Illegal entry into a home: definition, punishment under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Having illegally entered someone else's house, a person will be required to answer before the law. Criminal liability is imposed for this. The legislation requires that before entering a home, you must obtain the consent of the owner or have the appropriate court verdict with you.

In all other situations, the act is regarded as illegal entry.

Illegal entry into a home

Peculiarities

Based on Article 25 of the Constitution of our country, it is permissible to enter someone else’s house in the following circumstances:

• if the owner or tenant agrees to this;
• in situations regulated by federal legislation;
• by order of the court.

The right to inviolability of housing concerns only certain subgroups of citizens. First, you need to provide documentation stating that the citizen has something to do with housing.

If a person is against people entering his home, and no special situations have occurred, then entry will be illegal

Who is affected by the inviolability of the home:

• owner;
• citizens who have the right to use housing on the basis of a lease, sublease, lease or order;
• citizens who moved into this housing based on the wishes of the residents who are there legally.

Housing concept

Article 139 of the Criminal Code regulates what type of real estate can be considered a home.

Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Important ! It is also advisable to include in this term premises that are not part of the housing stock, but are suitable for a person to live there.

In simple terms, any room where a person lives, while storing his property and documents there, can be considered his home. The room itself and the things in it have value, therefore, another person cannot just walk in and take it all away without consequences.

Housing is a room where a person lives and stores his property.

What is the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for theft with penetration?

Theft with penetration is a qualified element of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part two of which provides for liability specifically for the commission of this act.

Entry may be committed under criminal law in the following places:

1. Room.
2. Other storage (tank, locked cabinet located on private property, hangar, etc.).
3. Housing.

Let us give a few examples for clarity and then below we will consider information on liability for this type of crime.

Theft with illegal entry into a home (burglary)

In criminal law, housing is understood as the place of permanent or temporary residence of a person. Such objects undoubtedly include:

• Private house, apartment, dorm room and so on.
• If a person constantly uses a dacha for living, which is equipped with everything necessary for this (electricity, water supply, gas, etc.), such a place will also be recognized as a home.
• Housing will also be a hotel room where a person stays at least for a short time.
• Also, the dwelling must include a compartment on the train and a cabin on the ship for the period of the citizen’s movement along the route.

Liability for committing theft by entering a home is established by paragraph “A” of Part 3 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The crime is classified as serious. The punishment will also correspond to it.

Example 1. Citizen S. is looking at a large house in a populated area, finds out from neighbors that an entrepreneur lives in this house, and sees an expensive car near the house. During the daytime, when there are no residents in the house, S. gets inside through an open window in a room of the house and steals money and gold items worth 150,000 rubles.

S.’s actions will be qualified as theft committed with penetration into a home under Article 158 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

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The subject's liability for theft with entry into a home will occur only when the person enters specifically for the purpose of committing theft, with pre-formed intent. If a subject enters a home legally, for example, was invited as a guest and subsequently steals gold, then his actions cannot be classified as committed with illegal entry into the home (his presence in the apartment or house was initially legal, the intent arose later , when he saw gold jewelry unattended).

In this case, the citizen will be charged under another part or another paragraph of Article 158.

Illegal entry and theft by a group of persons

Burglary can be committed either alone or by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.

1. A group of persons in this case will be a group of 2 or more people.
2. Preliminary conspiracy means pre-planned actions of group members to commit a criminal act. In this case, burglary.

Example 2. F. and S. agreed to commit theft from a certain garage. At night, having broken through the brickwork of the garage, F. and S. entered the premises and committed theft of property in the amount of 35,000 rubles, causing damage in the corresponding amount by their actions. The actions of F. and S. were qualified as theft committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy; they will be prosecuted under points “A”, “B” of part two of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Secret entry into the store and its robbery

This is a very common theft. But it is necessary to distinguish the thefts that occur every day in supermarkets when visiting them, from a well-planned and premeditated burglary.

