Tenant Moved Out Owing Rent in Alberta? The RTDRS Landlord Guide

By StrikeLM. RTDRS rules, forms, and fees, Alberta deposit rules, and enforcement steps checked on October 11, 2026, against alberta.ca, the RTDRS Rules of Practice and Procedure (September 2026), and Alberta Courts. General information, not legal advice.

Your tenant moved out owing rent in Alberta, and you want it back. The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) has a form built for that: the Landlord's Application for Damages, meant for a tenant who no longer lives in the unit. You have 2 years from when you knew or should have known about the loss.

Before you file, you probably have a more urgent job. Alberta gives you 10 days after the tenant leaves to deal with the security deposit. Below, we cover that first, then the RTDRS application, service, the phone hearing, the order, and enforcement through the Court of King's Bench, with a sample Red Deer file to tie it together.

RTDRS rules get updated. Where this page and the RTDRS differ, the RTDRS is right.

Why an RTDRS order matters

An RTDRS order is a binding decision that the tenant owes you a set amount. Once it's filed at the Court of King's Bench, it can be enforced as a judgment of that court, which opens up writs of enforcement, garnishee summonses, and seizures. It's also the document order-backed credit reporting relies on.

A ledger doesn't do any of that. It's your record, and a former tenant can ignore it forever.

Deal with the deposit in 10 days

Alberta's rule is simple and strict. Within 10 days after the tenant gives up possession, you must either return the security deposit with interest, or return what's left with a statement of account listing what you deducted.

If you can't price a deduction yet, such as a repair you're waiting on quotes for, send an estimated statement within 10 days and a final one within 30. Deductions for damage or cleaning need proper move-in and move-out inspection reports.

For most landlords with a tenant who owes rent, the deposit gets applied to the arrears in that statement, and the RTDRS claim is for the balance.

The 2-year RTDRS deadline

The RTDRS Rules say an application has to be made within 2 years of the date you knew or should have known about the loss. For unpaid rent, that's usually tied to when the rent came due or when the tenant left. Count from the earliest date to be safe.

Prove the date the tenant left with texts, the key return, the move-out inspection report, and dated photos. That date also starts your 10-day deposit clock, so you'll want it nailed down twice over.

What the Landlord's Application for Damages can claim

The RTDRS limit is $100,000. A landlord can claim money the tenant owes under the tenancy, such as unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear, after accounting for the deposit.

If you're claiming rent for months after the tenant left, keep a record of everything you did to re-rent the unit, and ask the RTDRS what it needs to see.

Filing with the RTDRS

File online through the RTDRS eFiling Service, by fax, or by mail, with your evidence attached. The filing fee is $75 for claims of $7,500 or less and $150 for claims above that.

Make your calculation easy to follow: each month's rent, each payment, each damage item with its cost, then the deposit applied, then the balance you're asking for.

Serving the tenant in Alberta

Serve the application package, your evidence, and the Notice of Telephone Hearing at least three clear days before the hearing. Clear days don't count the day you serve, the hearing day, weekends, or Alberta holidays, so in practice you want to serve well before that minimum.

Email service is allowed if you and the tenant previously communicated by email or agreed to it, and you can show they received it, for example with a reply or read receipt. Fill out a Declaration of Service before the hearing.

If every attempt to find and serve the tenant fails, file a Declaration in Support of Substitutional Service and ask the RTDRS to approve another method, such as email or leaving it with an adult relative. Keep a dated log of what you tried.

If you reach out to a reference listed on the application, keep it to what your lease or rental application allows, and check Alberta's privacy rules first.

The RTDRS phone hearing

RTDRS hearings are by phone. Call in at the time on your notice and stay available for up to 90 minutes from the start time.

Before the call, have your ledger, the lease, both inspection reports, your deposit statement, and your Declaration of Service open in front of you, in the same order as your evidence package. Our [hearing prep guide](/blog/articles/how-to-prepare-for-rent-arrears-hearing) covers how to organize it. Find a quiet room and a phone that won't drop.

Expect the tenancy dispute officer to ask for your claim from the top. Take it in order: rent, damage, deposit, balance. When the tenant is on the line and pushes back on an item, point to the page in your evidence that proves it.

If the tenant was properly served and doesn't call in, the officer can still make a binding order against them. If you don't call in, your application can be dismissed.

