenancy disputes. The full name of the service, The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service gives us an indication of this, but it never truly explains what or who can use the RTDRS.
At it’s essence the RTDRS, simply helps landlords and tenants deal with conflicts that fit under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) in Alberta. This is done is a far less formal setting than the traditional court hearings and uses hearing officers versus judges making it a simpler process.
The hearing officer’s resolution or judgment carries the same legal weight as a normal court judgment and can be enforced in the same legal manner as a court hearing. It could involves payment schedules for outstanding rent, eviction orders for tenants to vacate or orders to pay damages or refund deposits.
The RTDRS Helps Both Landlords & Tenants
Whether it’s a landlord needing to evict a tenant for a breach of the lease agreement or a a tenant needing to get a landlord to comply with legislation set out by the RTA, the RTDRS can help in either situation.
Usually in a much quicker time frame than the standard court system, although this can depend on how backlogged the system may be.
The basic process involves filing an application for a hearing, serving the other party and then attending the hearing. At the hearing, the issues are discussed with the hearing officer acting essentially as a mediator to come to a resolution. The hearing officer is bound by the RTA’s laws and specifications and this is often the basis for the eventual judgment.
It’s been my experience that the RTDRS is a great process for parties involved in a rental dispute to come to a resolution, but it’s also important that anyone attend understand the process and requirements so they aren’t disappointed.
For more information, I have a short video explaining how to use the RTDRS to really speed up the eviction process which you can find here,
How to Use the RTDRS
You’ll also find additional articles on the site walking you through other areas of the eviction process.
Hi Bill, been reading your useful info for a while noe. Have a question: I got a judgement in my favor re: a previous tenant. She now owes me over $4000.00. I also served her the papers and now no response. how do I go about collecting the money from her.Thanks
Hi Maryann,
You have a couple options, but none of them are guarantees. If you know where they work, you can go through the process of garnishing their wages, but when tenants have low paying easily transitioned jobs, they often quit after getting one or two checkes with money taken off as a garnishment. Then you have to track them down and start over which can be difficult.
If they have better jobs, they likely won’t quit and it works well.
If they have great jobs, it’s often better to talk directly to them and explain you will be garnishing their wages and it may be a bit embarrassing for them as the accounting people will know they aren’t paying their debts. If that doesn’t create action then you simply move forward with the garnishing process through the courts.
Finally if they have moved on and you have no idea where they work or live, you can either hire a private eye to try and track them down, or you can wait. Since the judgment show son their credit report for ten years it can affect their credit and even block their ability to buy items on credit until it is dealt with.
I’ve heard from other landlords of receiving payments six or seven years down the road to clear old debts up and I have personally been paid four years later when a tenant was declined for a new car purchase until his judgment was cleared.
hopefully that helps answer your question.
Bill
Thanks Bill,
In re-reading what I wrote the day of the Hearing, I believe that I was not clear about the reason for my extreme anger. The anger stemmed from the fact that the Hearing Officer decided that since we had not given them written notice that we were not going to renew the tenancy, that she felt the tenants had every reasonable expectation that their tenancy would continue. Yes, we have alot to learn but the law states that a fixed-term tenancy ends on a certain date – period. As a courtesy, we gave them verbal notice of our intention not to renew on June 1, but the Hearing Officer decided that since it was not in writing the tenants would be awarded an additional two weeks to remain in the property (provided they give us a month’s rent plus hearing and photocopy costs by Friday July 20 at noon). I guess the point is that regardless of what the law states about not having to give any notice at all for ending the fixed term tenancy, the Hearing Officer can decide that her criteria is different. Did we win – Yes – they are being evicted and a Judgement against them has been filed for future landlords to see, but did we lose – Yes – we lost our faith in a system where someone who is supposed to enforce the law is able to over-rule that law. A formal complaint was issued with RTDRS.
Hi Marilyn,
It sounds like the Hearing Officer made a judgment call versus falling the “letter of the law”. Which can be extremely frustrating, especially when you understand the laws and the other party is trying to get away with something, like paying rent.