Example 3. V. and T., having agreed in advance, prepared to commit theft from the Horns and Hooves store. At night, after squeezing the plastic window of the store, they got inside and stole goods worth 70,000 rubles.

The actions of these persons will also be qualified under points A and B of part two of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Theft was committed by entering the store premises.

Unlike the simple theft of goods from a counter, burglary, in addition to the method of commission, is also distinguished by the social danger of the act committed. Therefore, the more “professional” the theft, the higher the degree of its social danger and the punishment, respectively.

Theft of apartment keys

Many people are interested in the question of whether stealing apartment keys is a crime. It depends for what purpose these keys were stolen.

If the subject of the theft simply wanted to annoy the homeowner (to take revenge, make a joke, etc.) and simply kept them for some time, and then returned them, planted them, or simply threw them out, then such actions do not form any corpus delicti.

There is no such sign of theft as mercenary intent, and the cost of the stolen keys is an insignificant amount to “pull” the initiation of a criminal case.

It’s another matter if the keys were stolen for a specific purpose - to commit theft from a residential premises or to transfer the keys to third parties to commit the same theft.

1. In the first case, theft of keys will be considered as preparation to commit a crime and will be qualified under Part 1 of Article 30, Part 3 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
2. If your intent was to transfer the keys to someone so that they could commit theft, then your actions will be qualified as complicity in theft. The person will be an accomplice and brought under Article 158 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Objects under protection

Intrusion into a protected facility is punishable by law based on the events of the incident. Punishments are regulated by two codes - administrative and criminal. Based on Article 20.17 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a citizen will be fined for entering a protected facility. The fine ranges from 3 to 5 thousand rubles. If the criminal used any devices to enter, they are confiscated.

There is a fine for entering a protected facility.

If a person enters the territory owned by an underground or underwater facility, the activities of departmental or state security are regulated by current legislation, then he will also have to answer for this. The fine in such a situation is from 75 to 200 thousand rubles. In addition, they may be placed under administrative arrest for 15 days. Devices that facilitate entry into a protected area may be taken away.

Important ! Administrative rules are appropriate in situations where the violation committed does not have signs that would allow the case to be brought under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Code.

If we consider the Criminal Code, then you will have to answer before the law if a person constantly violates the boundaries of the protected territory of an underwater or underground facility. Then you will have to pay 500 thousand rubles or an amount equal to a year and a half of the criminal’s income. Imprisonment or restriction of freedom for a period of no more than two years is also possible.

According to the Criminal Code, you will have to answer if a person regularly enters a protected facility

When it turns out that the act we are considering was committed by a group of people by prior agreement, the members of this group will have to pay a fine of up to 700 thousand rubles, or pay the amount of their two years’ income.

Important ! Violators can be jailed for up to four years. A similar preventive measure is used when a person may reveal state secrets.

Responsibility regulated by the Criminal Code may occur if the offender is punished under the Code of Administrative Offenses for a similar act.

Responsibility under the Criminal Code will occur if a person was previously punished under the Code of Administrative Offenses

Entry with threats or violence

If the person or persons who illegally entered your home threaten you or cause violence, in this case you can also get away with a fine, despite the severity of the crime. The fine in this situation can reach 200 thousand rubles. Sometimes the fine is replaced with payments equal to the income of the perpetrator of the crime for a period of one and a half years.

However, in practice, monetary compensation is not often used in cases of threat and violence with penetration. Here, the assignment of forced or corrective labor can also be applied, the terms of which can reach two years. A specific period is set by the judge when considering the case, taking into account the presence of aggravating circumstances in the case.

If the offender used violence or made threats during entry, the detention may even last more than two years. Also, in most cases the culprit pays a fine for moral damage in the amount of 200 thousand rubles. In principle, such compensation may be completely different. Victims may demand a completely different punishment. However, the requirement to pay monetary compensation can only be satisfied by a court decision.

