When you file or receive a Notice of Hearing, you will get a piece of paper that has information about your upcoming hearing, including dates to file evidence and witnesses, the name and contact information of the Residential Tenancies Officer who will oversee the hearing, and the date of the hearing. The form will have basic information on what to do and how to prepare.

All Residential Tenancies hearings happen over the phone. You can make this call from anywhere, but make sure you are in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Call the phone number on the top of the Notice of Hearing at least 5 minutes before your hearing is scheduled to start.

Most hearings take an hour, but can go longer, so prepare to be on the phone for over an hour.

When you make the call, you will be asked to enter a conference code. This is on the top of the Form J near the phone numbers. After you enter this you’ll wait a few minutes before the Residential Tenancies Officer joins the call. If you cannot connect, make sure to contact the RTO as soon as possible using their email or phone number.

The RTO will take a roll call when the hearing begins to make sure that all parties (including witnesses) are there. If the other party does not come to the hearing, it will still go forward without them. If you have a Residential Tenancies hearing – make sure you attend! Otherwise, you’ll never have a chance to have your side heard.

Sometimes before the hearing starts, the RTO will ask you and the landlord if you want to try to come to a mutual agreement. This is called a mediation, and the RTO will act as the mediator between you and the landlord. There is no requirement to participate in mediation. Deciding not to mediate will not impact the final decision.

You don’t have to accept a landlord’s offer, and they don’t have to accept yours, but if you both agree you’ll both be legally held to those terms. Do not agree to anything you are not fully prepared to live with.

The RTO will put these terms into writing, called a mediation agreement. You and your landlord will both sign and return the agreement by a certain date and get a copy of the agreement with both signatures. If you sign a mediation agreement, there is no hearing.

If mediation fails, the hearing continues right away. If someone breaks the terms of a mediation agreement, the other party should get in touch with the RTO and the hearing will be rescheduled.

Before speaking, both parties swear to tell the truth. Both parties are legally bound to tell the truth, and even if you think another party is lying during the hearing, in order to accuse them there must be clear proof that what they are saying is a lie.

The RTO will decide who speaks first, but both parties will be given a chance to tell their side of the story. It’s important to have your story straight before you go into a hearing. After someone gives a testimonial, the RTO may give the other party a chance to ask questions (or cross examine). The RTO can also ask questions of anyone who testifies.

Make sure if you don’t understand something or something isn’t entirely clear that you ask questions before the hearing is over and get clarity.

The RTO usually sends a written decision two weeks after the hearing, unless they say otherwise. These decisions are called an Order of the Director, and are legally binding and enforceable.

Some RTOs will send you this decision by email, but if you don’t consent to having forms sent by email they will mail it to you. Make sure you know how the decision will be sent to you and that they have your correct address and information.

In this decision, the RTO will summarize the issue and evidence presented, give their analysis of the situation, and write the decision. Decisions can include the date an eviction will be enforced, money awarded to the tenant or landlord, orders to change behaviour or do repairs, or any other number of actions.

Both parties have 10 calendar days from the day the decision was written to appeal to Small Claims. Typically, both parties need to wait until the 10 days are up before enacting the decision.

Make sure you keep any evidence submitted by yourself or the landlord, and written notes of the hearing, in case it gets appealed to Small Claims. This will help you build your argument and anticipate what the other party will say.