Submit a Complaint to the CEU

Jurisdiction:

The CEU can only investigate complaints that fall under the Residential Tenancy Act or the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act and their regulations. If you are unsure if your tenancy is covered by B.C. Tenancy Laws please visit: Is My Tenancy Covered Under B.C.'s Tenancy Laws?

The CEU does not mediate or resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, and it is not an alternative to dispute resolution nor can it enforce orders.

How Complaints Work:

Within 30 days of receiving a complaint, CEU sends an email or a letter to inform the complainant if they have accepted or rejected a complaint for CEU investigation.

Not all complaints submitted to the CEU will be investigated. When a complaint is filed with the CEU, an initial assessment based on the criteria set out on this web page to determine if the allegations relate to a matter for which an administrative penalty may be imposed and, if so, whether the allegation is sufficiently serious to merit further investigation.

When a landlord or tenant submits a complaint with the CEU the team will:

Confirm that the complaint relates to a contravention of BC tenancy laws.
Refer the complaint for investigation
- The Investigator may contact the parties involved, examine the history of compliance, consult with other agencies including law enforcement, collect evidence, issue warning letters, or compel the parties to produce any records in relation to the investigation.
If necessary, the investigator can recommend consideration of administrative penalties.
Before an administrative penalty is levied the party will have the opportunity to respond to the case against them.
An administrative penalty may be imposed when other efforts have not resulted in compliance or the circumstances otherwise warrant it. There may be circumstances where an incremental approach is not appropriate, including when there is a need for immediate compliance. In these situations, immediate enforcement action, including issuing an administrative penalty, is warranted.

To ensure protection of privacy in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA), the CEU is not able to provide the complainant any details about the findings or actions of an investigation.

Will I be told the outcome of complaint I have reported?
No, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act prevents the ministry from sharing any information about the progress or outcome of an investigation. The confidentiality of the person involved is protected. Cases that proceed to court may become part of public court records.

The CEU may decide not to accept a complaint. The unit will only assess complaints for the following reasons.

repeated or serious non-compliance with tenancy laws,
failure to comply with orders of the Residential Tenancy Branch,
failure to comply with a demand issued by the director for production of records, or
false or misleading information submitted in a dispute resolution proceeding or an investigation

The first step will most often be educating and informing the parties of their responsibilities

Complaints may be submitted for consideration of an investigation usually when all attempts to resolve the matter have been made through the Residential Tenancy Branch dispute resolution service and have not resulted in compliance.

If you are unsure if your issues meet the criteria for a CEU investigation contact the RTB .