Residential Tenancies Branch

Section 10 

Security Deposit

Sub-Section10.5

Enforcing an Order to Return a Security Deposit

Legislation

s.36(1), 154(2)3, The Residential Tenancies Act
s. 25(2), Residential Tenancies Regulation

Definitions

Order to redirect rent: When the Branch orders a tenant or tenants to pay their rent to the Branch instead of to the landlord; when the tenant receives an Order and pays the Branch, rent is considered paid.

Security Deposit Compensation Fund: an account set up to hold unclaimed security deposits, rent refunds and proceeds from the sale of abandoned property. The Branch can use the money in the fund to return a security deposit to a tenant. Many people refer to this money as a damage deposit.

Policy

To enforce an Order to return a security deposit, the Branch may collect or attempt to collect rent from a tenant currently living in any of the landlord’s rental properties.

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If the Branch re-directs a rent, it will charge the landlord the administration fee set out in the regulations.

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If it seems unlikely that the tenant will get their security deposit within a reasonable period of time, the Branch may withdraw money from the Security Deposit Compensation Fund. The Branch uses the fund as a "last resort" when other efforts don’t work.

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A tenant may choose to enforce the Order to Return a Security Deposit on their own in the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Procedure

Overview   

A tenant contacts the Branch and says the landlord did not comply with an Order to return a security deposit to them. An officer contacts the landlord to try to resolve the problem. If the landlord refuses to comply with the Order, the officer tries to re-direct rent to cover the deposit. If the officer is not able to re-direct rent, they request payment from the Security Deposit Compensation Fund.

Steps ▼   

1.   The officer contacts the landlord to find out why they haven’t complied with       the Order. If the officer can’t reach the landlord by phone, they send a       letter.

2.   If the landlord still doesn’t comply with the Order, the officer does a title       search to confirm that the landlord owns the property.

3.   The officer may check the Branch’s registry to see if the landlord owns       any other rental property.

4.   The officer may go to the properties to get the names of tenants. The       officer may also contact Employment and Income Assistance of Family       Services to see if they have any clients living in the properties.

5.   If the officer gets a tenant’s name, the officer issues an Order to Re-direct       Rent. If the officer receives the rent, they disburse the security deposit to       the tenant. After deducting the administration fee, the officer returns the       balance of the re-directed rent to the landlord.

6.   If the officer doesn’t receive rent or is not able to locate a tenant, the       officer has the tenant complete a request to receive money from the       Security Deposit Compensation Fund.

7.   The officer forwards the request to the Manager, Investigation Services,       for approval.

8.   When the Branch receives the security deposit from the fund, the officer       forwards the cheque to the tenant.

9.   The officer still attempts to recover the security deposit from the landlord.       If necessary, the Branch may register the Order in the Court of Queen’s       Bench and garnish wages or bank accounts or file a lien against property       the landlord owns.

Forms & Form Letters

X-Referencing

For information on how bankruptcy affects an Order to return a security deposit, see Bankruptcy in Section 1.

Policy Developed

September, 1992

Last Revision

March, 2004

Other Resources

None

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