Page 1: Complete the landlord, tenant and address fields
- Landlords: List every landlord's full legal name or registered business name, and the landlord's address for service, including any authorized service email or fax details. Use RTB-26 if there is not enough room for the parties.
- Tenants: Identify each tenant giving the notice by their full legal name. Include the tenant or authorized agent's printed name, signature and date.
- Forwarding address: Enter a complete postal address with suite/unit number if applicable, street, city, province and postal code. A forwarding address must be somewhere mail can reach you; an email address by itself is insufficient.
- Former rental address: Enter the address of the rental unit where the deposit was paid, not just the new forwarding address. Provide optional telephone, fax and legal service email fields as appropriate.
Page 2: Record actual service
RTB-47's second page provides delivery options including in-person service, registered mail, authorized fax or email, door posting and mailbox delivery. Only use a delivery method legally allowed for the landlord and the document. For email service, the landlord must have agreed to use that email as an address for service, for example through RTB-51 or another applicable written agreement. Keep a copy of the completed notice, any postal receipt or outgoing email with attachment, and a clear record of the actual delivery date. For a tenant's deposit direct request, the RTB normally requires RTB-41 proof of service as a separate supporting document.
Two separate deadlines: one year and 15 days
Under Residential Tenancy Act sections 38 and 39, the tenant ordinarily must provide a written forwarding address within one year after the tenancy ended; otherwise the right to the deposit's return can be extinguished. Once the tenancy has ended and the landlord has legally received the written address, the landlord ordinarily has 15 days after the later of those dates to return the deposit plus any applicable interest, or make the required application to claim against it, subject to statutory exceptions. A landlord's wish to keep a deposit is not itself a legal authorization to retain it.
When can the tenant request a deposit order?
If the landlord neither returns the deposit nor takes an authorized step within the applicable period, the tenant may qualify to claim its return and, in some cases, double the deposit. For the RTB's document-only tenant direct-request process, the Province says to wait 20 days after both the tenancy has ended and the written forwarding address has been given. That allows 15 days for the landlord's action and a further delivery allowance. The application requires RTB-40, the actual forwarding-address notice, RTB-41 service proof, the qualifying tenancy agreement and payment records. Eligibility for direct request is narrower than general entitlement to bring a dispute.
What if you used a letter or move-out report instead?
RTB-47 is a standard way to notify the landlord, but the February 2026 government checklist also accepts a letter, an email containing the complete forwarding mailing address when email service is authorized, or a completed move-out inspection report. Keep proof that the landlord received the written address by an authorized method. If the forwarding address was incomplete or the service proof cannot be established, the RTB warns the tenant may need to re-serve the correct address before filing an eligible direct request.
Common mistakes
Providing only a phone or email, leaving out the unit number or postal code, assuming a verbal move-out conversation counts as written notice, omitting a signature from RTB-47, failing to prove service on the landlord, or applying for a direct request before the 20-day period has elapsed.