Features of home penetration

The crime we are studying has some specifics that you should know. Not every violation of the boundaries of someone else's home will be punished.

We must not forget that a courtyard building, a cellar, a garage, a barn, and so on are not considered a dwelling. In other words, if the premises are located remotely from the house and cannot be used as a home, the act will not be recognized as entering the home. A compartment or cabin is also not accepted as a home. Note that when non-residential premises are combined with a house, violations of their boundaries are illegal.

The garage is not part of the home

It doesn’t matter how exactly a person entered a home, he will be held accountable before the law. There are several ways to enter someone else's home:

• secret;
• explicit;
• being inside a room, refusing to open it;
• when residents open doors;
• gross intrusion.

It cannot be said that there is a crime when a person not only opened the door for the intruder, but also let him inside the home. Deceptions and the use of other people's gullibility do not affect the course of the case. A legal violation is recognized to have taken place from the time of violation of the external boundary of housing.

Important ! The subject of this violation can be any person over 16 years of age.

It doesn’t matter how exactly the person entered the home

Types of liability under Article 139 of the Criminal Code

An important aspect that makes it possible to correctly classify the act in relation to the named article is that the offender had to get into the citizen’s house without obtaining his consent to do so.

There are several types of punishment under Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Important ! In theory, if the owner of a house or the people living there allow another person to enter, the act cannot be called illegal.

In practice, it happens that criminals mislead the owners or residents in order to get into the house. However, you will have to try hard to prove that the offender deliberately deceived, wanting to commit a criminal act.

Sometimes, in parallel with this article, those who entered the home are punished under the article “Fraud”

Here the offense relates not only to the article mentioned above, but is also qualified under Article 159 of the Criminal Code (“Fraud”).

The Criminal Code of Russia prescribes the following types of punishments for the act we are considering.

Penalties for illegal entry into a home

From the above, we can conclude that the Criminal Code considers the use or threat of force and abuse of official powers as aggravating circumstances.

Types of liability

Violation of the inviolability of a residential property is subject to criminal penalties. Such

The actions are not considered a serious crime, but committing one can result in imprisonment. Entry is considered a criminal offense if certain conditions are met, namely if it occurred in the following ways:

• Picking the lock on the door.
• Free penetration.
• Intrusion through a window opening.
• Using coercive actions against living citizens.
• By deception, as well as by taking advantage of his official position.

At the moment, based on the norms of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code, a case of breaking and entering can only be initiated if the victim has filed a statement.

How can you legally enter someone else's home?

As we mentioned above, it is legally permitted to enter someone else’s home by obtaining a court verdict or in some situations controlled by law. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Based on Article 15 of the Law “On the Police”, employees of operational search groups have the right to stay in someone else’s housing in the following circumstances:

• to detain citizens suspected of criminal acts;
• to protect people from fires, criminal acts, during riots;
• to prevent the commission of a criminal act;
• to find out what the causes of the accident were.

You can legally enter someone else's house if you have a court verdict.

Access to someone else's house is allowed to employees in the process of operational-search activities. To do this, you must obtain permission from at least one resident or administration of the institution that needs to be examined.

Important ! This rule applies to hotels, tourist centers, campsites and other premises that can be accessed with the permission of the administration.

Based on a court verdict, it is permissible to enter someone else's house in order to search it. However, you need to follow all legislative procedures - official papers and the course of the event.

Police officers can enter someone else's home under special circumstances.

Bailiff

Who else has the right to enter an apartment without the owner’s consent? Of course these are bailiffs.

By law, they have the right to enter a private home in order to seize property by court decision, but they have the following restrictions:

• firstly, they are obliged to notify the debtor in advance of their arrival;
• secondly, they do not have the right to seize household items and property that brings the owner the main income, for example, a computer, a sewing or knitting machine, etc.

If the bailiff deprived you of a computer, and you work on it, or a sewing machine, and you sew at home, then you have the right to file a complaint with the court within ten days in accordance with the requirements of the CAS RF.

