If someone calls the police to say I have guests over, can I just refuse to answer the door or refuse entry?
Can they break in?
So sad I need to ask this but I can't get a straight answer from anyone and the law is intentionally meant to be confusing.
BTW I'm in Ontario.
Theoretically, yes.
Here’s the legal workaround.
Bylaw in Ontario can enter your home without a warrant. If you resist, they can then escalate that to the police who would then have cause to prevent a crime in progress.
You see, if the police just come into your home and arrest you, your case will get thrown out of court. Now ByLaw can’t make arrests; they just hand out fines and so these cases don’t go to criminal courts.
So ByLaw would show up with the police waiting outside. When you resist the ByLaw officer, the police now have the legal justification to storm into your home.
You’re fucked at that point.
This ain't true.
Police can enter your house if you let them in, if they have a search warrant, or if there's an emergency (eg. life or death emergency).