Forced entry is a crime of breaking and entering a person’s home without permission or performing maintenance against the owner´s will. Article 202 of the Penal Code states that no one can enter the home of another person without the home owner’s consent or a court order.
Forced entry does not need to occur in a permanent residence, it is any residence where a person carries out a private life. Forced entry can occur in any inhabited residence, even in instances you are not temporarily residing there. Breaking and entering does not include burglary, it only refers to entering a home and refusing to leave.
Forced entry applies to:
Vacation homes
A former home you are no longer a resident of
Any residential property you own and occupy
Hotel rooms
Caravans
Punishment for Trespassing
According to Article 202 of the Penal Code, punishment ranges from 6 months to 4 years in prison. Imprisonment is 6 months to 2 years for forced entry without violence or intimidation. Severe cases with violence or intimidation result in the higher end of punishment of 1 to 4 years and a fine from 6 to 12 months.
The Difference Between Forced Entry and Usurpation
Usurpation can be confused with forced entry. Usurpation is entering the property of the owner where private life and/or activities are not performed. It can be occupying abandoned homes, non-residences, and even impersonating the identity of a person. Forced entry, on the other hand, is breaking and entering an occupied residential property.
Force Entry of a Legal Person
Article 203 of the Penal Code outlines the forced entry of a legal person. Rather than invading a home, forced entry of a legal person is invading the privacy of a person, such as an office or business.
Three things that constitute forced entry of a legal person according to Article 203:
Entering the office or commercial business outside of public hours
Remaining at a business after the open hours
Entering an establishment with violence and intimidation against the will of the owner
Examples of forced entry
Trespassing can occur when a lease for an apartment ends. For instance, a person has a lease for one year. Once the lease ended, the person decided to keep living in the apartment without paying rent. This is an example of trespassing as they are no longer allowed to live in the property and they have continued to stay without consent from the owner of the apartment.
Another example includes a person breaking and entering a vacation home that is inhabited in the summers by the owners. The person broke in during the winter time while the vacation home was not inhabited and stayed there until the summer. Even though the home is not occupied at the time of entry, this is still forced entry.
Trespassing commonly occurs at bars. Those heavily under the influence of alcohol may refuse to leave the business after the bar has closed. This is a prevalent example of forced entry of the legal person.
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