Prejudgment Interest on CRT Small Claims in BC: How It Works

The $3,200 a contractor owes you was worth more six months ago than it is today. Pre-judgment interest can compensate you for the time between when the debt arose and when the tribunal issues its decision — and you can ask for it on top of the principal amount in your CRT filing.

How Pre-Judgment Interest Works at the CRT

Pre-judgment interest on BC small claims is governed by the Court Order Interest Act (COIA). For most CRT claim types, the application lets you ask for interest, and the tribunal member considers that request if the claim reaches a default or final decision. When awarded, interest is calculated from the date the cause of action arose (the date the money became owing) through to the date of the order, subject to statutory exceptions.

The interest sits outside the CRT's $5,000 monetary limit. If you're owed $5,000 in principal, you can still claim pre-judgment interest on top of that without exceeding the tribunal's jurisdiction.

Statutory vs Contractual Rates

Contractual rate. If your contract specifies an annual interest rate for late payment, the tribunal applies that rate. This is common in commercial invoices and loan agreements. The contractual rate must be stated in the agreement — you can't claim it based on an invoice that wasn't part of the original contract terms.

Statutory rate. When there's no contractual interest clause, the COIA rate set by the BC Supreme Court applies in most cases. The court updates the rate twice a year — on January 1 and July 1 — based on the prime rate. The rate changes over time, so a claim spanning multiple rate periods may involve more than one calculation.

How to Calculate and Claim It

In your CRT Dispute Application, state the principal amount owed and request pre-judgment interest under the COIA. You don't need to calculate the exact figure at filing — the tribunal member will calculate it based on the applicable rate and the time period from when the debt became due through to the decision date.

However, including a rough calculation in your written submissions shows the tribunal member you've done the work:

1. Identify the date the money became owing (the invoice due date, the date the contractor failed to return the deposit, etc.)
2. Look up the COIA prescribed rate for the relevant period
3. Calculate: principal × rate × (days ÷ 365). If the rate changed during the period, calculate each rate period separately and add the results.

If partial payments were made along the way, interest accrues on the declining balance — credit each payment as of the date it was received.

Post-Judgment Interest

After the CRT issues a monetary order, post-judgment interest accrues on the unpaid amount under section 7 of the COIA from the later of the order date or the date payment is due. The post-judgment rate is set separately from the pre-judgment rate and may differ; it is updated on January 1 and July 1. You don't need to apply for this separately.

What the Tribunal Can Also Order

Beyond interest, the CRT may order the unsuccessful party to reimburse the successful party's tribunal fees (the $75 or $125 application fee, the $50 adjudication fee) and verified out-of-pocket expenses — registered mail costs for service, process server fees, corporate registry search fees, and expert report costs. Legal fees (what you paid a lawyer) are generally not recoverable in standard CRT small claims.

The BC CRT Small Claim Filing Guide includes a demand letter calculation sheet that walks through the interest math for your specific claim, plus a complete breakdown of recoverable expenses.

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