Step 1: Serve the order and a demand for payment
After the RTB issues a monetary order, serve a copy on each person named in the order using a legally permitted method. BC's enforcement guidance says to include a demand letter showing who owes the money, the acceptable method and place of payment, a reasonable payment deadline, and your intention to file in Small Claims Court if unpaid. Keep a copy of the letter, the order and documentary evidence of delivery.
Step 2: Check whether the order can be enforced
BC's monetary-order information sheet instructs applicants to wait until the 15-day review period ends, and then contact the RTB to check whether the order is subject to a review or suspension. The RTB-21 itself includes a declaration that the person serving the documents checked with the RTB that the order had not been suspended. Do not sign that declaration without making the check. If a review or suspension affects enforcement, follow the RTB's instructions before taking the order to court.
Step 3: Complete both pages of RTB-21
- Enter the original RTB file number, the name of the person seeking payment, current service address, and the rental property address recorded in the dispute.
- Identify the person served exactly as named in the decision or order and record the date, time, place and method of service. Check the appropriate boxes for the decision and monetary order served.
- Complete special details explaining where the documents were left, who received them, or the precise designated email address used.
- Attach appropriate proof of service: a signed hand-delivery receipt, registered-mail purchase receipt plus tracking report, a sent email together with evidence that email was authorized for service, witness statement, fax report, or a substituted-service order as applicable.
- Sign and date the confirmation and complete the section identifying the person who served the documents. Include the required declaration about checking that the order is not suspended.
Step 4: Register for Small Claims enforcement
If the deadline in the demand letter passes without payment and the order is enforceable, take the original RTB monetary order or certified copy, completed RTB-21, and relevant service receipts or tracking records to Provincial Court Small Claims for filing. Court fees and separate enforcement forms may apply. Registration makes the order enforceable through court procedures; it does not automatically collect the money. Depending on the circumstances, available processes may include a payment hearing, garnishment or execution against assets.
Why this form cannot be used for possession
RTB-21 explicitly says it may not be used for an Order of Possession. Possession orders follow a different Supreme Court enforcement route and require that court's forms. Do not use Small Claims enforcement paperwork to attempt to remove a tenant yourself.
Common mistakes
Using RTB-21 without proof of service, naming someone differently from the monetary order, assuming that mailing and legally deemed receipt occur on the same day, skipping the RTB suspension check, filing before the review period ends, or assuming the form alone is a court judgment.