Legal Definitions - housebreaking

Housebreaking is a legal term that refers to the crime of unlawfully entering a dwelling or other secured building with the specific intention of committing a felony inside. While the term is less commonly used today, often replaced by burglary, it describes the act of gaining unauthorized entry to a protected space to carry out a serious crime.

The "breaking" element does not always require physical force, like smashing a window. It can also include:

• Actual Breaking: Using force to create an opening or enlarge an existing one, such as prying open a locked door or breaking a window.
• Constructive Breaking: Gaining entry through deception, threats, or collusion with someone inside. For example, tricking someone into opening a door or pretending to be a service person to gain access.

The critical component is the intent to commit a felony once inside. Without this intent, the act of unlawful entry might be a different, less serious crime, like trespassing.

Here are some examples illustrating housebreaking:

• Example 1: Literal Force and Intent to Steal

  A person waits until a small business, a jewelry store, is closed for the night. They then use a crowbar to force open the back door, intending to steal valuable merchandise from the display cases. This act constitutes housebreaking because there was a clear "breaking" (forcing the door) into a "secured building" (the closed store) with the "intent to commit a felony" (theft).

• Example 2: Deception and Intent to Commit Fraud

  An individual creates a fake identification badge and pretends to be a new employee to gain access to a corporate office building after hours. Their actual plan is to access the company's financial servers to transfer funds illegally. This is an example of housebreaking through "constructive breaking," as entry was gained by fraud and deception into a secured building, with the intent to commit the felony of embezzlement or wire fraud.

• Example 3: Entry into a Residence with Intent to Assault

  A person, harboring a grudge, waits until their neighbor leaves for work. They then climb through an unlocked window of the neighbor's house, intending to lie in wait and physically assault the neighbor upon their return. Even though the window was unlocked, climbing through it to gain unauthorized entry with the specific "intent to commit a felony" (assault) inside the dwelling would be considered housebreaking.