If you didn’t agree on a way to resolve the claim during facilitation, the next step is a CRT final decision. That’s when a tribunal member makes a decision based on the law, and the evidence and arguments from all the participants.
The tribunal member needs specific information from the participants. This information gathering process is called “tribunal decision preparation”. Your case manager might create a Statement of Facts to help the tribunal member identify what things the participants agree and disagree on.
The CRT will tell you when to submit your arguments and evidence. Each step has 14 days.
- The applicant submits their arguments and their evidence
- The respondents reply to the arguments and submit their own evidence
- The applicant gives a final reply to the respondents’ arguments
If you need more time, ask CRT staff. The CRT will decide if you should get a time extension.
After the time to submit arguments and evidence has closed, the claim waits to be assigned to a tribunal member.
When a tribunal member is assigned, we’ll contact you to tell you the name of the tribunal member and the estimated time to receive their decision. Case management ends at this point.
What is a hearing?
This preparation process is usually done online and in writing. The legal term is a “written hearing”.
Sometimes the tribunal member will decide it’s necessary to have an “oral hearing” instead of a written one. Oral hearings are done by phone or videoconference. If you want to ask for an oral hearing, you must inform a CRT staff member and complete a form to explain why you think the CRT should hold an oral hearing instead of a written one.
It’s up to the tribunal member to decide whether to have an oral hearing. See the CRT Rules for more information about oral hearings such as the reasons that a tribunal member may consider.
How long will it take to get the decision?
It depends on how many participants there are, and how much evidence and other information each one submits. It can also take time for the CRT to assign the claim to an appropriate tribunal member. Our tribunal members are assigned claims according to their areas of expertise, experience, current workloads, and other factors.