Can a landlord garnish your wages?

The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) can order a tenant to pay up to $100,000 for damage, unpaid rent and similar claims. An RTDRS order is filed with the Court of King's Bench and enforced like that court's order. An order from the Alberta Court of Justice can also be entered in that court under the Act (s.54(1)). The filed order must be served on the tenant.

Enforcement is under the Civil Enforcement Act. The landlord files a writ of enforcement with the King's Bench clerk and the Personal Property Registry, then uses garnishment (for example of wages or a bank account) or seizure by an enforcement agency. The writ can also be registered at Land Titles. RTDRS orders are valid for 10 years, with some exceptions.

The Residential Tenancy Branch issues monetary orders but does not enforce them. A landlord who is owed money can deduct what the order allows from a deposit still held (s.72(2)). Otherwise the landlord files the order, with proof of service (Form RTB-21) and the original or a certified copy of the order, in Small Claims Court if the amount is within that court's limit, or in the Supreme Court.

The government lists the enforcement tools as a payment hearing, garnishing wages and bank accounts, bailiff seizure, a default hearing, and a certificate of judgment at the Land Title Office. Not complying with an order is also an offence under the Act (s.95(3)). A landlord's claim for damage must generally be made within 2 years after the tenancy ends (s.60(1)).

A director's order is filed in the Court of King's Bench and enforced like a judgment (s.157(1)). The landlord can file once the appeal period has ended with no appeal; there is no time limit to file. The Residential Tenancies Branch itself enforces only orders about deposits and overcharged rent.

The enforcement tools are a Notice of Garnishment (wages or bank accounts), a Writ of Seizure and Sale, and a Certificate of Judgment, which puts a lien on land in Land Titles. A landlord's damage claim goes to the Residential Tenancies Branch, not to small claims court (s.152(1)).

After the appeal period, a landlord can file a certified copy of the Office of Residential Tenancies order in the Court of King's Bench (s.77) and register it in the Judgment Registry. Enforcement is through the Sheriff under The Enforcement of Money Judgments Act: the Sheriff can investigate assets and seize and sell them, including bank accounts and wages, subject to exemptions. A King's Bench judgment lasts 10 years and can be renewed.

A security deposit cannot be seized or garnished (s.31). The Office's monetary claim limit is $30,000. A landlord or tenant who claims compensation must also do what is reasonable to limit the loss (s.8(2)).

The Landlord and Tenant Board does not collect money. A landlord files the Board's order with the Small Claims Court, where it is treated as that court's order; this can be done online through Small Claims Submissions Online. The enforcement tools include garnishment (of wages or a bank account), a writ of seizure and sale of personal property or land, and an examination hearing.

The Board can order up to the greater of $10,000 and the Small Claims Court limit, which has been $50,000 since October 1, 2025. A landlord claims tenant-caused damage on form L2 while the tenant is still in possession, or on form L10 within one year after the tenant moves out (s.89). Claims above $50,000 go to court.

We found no government page that explains filing a residential tenancies officer's order as a court judgment, and we did not find garnishment details, so we do not describe them here. What the law does say: a landlord's claim for money can be paid from the deposit (s.8(12)). A claim above the deposit goes to court, where the judgment is enforced like any other (s.8(12.9)). To hold the deposit while a court claim proceeds, the landlord must start the proceeding within 14 days after the tenancy ends (s.8(12.4)).

A landlord cannot withhold a tenant's belongings, or dispose of them without a residential tenancies officer's direction. If you are served with a notice or order, contact the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office.

If no appeal is made within 10 days, the Director's order can be made an order of the Small Claims Court at no charge, through the Residential Tenancy Officer (s.17B(1)). The Small Claims Court can then issue an Execution Order, a Certificate of Judgment or an Order for Vacant Possession. The sheriff's office charges fees for some services. We did not find government detail on garnishment.

A landlord's damage claim goes on Form J within one year after the lease ends (s.13(1)). A landlord cannot hold or dispose of a tenant's property except under a Director's order (s.5(1)).

A Director's order can be filed in court unless an appeal is under way (s.85(2)), and it is then enforced like a court order (s.85(3)). If the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission confirmed, reversed or varied the order, it is filed in the Supreme Court (s.89(10), (11)). The Supreme Court's rules list writs of execution, garnishment of debts owed to the debtor, writs of sequestration and receivers as enforcement tools; possession is enforced by a writ of possession.

We found no plain-language guidance from the Rental Office on enforcement. A landlord claims damage on Form 2B, during the tenancy or within 6 months after it ends (s.75(1)).

The person who wins an order asks the Residential Tenancies Office to certify it, using a sworn application. A certified order is enforceable like a Supreme Court judgment (s.47(3)). For amounts under $25,000, the landlord files with Small Claims at the Provincial Court (s.47(4)); over $25,000, the Office of the High Sheriff handles it, and possession orders also go to the High Sheriff. The Office does not collect money itself. Enforcement forms include Installment/Garnishment and Seize/Sell.

A landlord's damage claim is an Application for Dispute Resolution made within one year after the tenancy ends (s.42(1)). Separately, a landlord must store a tenant's belongings for at least 30 days from the day they go into storage, and cannot keep them to cover money owed.