A new online application is available in British Columbia, allowing landlords and tenants to resolve tenancy issues more easily.
Launched by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB), the app allows users to apply for disputes directly from their computer or mobile devices, in addition to the traditional paper application.
This will help the branch with the approximately 22,000 applications and over 300,000 phone calls it receives each year.
The system will guide the applicant through the complaint-filing process to ensure the correct information is provided. The RTB says this will “help avoid adjournments and dismissals due to incomplete or incorrect applications.”
The RTB says it has improved the experience in a number of ways, including adding support for all devices, a “user-friendly, intuitive question-and-answer format” and automated e-mail notifications and reminders.
Low-income tenants can also apply for a fee waiver at the time of application and upload proof of income, which is a new feature of the application.
The upgraded app is part of the provincial government’s pledged $6.8 million in new funding for the Residential Tenancy Branch to reduce wait times for tenancy disputes and to establish a new compliance unit to take action against repeated landlord or tenant offenders.
Source: Government of British Columbia
