Landlord Ending a Tenancy: Order of Possession and Writ of Possession

Last revised September 02, 2022

In order to legally remove a tenant, a landlord must obtain:

• Residential Tenancy Branch Order of Possession
• Supreme Court Writ of Possession
• Services of a Court Approved Bailiff

A landlord, relying on one of the reasons specified in Part 4 of the Residential Tenancy Act, may serve a tenant with a Notice to End Tenancy. The tenant has the right to dispute the Notice to End Tenancy with the Residential Tenancy Board.

If the tenant has not applied to the Residential Tenancy Board for dispute resolution by the required time limit, or the tenant applies for dispute resolution and loses the hearing, the landlord can then apply to the Residential Tenancy Board for an Order of Possession. The time limit for response varies depending on the reason for ending the tenancy and the length of time of the ending tenancy notice.

The Order of Possession is a document issued by the Residential Tenancy Branch at the request of the landlord and it will state a date by which the tenant must vacate the property. The Order of Possession does not allow a landlord to physically remove any objects, change the locks, or forcibly remove a tenant from the property. Once an Order of Possession is served, there is a two day review period during which the tenant can apply for review consideration with the Residential Tenancy Board.

If the two day review period has passed without an application for review consideration,  the landlord may enforce the Order of Possession by applying to the Supreme Court for a Writ of Possession.

A Writ of Possession filed in the Supreme Court allows a landlord to hire an authorized court bailiff to enforce the eviction and forcibly remove the tenant from the property.

To file for a Writ of Possession, certain forms prescribed by the Supreme Court Civil Rules must be submitted to the Supreme Court Registry:

• Requisition (Form 17)
• Writ of Possession (Form 52)
• Affidavit of Service (from the Residential Tenancy Branch)- found in the Supreme Court package: Residential Tenancy Act – Writ of Possession

A list of authorized court bailiffs can be found on the Attorney General’s website and is linked in the references below.

See also: How do I stop Bailiff/possession order?