This reinforces why it’s so important to document all your dealings with tenants and if you provide verbal notices of anything to the tenants you back it up immediately by sending them written notice about the conversation as well. It seems in today’s society integrity has fallen to the wayside and many people will use deceit to gain an advantage.
I’ve run into it far too many times myself and I seem to get reminded of it by the emails and comments this site gets just about every day. It’s experiences like yours that make us wiser, but unfortunately more cynical as well.
On the plus, as you pointed out, you have the eviction date and a judgment. The eviction date gives you your property back and the judgment may or may not amount to anything, but it will help make their life a bit more difficult for a while.
Thanks for all the updates and comments Marilyn,
Bill
Thanks Bill,
We have a copy of a letter that we gave to them several days before the end of the month (even offering that they could leave their possessions there for a week and get them when they got a new place, provided that they moved out on time)- WRONG! don’t be nice to deadbeats, the old saying that no good deed goes unpunished is so true. We also have a letter from them dated the 30th of June that states “I am sure that you are aware that we are not ‘moved out’ I know that this is late notice but I am hoping that you can allow a little bit of extra time”. The Hearing Officer would not allow us to present this evidence to refute the tenant’s statement that they were not told until the 5th of July that they had to move, or to even verbally mention it because it had not been “submitted as part of the RTDRS package”. So much for trying to ascertain the truth!!! A valuable, but costly education was received this morning. Document everything and present the 100-page document so that nothing is overlooked, no matter how minor it appeared at the time.
Hi Marilyn,
Sometimes the most costly or most painful lessons are the best, just not at the time. As a landlord you need to be firm, especially with deadbeats. It’s unfortunate that there are so many people out there who put all their energy into screwing the system (and it’s not just tenants, I have dozens of horror stories about bad landlords too) rather than try and make it better.
I find it far better to overwhelm (and yes I have approached 100 pages with my filings!) than potentially miss out soemthing vital.
Regards,
Bill
In my opinion there is no justice to be had at RTDRS. We gave the tenants a 6-month lease which ended June 30. Even though we were under no legal obligation to inform them that we would not renew their lease, we informed them of this on June 1. On June 30 they informed us that they had no intention to move. Damages caused directly by them amount to in excess of $4,000 (including 2 “nuisance on land” fines from the City and cleanup costs. Since June 1 they initially cracked the master bedroom window, then completely broke it and bent the frame (outward), my feeling is that they did this because when they called Alberta Health to report that the window did not have and lock and Alberta Health inspected and found that it did, indeed have one, they were going to make sure that it would not pass another inspection! Anyway, to make a long story short – the Hearing Officer decided that even though they were overholding, continued to damage the property and believed the lies the tenants told (for instance the tenants said that they were not given notice until July 5 about non-renewal of lease) and when the landlord remarked that he did not have to give them any notice, the Hearing Officer snapped at him that “she knew the law and did not have to be told what the law said”. So, they now have until the 31st to inflict additional damage, bang around until 4 or 5 in the morning, and generally do whatever they please. Am I impressed with RTDRS – a resounding NO to that!!!
Hi Marilyn,
I can see how disappointing this would be and you are now entirely aware of how deceitful bad tenants can be.
There are a couple lessons, albeit expensive ones, from this. As a landlord you have to document and prove everything especially if you provide notices as “I never received a notice” is one of the easiest excuses to use. Whether it involves taking pictures of posted notices, sending registered mail, bringing witnesses or all three, you have to have all the proof.
If you have all of this and an airtight case, when the tenants start to lie you have proof to counter it and suddenly everything they argue about could be suspect. Without the proof, it becomes a he said/she said situation which leaves it up in the air.
The positive from this is you will have control of your property by or shortly after the 31st and from that point you will go in wiser and more carefully with your next tenants.
Regards,
Bill
P.S. The system isn’t perfect, but it isn’t perfect for either side. The best we can do is understand how it works, learn all the rules and then make sure you find the best possible tenants. Still no guarantee, but it sure makes it easier.