You also need to know that, according to Art. 67 of the Federal Law of 02.10.2007 No. 229-FZ (as amended on 03.08.2018) “On Enforcement Proceedings” (as amended and additionally, entered into force on 03.09.2018), the bailiff has the right, at the request of the claimant or on one’s own initiative, issue a resolution on a temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation if the debtor-citizen or the debtor who is an individual entrepreneur fails to fulfill the following requirements within the period established for voluntary execution without good reason, contained in an executive document issued by a court or being a judicial act:

1) on the collection of alimony, compensation for harm caused to health, compensation for harm in connection with the death of the breadwinner, property damage and (or) moral harm caused by a crime, if the amount of debt under such a writ of execution exceeds 10,000 rubles; 2) non-property nature; 3) other requirements, if the amount of debt under the executive document (executive documents) is 30,000 rubles or more.

In case of failure by a debtor-citizen or a debtor who is an individual entrepreneur, after two months from the date of expiration of the period for voluntary fulfillment of the requirements specified in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Article 87 No. 229-FZ, the bailiff has the right, at the request of the recoverer or on his own initiative issue a resolution on a temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation if the amount of debt under the executive document (executive documents) exceeds 10,000 rubles.

If the executive document is not a judicial act or was not issued on the basis of a judicial act, then the bailiff or the recoverer participating in the relevant enforcement proceedings has the right to apply to the court with an application to establish for the debtor a temporary restriction on leaving the Russian Federation in compliance with the rules, established by parts 1 and 2 of Article 87 No. 229-FZ.

On the basis of a judicial act that has entered into legal force, establishing a temporary restriction for the debtor to leave the Russian Federation, the bailiff, no later than the day following the day of receipt of the corresponding judicial act, issues, in the manner prescribed by Article 87 No. 229-FZ, a resolution on temporary restrictions on the debtor's departure from the Russian Federation.

When issuing a resolution on a temporary restriction on the debtor's departure from the Russian Federation during enforcement proceedings on a writ of execution for the collection of funds, the bailiff of a structural unit of the territorial body of the Federal Bailiff Service instructs the bailiff of the structural unit of the Federal Bailiff Service to remove this restriction when availability of information on payment of debt under a writ of execution in the State Information System on state and municipal payments.

The resolution on a temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation is approved by the senior bailiff or his deputy. A copy of the resolution specified in Part 4 of Article 87 No. 229-FZ, in the form of an electronic document signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature of the bailiff who issued this resolution, is immediately sent to the bailiff of the structural unit of the Federal Bailiff Service.

The bailiff who issued a decision on a temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation, no later than the day following the day of fulfillment of the requirements of the writ of execution, except for the case provided for in Part 8 of Article 87 No. 229-FZ, or the day on which other grounds for lifting this restriction, issues a resolution to lift the temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation.

The bailiff of a structural unit of the Federal Bailiff Service, no later than the day following the day of placement in the State Information System on state and municipal payments of information on the payment of debt under the writ of execution, issues in the form of an electronic document signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature of this bailiff - executor, a resolution on lifting the temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation, a copy of which is immediately sent to the bailiff who issued the resolution on the temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation.

The exchange of information on the application and lifting of temporary restrictions on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation between the bailiff of a structural unit of the territorial body of the Federal Bailiff Service, the bailiff of the structural unit of the Federal Bailiff Service and the federal executive body in charge of security issues is carried out in electronically in the manner and within the time limits established by the federal executive body exercising the functions of legal regulation in the field of justice, in agreement with the federal executive body in charge of security issues.

For the purpose of exchanging this information, the state system of migration and registration records, as well as the production, execution and control of the circulation of identity documents, and a unified system of interdepartmental electronic interaction can be used. Copies of decisions on a temporary restriction on the debtor’s departure from the Russian Federation, on the lifting of this restriction, are sent by the bailiff to the debtor no later than the day following the day of their issuance.

