Step 3: The Hearing

There are 4 steps in the application process: 

• Step 1: Choosing an application
• Step 2: Filing an Application
• Step 3: The Hearing
• Step 4: The Order

This is Step 3: The Hearing.

Scheduling a Hearing

When an application is filed, the Board will schedule a hearing to listen to what the landlord and the tenant have to say, and to consider any evidence they have to present.  A hearing is usually not scheduled for an ex parte application, this is discussed below.

Different types of hearings

For most applications an oral hearing is scheduled.  In an oral hearing the parties appear in person before the Member.  Each party presents any evidence they have and they tell the Member about the situation.

Sometimes the Board will schedule an electronic hearing.  In an electronic hearing the parties often file written evidence before the hearing and then they tell the Member about the situation over the telephone or by video conference.

Sometimes the Board will schedule a written hearing.  In a written hearing the parties provide information about the situation by filing written documents by the deadlines set out in the Notice of Hearing.  The Member uses these documents to make their decision.

The Board decides what type of hearing to schedule.

For more information about what happens at a hearing see the Board’s brochure called Important Information about Your Hearing.  

What does the Member do?

A Member of the Board is in charge of the hearing.  A Member is the person who listens to what the parties have to say and makes the final decision about the application.  The role of the Member is similar to a judge in a court of law.

Who should go to the hearing?

The following people should go to the hearing:

• the applicant (the person or company who filed the application), and
• the respondent (the other person or company named in the application).

The applicant and the respondent are called the parties to the application.  The parties may also bring witnesses who can tell the Member about situation. 

A party does not need to have a representative, but if they do, the representative should also go to the hearing. A representative may be a friend or relative or it may be a paid agent or a lawyer.  A party may use a representative to do such things as attend a hearing to speak on behalf of a party, to question a witness, or make written submissions.

A representative can also submit documents on behalf of a party as evidence.  However, a representative does not give oral evidence unless they have first hand knowledge of the information in question.

If you have a representative, you must give your written permission for that person to be your representative, unless that person is a lawyer.

What happens if a party does not go to the hearing?

If the applicant does not go to the hearing or send a representative, the Member may dismiss the application.

If the respondent does not go to the hearing or send a representative, the Member can decide the application without them.

Mediation

On the day of the hearing, a Board Mediator may be available to help a landlord and tenant resolve the application through mediation.  A Board Mediator is a neutral person who talks with the parties to see if they can come up with a way to resolve the application on their own. 

If a Mediator is available on the day of the hearing, mediation will only be attempted if all of the parties want to try it. 

If the parties mediate and they settle the application, the hearing will be cancelled.  If the parties mediate and they do not settle the application, they will still go before the Member who will make a decision on the application.

The Board has a brochure on Mediation that provides more information on this process.

How an ex-parte application is resolved?

An ex parte application is decided without the respondent being told that an application has been filed against them.  In most cases, a hearing is not scheduled and a Member of the Board makes a decision about the application by looking at the documents filed by the applicant.

The respondent will only know that an application was filed when they get a copy of the Board’s decision, called an order. 

The following applications may be ex parte:

• an application filed by the landlord to end the tenancy because the tenant agreed to move out on a specific date or gave notice to move out on a specific date (L3 application),
  
  
• an application filed by the landlord to end the tenancy because the tenant did not meet the terms of a mediated agreement or order (L4 application).

Rules and Guidelines

The Board has Rules of Practice that provide information related to the application process, and Interpretation Guidelines that explain how the Board might decide specific issues that may arise in an application.  These can be accessed online for free or you can buy a copy from the Board.
 
Go to Step 4: The Order