Money Talks: The Commencement of Published Monetary Orders at the Residential Tenancy Branch

Content

In British Columbia, most disputes between residential landlords and tenants are governed by the Residential Tenancy Branch under the Residential Tenancy Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 78 (the “RTA”). Historically, the Branch has limited the publication of its decisions to the public, opting to redact the names of individual tenants and landlords from its decision database and only identifying the name of corporate entities (typically landlords or rental property management companies). Similarly, the Branch has not identified the address of a rental property in its publicly available decisions.  As of July 31, 2025, however, the Residential Tenancy Branch has changed its publication practices with respect to monetary claims.

Say What?

As of July 31, 2025, the Residential Tenancy Branch will post copies of its monetary orders in a searchable database available on the Residential Tenancy Branch website. Publication will start at least 15 days after the Branch renders a decision on a monetary claim made after July 31, 2025, and will include the following information for public viewing:

• Landlord names;
• Tenant names;
• The RTB Dispute File Number;
• The Rental Property Address;
• The Amount of the Monetary Order; and
• Who is Responsible for Paying the Monetary Order

The reported goal of the Branch is to improve transparency and accountability in its dispute resolution processes.

The Right to Remain Silent

If a party can demonstrate that publishing details regarding their monetary orders will harm their safety, then they may submit an exemption request to the Residential Tenancy Branch within the 15 day publication timeline using its mandatory form available here: rtb59.pdf.

In its current iteration, the form invites the party requesting the exemption to outline reasons demonstrating why the publication of their name and rental unit address would harm their safety. The Branch specifically cites the following documentation as being relevant to these exemption requests:

• A letter from a victim services worker, social worker, legal advocate, or law enforcement agency;
• A copy of a restraining order or protection order; and
• A sworn Affidavit detailing the safety concerns.

The Residential Tenancy Branch website further elaborates on the conditions in which the Branch may grant a publication exemption:

• The person has experienced or is experiencing family or intimate partner violence;
• The person works in the justice sector (e.g. law enforcement, crown prosecutors, judges);
• The person is under a protective order or has an “active safety plan”; and
• The person has faced threats to their personal safety from a third party.

Upon receipt of an exemption request, the Residential Tenancy Branch will review the request and render a written response. If the Branch determines that concerns for a person’s safety outweigh the public interest in transparency and accountability in its proceedings under the RTA, then the exemption may be granted. A publication exemption does not apply for future monetary orders, only the subject order. Parties wishing to exempt their personal information from future monetary orders must submit a new exemption request to the Branch.

Read All About It

The Residential Tenancy Branch’s monetary order database will likely be up and running in the next two weeks. Until then, it is not known whether the Branch will include other identifying information ordinarily included in a monetary order, such as the name of the presiding arbitrator or adjudicator who issued the order. Given that one of the stated goals at the Branch is to improve transparency and accountability in its processes, one would expect that the Branch delegate making the order will also be identified. Time will tell…..

For further assistance with residential tenancy matters, please contact our practice group leader, Lisa Mackie, or a member of our Residential Tenancy Group.