When can a landlord send you to collections?

An order from the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service is filed with the Court of King's Bench and enforced like that court's own orders. An Alberta Court of Justice order is entered in the Court of King's Bench. The filed order must be served. The government says collection then goes through the Civil Enforcement Act: a writ of enforcement registered at the Personal Property Registry, garnishment, seizure through an enforcement agency, or registration against land. Unpaid rent can also be taken from the deposit without inspection reports.

Orders are valid for 10 years, with some exceptions. A tenant who disagrees with deductions can apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service or to court.

The Residential Tenancy Branch issues monetary orders but does not enforce them. A landlord can deduct an amount owed from the deposit under section 72(2) of the Residential Tenancy Act, and otherwise needs the tenant's written consent or an order. After the review period, the order is filed in Provincial Court (Small Claims) if it fits within that court's limit, otherwise in Supreme Court. The Branch's information sheet lists the tools: a payment hearing, garnishing wages or bank accounts, a court bailiff seizing property, a default hearing, and a certificate of judgment at the Land Title Office.

If a landlord neither returns the deposit nor applies to the Branch within 15 days, the landlord loses the right to claim against it and must pay double.

A certified order of the Residential Tenancies Branch can be filed in the Court of King's Bench and enforced like a judgment. The Branch guide lists a notice of garnishment, a writ of seizure and sale, and a certificate of judgment, which becomes a lien on land. The Branch guide says there is no time limit on filing the order in court. The Branch itself enforces only orders for return of a deposit or for overcharged rent, so other money orders go through the court.

A landlord can claim unpaid rent against the security deposit. If the landlord ignores an order to return a deposit, the tenant can apply to be paid from the provincial security deposit compensation fund.

An order of the Office of Residential Tenancies is certified and filed in the Court of King's Bench once the appeal period has passed (section 77). The judgment must be registered in the Judgment Registry. Enforcement then goes through the Sheriff under The Enforcement of Money Judgments Act, which can investigate assets and seize and sell them, including bank accounts, wages and land, subject to exemptions. The court does not collect for the landlord, and enforcement costs money. A King's Bench judgment lasts 10 years and can be renewed.

A landlord may claim cleaning, damage and arrears against the deposit, but a lease cannot let the landlord keep the deposit automatically.

The Landlord and Tenant Board does not collect money. An order for payment can be filed with the Small Claims Court, where, for enforcement, it is treated as that court's order, and it can be filed online. The tools include garnishment, a writ of seizure and sale of personal property or land, and an examination hearing.

The rent deposit covers only the last rent period. A landlord cannot deduct damage or cleaning from it and must apply to the Board for undue damage, which can be done while the tenant is still in the unit or within one year after the tenant leaves.

A deposit claim is decided by a residential tenancies officer in the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office and paid from the deposit (section 8(12) of the Residential Tenancies Act). A landlord claim above the deposit goes to court, and the resulting judgment is enforced like any other (section 8(12.9)). We did not find a section that files a tenancy officer's order as a court judgment, so ask the office how a money order is collected.

Failing to comply with certain payment orders from a residential tenancies officer is an offence under section 28(2.1). That is a prosecution, not a way to collect.

If no one appeals within 10 days, either party can have the Director's order made an order of the Small Claims Court (section 17B(1)). Making the order a Small Claims Court order carries no charge. The tools we found are an execution order, a certificate of judgment and an order for vacant possession, and some sheriff fees apply.

A tenant has one year after the lease ends to ask the Director to return a deposit. A deduction for damage cannot include ordinary wear and tear.

Section 85(2) of the Residential Tenancy Act lets an order be filed in the court, and it is then enforced as a court order. If the Commission confirmed, reversed or varied the order, it is filed in the Supreme Court. The court enforcement tools in the Rules of Civil Procedure are a writ of execution, garnishment, a writ of sequestration and the appointment of a receiver. We found no plain-language Rental Office guidance on this, and we did not confirm the filing office, so ask the Rental Office.

If a landlord neither returns the deposit nor applies within 15 days, the landlord cannot claim against it and must pay the tenant double. The landlord has the burden of proof for keeping a deposit.

The Residential Tenancies Office does not collect money. The creditor first asks the Office to certify the order, using a sworn application. A certified order is enforced like a Supreme Court judgment (section 47). Orders within the Small Claims limit are filed with the Provincial Court, and larger ones go to the High Sheriff.

A tenant has one year after the rental agreement ends to apply for return of a deposit, and a tenant who seeks only the deposit pays no filing fee. The Act does not list allowed deductions, so a landlord keeps money only for a claim the tenant agrees to in writing or the director decides.