Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service
2 reviews 615 Macleod Trail SE #180, Calgary, AB +1 780-644-3000 www.rtdrs.alberta.ca suggest an edit
27 January 2024 17:42
For those who don't know, RTDRS is a quasi-judicial tribunal meant to relieve the courts of less important cases like landlord-tenant disputes. For black-and-white situations where one party is clearly at fault, this option is great, but if there is even the slightest possibility for interpretation, you should just go through the courts instead.
The reason I say this is that the RTDRS dispute officer qualifications are minimal and they're knowledge could be limited when it comes to making an educated decision like you'd expect from the courts. In my case, the dispute officer made an abrupt decision while ignoring basic science and the obligations of tenants within the RTA. I believe he was trying to satisfy both parties with a compromise that he felt was fair for everyone by suggesting insurance should cover the damages to my rental property, but ultimately I was punished as the landlord since my policy had an exclusionary clause for these particular damages caused by my tenants.
RTDRS has an appeal process, but it's only a 30-day window and you need to be able to prove that a major error in judgement was made. RTDRS actually brags about how none of their decisions have been overturned in their annual report. That is alarming to say the least. As a result, I ended up pursuing my insurance company for over a year to reimburse me for my damages, and I only received a partial settlement out of court after I sued them. My insurance company shouldn't have had to pay a dime for my tenants' negligence. Ironically, my tenants' insurance would have covered all of the damages, but not after the RTDRS decision absolved them of any wrong-doing, since the RTDRS order is filed with the King's Bench the same way a court decision is.
Initially, I thought RTDRS was a great idea to speed up the process to allow me to quickly move on from a bad tenant experience, but in the end I regret going through RTDRS instead of the courts.
The reason I say this is that the RTDRS dispute officer qualifications are minimal and they're knowledge could be limited when it comes to making an educated decision like you'd expect from the courts. In my case, the dispute officer made an abrupt decision while ignoring basic science and the obligations of tenants within the RTA. I believe he was trying to satisfy both parties with a compromise that he felt was fair for everyone by suggesting insurance should cover the damages to my rental property, but ultimately I was punished as the landlord since my policy had an exclusionary clause for these particular damages caused by my tenants.
RTDRS has an appeal process, but it's only a 30-day window and you need to be able to prove that a major error in judgement was made. RTDRS actually brags about how none of their decisions have been overturned in their annual report. That is alarming to say the least. As a result, I ended up pursuing my insurance company for over a year to reimburse me for my damages, and I only received a partial settlement out of court after I sued them. My insurance company shouldn't have had to pay a dime for my tenants' negligence. Ironically, my tenants' insurance would have covered all of the damages, but not after the RTDRS decision absolved them of any wrong-doing, since the RTDRS order is filed with the King's Bench the same way a court decision is.
Initially, I thought RTDRS was a great idea to speed up the process to allow me to quickly move on from a bad tenant experience, but in the end I regret going through RTDRS instead of the courts.
05 December 2023 9:51
Terrible judgment. They don't help landlords get back the repairs of broken window that tenant broke.or damages that cost the landlord even when you give then the actual cost that you paid. It is a waste of renting your precious property.