Strata Property Disputes and Claims

Richard Rogers

The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) has already made it easier for people throughout British Columbia to access an affordable and layperson-friendly disputeresolution process for strata property disputes and small claims of $5000 or less.

As mentioned in the summer 2018 edition of The Scrivener, in April 2019 access to the CRT will be expanded to include parties in certain motor vehicle accident claims.

In anticipation of the higher volumes associated with accident claims, the CRT is implementing a number of technology enhancements over the next few months. They will make participation in the CRT dispute-resolution process easier and allow the CRT to resolve the disputes more quickly.

The most significant improvement will enhance the existing secure online portal that the parties can already use to check the status of their dispute, view their claims, receive messages from the CRT, and negotiate directly with the other party.

In the next few weeks, the CRT will implement new portal features to make the hearing (Tribunal Decision Process) easier. Parties will be able

The CRT is a continuousimprovement organization…

to upload their evidence directly to their CRT dispute and complete and submit online arguments to support their case.

That will be simpler and faster than the current approach that requires that the parties send their evidence and written arguments to the CRT by email.

The most significant improvement will enhance the existing secure, online portal that the parties can already use to check the status of their dispute, view their claims, receive messages from the CRT, and negotiate directly with the other party.

The CRT is a continuousimprovement organization and, after more than 2 years, it was time to refresh the online application for dispute resolution. The redesigned application will be available within the next few months and will be more intuitive to use. It fixes areas in the existing application that people have reported are confusing and difficult to complete.

When they start an application, users will now have the option of creating a user name and password so they can log out and return to complete it at a later time. That user name and password can also be used to access the online portal and track the status of their dispute.

The tribunal is also taking steps to make it much easier and faster to request a default decision (where a respondent is served but does not file a response). The current process requires the applicant to complete a fairly complicated form. It often takes multiple communications between the CRT and the applicant to collect all the necessary information.

When the new feature is implemented, applicants will complete an easy-to-understand online request for default. The system will pre-insert most of the key information. The online request application will also guide the applicant on what evidence to provide to support the request.

In 2019, the CRT will add other online tools that will make it easier to submit commonly requested orders, including substitutional service and cancellation of a default decision. There also will be changes that enhance system-reporting capabilities that will support the transparency of CRT operations. s Richard Rogers is the Executive Director and Registrar of the CRT.