You get the signed order the same day, or within 30 days if the officer reserves the decision. The officer can also award your receipted registered mail costs and process server fees up to $75.

If the tenant fights the order later

A tenant who missed the hearing can ask the RTDRS to set the order aside, and the Rules give them 20 days from when the order reached them. Good proof of service is what keeps your order standing. Either side can also appeal to the Court of King's Bench on a question of law or jurisdiction within 30 days after the order is filed.

Worked example: an RTDRS claim for $2,500

An invented Alberta file. Swap in your own figures and dates.

A Red Deer house rents for $1,850 a month. The tenant pays nothing for February or March 2026 and moves out March 31. The move-out inspection shows $650 of carpet damage beyond normal wear. The landlord holds a $1,850 security deposit.

1. By April 10. The landlord sends a statement of account applying the full $1,850 deposit to the arrears, with the inspection reports attached.
2. Balance. $3,700 rent + $650 damage − $1,850 deposit = $2,500, adjusted for any interest owing on the deposit.
3. April 20. They file the Landlord's Application for Damages through eFiling for $2,500. The fee is $75, because the claim is under $7,500.
4. Service. They send the package by registered mail to the tenant's new address in Calgary, well ahead of the three-clear-day minimum, and complete the Declaration of Service.
5. Hearing. The line stays quiet on the tenant's side. The officer issues an order for $2,500 plus the receipted registered mail costs.
6. Court filing. The RTDRS files the order at the Court of King's Bench. The landlord serves the filed copy on the tenant and files an Affidavit of Service.
7. Collection. They file a writ of enforcement and register it at the Personal Property Registry, then wait to learn where the tenant works.

Their deadline to file was 2 years from when they learned of the loss, around early 2028. The deposit deadline was 10 days.

Alberta RTDRS document checklist

• Residential tenancy agreement
• A dated rent ledger: each month charged, each payment received
• Move-in and move-out inspection reports
• Proof of the date the tenant left
• Your deposit statement of account and the date you sent it
• Photos, invoices, and quotes for damage
• The tenant's current address and how you got it
• Declaration of Service and registered mail receipts
• Receipts for registered mail and process server costs

Mistakes Alberta landlords make

• Missing the 10-day deposit statement. It's due 10 days after possession ends, even if the final repair bill isn't in.
• Deducting damage without inspection reports. Alberta requires proper reports for those deductions.
• Claiming the deposit twice. Apply it in your statement, then claim the balance.
• Serving too close to the hearing. Three clear days skips weekends and holidays.
• Hanging up early. Stay available for up to 90 minutes.
• Not serving the filed order. You can't start collection until the filed order is served and an Affidavit of Service is filed.
• Double reporting. One credit bureau entry per debt. If your agency reports, you don't.

After the order: enforcing it through the Court of King's Bench

An RTDRS order has to be filed at the Court of King's Bench before it can be enforced as a judgment. Sometimes the RTDRS files it for you, and it tells you at the end of the hearing. If not, take printed copies to the court yourself and file it as soon as you can.

Then:

1. Serve the filed order on the tenant. Alberta Courts' guidance says to try personal service first, and to ask the court about substitutional service if you can't.
2. File an Affidavit of Service with the Court of King's Bench. The court requires it before any collection under the Civil Enforcement Act.
3. File a writ of enforcement at the Court of King's Bench and register it at the Personal Property Registry. Registration costs a $10 government fee at a registry agent, plus whatever service charge the agent adds. Ask the court clerk about any fee to file the writ.
4. Use the writ. Before paying for one, read [whether wage garnishment is worth it for rent debt](/blog/articles/is-wage-garnishment-worth-it-for-rent-debt). In short, a garnishee summons goes after wages or a bank account. A civil enforcement agency can seize and sell property. If the tenant owns land, register the writ at Land Titles too.

Enforcement costs you reasonably incur can generally be added to the debt. Alberta Courts' booklet Getting and Enforcing Your Judgment in Alberta shows sample writ of enforcement and garnishee summons forms. It's written for Provincial Court judgments, so confirm the King's Bench steps with the clerk.

Using a collection agency in Alberta

An agency can locate the tenant and do the calling, and it costs you a share of whatever comes in. For how it stacks up against bureau reporting, see [collection agency vs. credit reporting](/blog/articles/collection-agency-vs-credit-reporting-unpaid-rent).

