Landlord-Tenant Dispute in BC: CRT or RTB?

You have a dispute with your landlord — or your tenant — and someone filed a claim. The papers say "Civil Resolution Tribunal." But landlord-tenant disputes are supposed to go to the Residential Tenancy Branch, right? Usually, yes. But not always, and the distinction matters because filing in the wrong forum wastes your deadline, your filing fee, and your time.

The General Rule: RTB for Residential Tenancies

The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes between residential landlords and tenants that fall under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). This covers:

• Security deposit disputes
• Eviction notices and orders of possession
• Rent increases
• Repairs and maintenance obligations
• Damage to the rental unit
• Return of personal property after a tenancy ends

If your dispute falls squarely within the RTA, neither the CRT nor Provincial Court Small Claims can hear it. A CRT claim filed for a pure residential tenancy matter will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction — and if you are the respondent, that dismissal does not help you at all, because the applicant can refile at the RTB and you will have spent time responding in the wrong forum.

When a Landlord-Tenant Dispute Does Go to the CRT

There are specific scenarios where the CRT can hear a dispute between a landlord and tenant:

The dispute is about money, not tenancy. If a former tenant owes money that is not covered by the RTA — for example, a personal loan unrelated to the tenancy — the CRT can hear it as a standard small claims matter (up to $5,000).

Roommate situations not covered by the RTA. The Residential Tenancy Act does not cover every living arrangement. If you share a kitchen or bathroom with your landlord, you may be a "licensee" rather than a "tenant," and the RTB may not have jurisdiction. In that case, a money dispute between you and the person you were renting from could go to the CRT.

Strata disputes. If the dispute is between a strata council and an owner (not a tenant), it goes to the CRT under the strata property stream, even if the underlying issue involves a rental unit.

How to Tell Which Forum You Are In

Check the top of the documents you were served:

• "Civil Resolution Tribunal" and a CRT file number → you are at the CRT.
• "Residential Tenancy Branch" and an RTB dispute resolution number → you are at the RTB.
• "In the Provincial Court of British Columbia (Small Claims Court)" → you are in Provincial Court.

If you received a CRT Dispute Notice but you believe the dispute is actually an RTB matter (it is about a security deposit, rent, or repairs under the RTA), you should still file your CRT Dispute Response within the 14-day deadline. In your response, raise the jurisdictional objection — state that the CRT lacks jurisdiction because the dispute falls under the Residential Tenancy Act. The CRT member can then decide whether the claim belongs at the RTB and dismiss it if so.

Do not ignore the CRT notice and assume the claim will disappear because "it should have been filed at the RTB." If you do not respond, the applicant can still apply for a default decision.

RTB Response Deadlines Are Different

If your dispute is at the RTB rather than the CRT, the response process and deadlines are entirely different. The RTB uses its own forms and its own timeline, and the hearing format (usually a telephone or video conference) is different from the CRT's written-first process.

The key point: confirm your forum before you start preparing your response. The wrong set of forms filed at the wrong office does not protect you.

For CRT disputes, the BC CRT Dispute Response Guide covers the full response process including how to raise a jurisdictional objection if you believe the claim belongs at the RTB.

See more British Columbia guides →