Police access to rental units: what landlords need to know

Information for tenants and landlords

Q: What are a landlord’s obligations and rights if the police or other authorities want to enter a rental unit? Do the police need a warrant to enter an apartment?

A: The answer depends on who is seeking entry and for what purpose, and may depend on whether the officer seeking entry has a search warrant.

A search warrant is an order issued by a justice of the peace that authorizes a person to enter into a location and seize specified evidence that is relevant and material to a crime or offence. For a search of an apartment, the warrant must specify the unit number or identify the unit, not just the building.

Unless there are unusual circumstances, the officer executing the warrant must make an announcement before forcing entry into a dwelling unit. This is known as the knock-and-announce rule. This involves:

1. knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell

2. identifying themselves as law enforcement officers

3. stating a lawful reason for entry

Once the announcement has been made, the police must give the potential occupants a reasonable amount of time to answer the door. After that, the police are entitled to break down the door to gain entry to the dwelling. If the landlord or a superintendent is present, that person can unlock the door for the police, thus reducing disruption for other tenants, and saving the cost and nuisance of replacing the door.

The purpose of the knock-and-announce rule is to protect the dignity and privacy interests of the occupants of the house, and to enhance the safety of the police and the public. The police must have a copy of the warrant available for the occupant to look at.

If the police have grounds to believe that following the knock-and-announce rule may result in evidence being destroyed, or resistance where officers will be put at risk, they can enter without following the rule. If asked, a landlord could cooperate with the police in making that entry by unlocking the door or giving the officer a key to the door.

Now let’s look at the question of entry without a warrant. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord can enter a rental unit with the consent of the tenant, or with 24 hours’ written notice, or in the case of an emergency.

Typically, if the police ask to enter a rental unit without a warrant it will be in response to an emergency call, though the landlord should not assume that. Instead, if the police ask for help to enter without a warrant, the landlord should ask them if there is an emergency. If the police say there is an emergency, then allowing them entry should be acceptable.

The landlord should only enter the unit if asked to do so by the police, or if some emergency repair is needed.

Other government officials sometimes want entry, usually to see the condition of the rental unit or the state of repair of the rental unit. If the tenant allows them entry, then that entry is legal. However, if there is no emergency, then generally the landlord should indicate that he or she needs to provide the tenant with 24 hours’ written notice of the entry.

Like other members of the public, landlords should generally co-operate with the police or with other government officials who want entry in order to perform their duties.