Cost. Contingency agencies keep a percentage. The published Canadian figures we found for tenant and consumer debts range from about 20% to 50%: Openroom's 20% to 45%, Landlord Credit Bureau's 30% to 50%, and Affinity Credit Solutions' published 40% tenant rate. Selling the debt instead gets you pennies on the dollar. No Canadian price data exists publicly, but a 2013 US FTC study found buyers paid 4 cents per dollar on average.

Their screening is a free second opinion. Landlords who've been through it say agencies size up the tenant before taking the file. They look for an RTDRS order, a way to reach the tenant, a job and what kind it is, and a bank account. A salaried job is garnishable. Cash, gig, or self-employed income often isn't. If an agency won't touch your file, a garnishee summons probably won't land either.

Licensing. Alberta requires collection agencies and collectors to be licensed under the Consumer Protection Act. Check an agency in Service Alberta's licensed business search, or call the Consumer Contact Centre at 1-877-427-4088.

Alberta's contact rules. Under the Collection and Debt Repayment Practices Regulation, collection calls are only allowed between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Alberta time, and that window applies on weekends and holidays too. A collector can contact the tenant's family, friends, or neighbours to ask for an address or phone number. It can contact the tenant at work unless the tenant asks it not to and makes other arrangements. It can contact the employer only once, to confirm employment status, title, and business address in preparation for legal proceedings, and it can't ask about wages or hours.

Questions for any Alberta agency. What percentage do you take on a file with an RTDRS order? Is there a minimum balance, a setup fee, or a fee if I pull the file? Who decides on a garnishee summons, and who pays for it? Do you report to the credit bureaus? If the tenant pays me directly, do you still get a cut? Are you collecting for me or buying the debt? Get the answers in the contract. An agency that already reports to Equifax and TransUnion covers that step, so skip a separate StrikeLM submission.

Where StrikeLM fits in Alberta

StrikeLM takes over when the RTDRS is done. You send in two things: the RTDRS order, and either proof of ownership or the lease. Eligible arrears on that order go to Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada within 24 hours of submission. No order, no submission. The fee is a one-time $99 CAD per submission, plus tax.

What happens next sits with Equifax and TransUnion, which each decide if and when to display it, so we can't promise it lands on a file or brings in a payment. StrikeLM doesn't collect debts. If a payment comes in after you submit, change the balance. Two optional plans exist if you want more: CollectorPro at $29/month and CollectorPro+ at $49/month. Details are in our explainer on [order-backed credit reporting](/blog/articles/credit-reporting-order-backed-rent-arrears).

Alberta RTDRS FAQ

Which RTDRS form do I use if my tenant already moved out?

The Landlord's Application for Damages. It's the RTDRS form for a tenant who no longer lives in the unit.

How much does it cost to file with the RTDRS?

$75 for claims of $7,500 or less, and $150 above that.

How long do I have to file?

2 years from when you knew or should have known about the loss.

How long do I have to return the security deposit in Alberta?

10 days after the tenant gives up possession, either the deposit with interest or the balance with a statement of account. An estimated statement can be finalized within 30 days.

How do I enforce an RTDRS order?

File it at the Court of King's Bench, serve the filed copy, file an Affidavit of Service, then file a writ of enforcement and register it at the Personal Property Registry.

Can the RTDRS rule against a tenant who skips the hearing?

If you served them properly, the officer can still make a binding order. The tenant can ask to set it aside within 20 days of getting it.

Can I recover my service costs?

The officer can award receipted registered mail costs and process server fees up to $75.

Your next step today

If the tenant left in the last 10 days, send your deposit statement first. Next: ledger, current address, RTDRS eFiling, in that order. Call the RTDRS information line at 780-644-3000 if your file doesn't fit these steps.

Once the order is filed and served, StrikeLM can send the arrears to Equifax and TransUnion for $99 plus tax. If you also rent outside Alberta, our [Canada-wide overview for tenants who left owing rent](/blog/articles/tenant-moved-out-owing-rent) links every province.

This is general information for Alberta landlords. It isn't legal advice. Confirm the current rules with the RTDRS, and for a big claim or a tenant who's contesting, get a lawyer's view.