“If you can't make the RTB hearing, you can always appeal.”

CE QUI EST VRAI

RTB decisions are final. Appeals are available only on narrow judicial-review grounds (procedural fairness, jurisdiction). Missing your hearing is usually forfeit.

LE DÉTAIL

Section 77 of the Residential Tenancy Act makes RTB decisions final and binding. The only way to challenge an RTB decision is a judicial review at BC Supreme Court, and that review is strictly limited: the court will not re-hear the facts. Grounds are confined to procedural fairness, jurisdiction, and patent unreasonableness. If a party misses the hearing, an arbitrator can proceed in their absence and issue a binding decision. The only post-hearing option is a review application under section 79, which requires showing the party was unable to attend due to circumstances beyond their control AND would have had a different outcome.