B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) announced it will begin recording all dispute-resolution hearings effective immediately in an effort to promote fairness and transparency.
“This change will help bring more fairness, transparency and justice for everyone involved in a tenancy dispute,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, chair of the Rental Housing Task Force and MLA for Vancouver-West End. “The recording of dispute-resolution hearings fulfils an important recommendation of the Rental Housing Task Force. Renters and rental housing providers all agreed this change was important to improve accountability and confidence that justice has been served.”
The Residenital Tenancy Branch says that having an audio record of what happened during a dispute-resolution hearing will give all parties more confidence in the process and promote good conduct. The change was also called for by tenant advocates and the Office of the Ombudsperson, who collectively felt that not having these recordings made it difficult for parties to challenge a decision they believed was unfair.
Moving forward, all participants involved in any dispute resolution via the RTB may seek a copy of their hearing’s recording free of charge.
“The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre has always hoped that this Rental Housing Task Force recommendation would be implemented,” said Andrew Sakamoto, executive director, Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre. “All dispute-resolution participants deserve a right to procedural fairness, and recording hearings will go a long way toward improving transparency, accountability and consistency at the Residential Tenancy Branch.”
The RTB’s dispute-resolution process is designed to provide an open, consistent, efficient and just opportunity for all parties to tell their story and present evidence to an independent decision-maker. Dispute-resolution hearings are conducted over the phone to ensure equitable access throughout the province.
Learn more by visiting: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies
