Enforcing Orders

Common Question

How do I enforce a Residential Tenancy Branch Order (RTB) in Small Claims Court?

Only monetary orders (not orders of possession) can be enforced in Small Claims Court. You must first complete all the requirements for serving and enforcing a monetary order by the RTB before filing with Small Claims. Once you have completed those steps, file:

The original monetary Order (or a certified copy)
A completed Confirmation of Service of Monetary Order for Enforcement (PDF, 6443KB) - Form RTB-21
Necessary receipts or tracking documents And pay the filing fees.

Once this is done, you may take all the enforcement steps available through Small Claims Court. See Enforcing Orders.

Collecting on Judgment

Once you have a court order, either after trial or through another process, there is usually more you will have to do to get whatever the judge decided you were entitled to. The court does not collect the debt for you.

Key Term

The person who is owed the money is called a creditor. The person who owes is called the debtor

The order needs to be put in writing and then filed with the court registry before you can take any steps to enforce or collect on the order. An order expires after 10 years. For best results, action should be taken right away; however there is no guarantee that the debtor will pay.

The first thing you should try is to send the debtor a copy of the order and ask them to do what it says. Give a reasonable timeline for them to pay you or do whatever else the order says. If this doesn’t work, the court has some processes to assist you.

Court process for collecting against a debtor:

Schedule a Small Claims Court payment hearing
Seek a Small Claims Court garnishment orders
Seizure and sale of goods by the court bailiff
A default hearing (if there was already a payment schedule in effect), or
Registration against land

Learn More

Getting Results from the Government of BC

Getting Your Judgment Paid from Dial-a-Law

Collection Agencies

You can also hire a collection agency to help you collect on the debt. A collection agency is a business that pursues payments on debts owed by individuals or businesses. Most collection agencies collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed. The main advantage of hiring a collection agency is that it becomes their business to get payment from the other party. In addition, amounts that are not paid to a collection agency may become part of the credit history of the owing party. In this way, debtors are motivated to make payment and settle disputes.

Common Question

How do I enforce a Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) order in Small Claims Court?

CRT orders can be filed in BC Provincial Court if the order is for financial compensation or the return of personal property and the principal amount payable or the value of the personal property is less than the Provincial Court’s monetary limit for small claims ($35,000). Once you receive a validated order with the decision from the CRT, you can file the order and pay the filing fee with the Small Claims court: