Background: Feng Xia Liu and Lian Bin Feng sought judicial review of two decisions made by arbitrators of the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) concerning their tenancy of a property they sold to Shan Guang Wang and Hua Yun Zhang. The property was sold for $3.9 million, and the petitioners then rented it back from the respondents.

Legal Issues: The primary legal issue was whether a $100,000 holdback constituted a security deposit under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). The petitioners argued that it was a security deposit, thus subject to RTA regulations, while the respondents contended it was not. Additionally, the petitioners raised concerns about the procedural fairness of the RTB's decisions.

Held: In the February Decision, Arbitrator C. Nelson ruled that the $100,000 holdback was not a security deposit. In the April Decision, Arbitrator C. Amsdorf upheld the February Decision, resulting in an order of possession against the petitioners.

The court found the February Decision patently unreasonable, ruling that the $100,000 holdback did meet the statutory definition of a security deposit. Consequently, both RTB decisions were quashed, and the order of possession was set aside.

Costs: The court awarded costs to the petitioners, Feng Xia Liu and Lian Bin Feng, payable by the respondents at scale B.