Respond to an application for dispute resolution

Find out what to do if you have been served with a dispute resolution package.

On this page

• Understand your role
• Review the other person's evidence
• Gather your own evidence
• Serve your response and evidence to the other person
• Submit your response and evidence to RTB
• Make a cross application 
• I need help

Understand your role

If you've been served with a dispute resolution package, another person has applied to the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) to help resolve a dispute you're involved with.

This formal process is called dispute resolution

Your role is to prove what the other person is claiming is not true.

A landlord or a tenant can apply for dispute resolution.

Determine what's being served

If you are involved in a landlord or tenant dispute, the other person will give you a package called a Notice of Dispute Resolution. Being given the package is called being served.

The Notice of Dispute Resolution package contains all the information you need and includes documents with details about the claim. The package provides more information about the other party's concerns and the evidence they have to support their claim.

Review the package carefully so you can respond accurately to what the other party is claiming.

• For details about package items, review Serve notice for dispute resolution

Generally, you can be served with a package for issues, such as: 

• Recovering money for damages
• Eviction for unpaid rent
  • This is called a Notice to End Tenancy

In most cases, the other person has the burden of proof. That means they have the most responsibility to prove what they are claiming.

• Read the Residential Tenancy Branch - Rules of Procedure (PDF, 341KB) rule 6.6 for more info on the burden and onus of proof

Prepare to attend a hearing or facilitation settlement conference

The Notice of Dispute Resolution package will say whether you need to attend a facilitated settlement conference or a participatory hearing to resolve the dispute.

Determine if you're the respondent or applicant

If you receive a dispute notice, you're the respondent.

Review the other person's evidence

Carefully review the evidence included in the Notice of Dispute Resolution package.

Depending on the situation, the evidence may be correspondence, receipts or witness statements.

You'll need to respond to this evidence and prove that it's not true.

• Review what is evidence

Gather your own evidence

When responding to the package, you must provide evidence supporting your side of the issue.

Both applicants and respondents need to provide copies of all evidence to the other person and the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).

Serve your response and evidence to the other person

Check the deadlines

If you've been served with a dispute package, you need to respond as soon as possible.

The package will have the date of the facilitated settlement conference or participatory hearing.

You need to make sure your evidence is received at least 7 days before the facilitated settlement conference or hearing.

This allows the other person to review your evidence before the conference or hearing.

Prepare and serve evidence explains this process:

• Including when to submit and serve evidence

Submit your response and evidence to the RTB

The RTB staff only considers evidence that's been served correctly.

Even if your evidence is not available when you get the package, it should be submitted as soon as possible so that the facilitated settlement conference or hearing can take place at the scheduled time.

Submission methods

There are 2 options to submit:

Make a cross application 

If you want to make a claim on the same issues raised in the original application, you can file a cross application. 

If a tenant is served with an eviction notice, they could apply to dispute it as the applicant. Then, the landlord has the option to make a cross application as the respondent.

Next: prepare for a participatory hearing

I need help