Court practice this year

The number of criminal acts regarding illegal violation of the boundaries of someone else's home is increasing. Note that this crime usually occurs in combination with others: murder, rape, kidnapping, harm to health.

Often, criminals who break into someone else's home do not realize that their actions are a violation of the law.

Due to conflicts or problems with debt collectors, citizens can enter someone else's house without even thinking that they are acting illegally.

Important ! To a large extent, this happens due to emotional stress, heavy drinking and other circumstances.

Often such a crime is carried out simultaneously with others, for example, murder, rape, etc.

It is not easy to highlight under Article 139 of the Code the suppression of the boundaries of the housing of relatives who are the owners of a particular house.

Situations are typical when parents are worried about children who do not want to contact them too often. What can you do to argue that their actions are illegal?

Collecting evidence is not so easy unless there is obvious evidence of a crime - for example, a door was broken down. You will need to independently protect yourself from annoying visitors - the law regulates the hosts’ rules for this. The same circumstances are typical for relations between landlords and tenants of housing.

Any person has the right to defend their property or their home. The Constitution controls this right.

It is important that there is evidence that there was indeed illegal entry

When people entered your house without obtaining consent to this action, you have the right to recognize the act as violating the law, behavior punishable by law.

Important ! The criminal will be held accountable to the law based on the details of violating the boundaries of someone else’s home, and they may even be punished with a real term of imprisonment.

Court practice regarding the consideration of cases under Article 139 of the Criminal Code

A fundamentally important right regulated by the Constitution is the inviolability of a citizen’s home.

Outsiders do not have the right to violate the boundaries of someone else's home if the residents or owners do not agree to this, and also if the situation does not meet the requirements of federal law. Also, to get into someone else's house, you can get a court verdict.

If the residents themselves do not agree, you cannot enter their home

Important ! If a violator enters someone else's house illegally, he will be punished by law. At the moment, statistics show that the crime we are considering is being committed more and more often.

Usually this act is combined with other crimes that are considered more serious - murder, causing serious harm to health, rape or kidnapping. Then it is obvious that crossing the boundaries of someone else’s home was not the original goal, it occurred only in order to create the ground for other crimes.

The reasons why these crimes are increasing include the deterioration of people’s legal culture, lack of respect for the rights and freedoms of citizens, disrespect for relationships between each other, lack of legal literacy, and disregard for the rule of law.

Such crimes are committed quite often

If we consider court practice, most of these acts are committed on emotions due to conflicts or when debt collectors come to the debtor. Often parents worry excessively about their children and visit them regularly, unknowingly breaking the law.

For example, Ivanov A.A. found guilty due to the fact that, being drunk, he came to the door of the apartment where his friend M lived. He wanted to discuss some matters with R. Ivanov, who was staying in this home. Ivanov rang the doorbell, but they did not open it for him. The citizen pulled the door handle hard, as a result of which the bolt inside broke. Thanks to this, he was able to get into the apartment. After that, Ivanov went inside, ignoring his friend’s right to the inviolability of the house.

Important ! The citizen’s act is qualified under the first part of Article 139 of the Criminal Code.

Let's consider a different situation: Soloviev P.P. was drunk and wanted to talk to his ex-wife, getting into her house. To achieve what he wanted, the citizen knocked loudly on the apartment door. The woman did not want to let the man in, so he broke the window and thus entered the house.

Important ! Solovyov’s act is qualified under the first part of Article 139.

Often such crimes are committed without malicious intent, but they are still punishable

General data regarding the elements of the crime we are considering

A citizen is held accountable before the law if he illegally violates the boundaries of someone else’s home.

As for the objective side of the act, this is illegal entry into the house. In other words, a person got inside a home without legal grounds or consent from the residents or the owner.

To get into a house means to go inside, to give oneself access for a given act (to break a law, a door, use a stolen key or a duplicate made, break or open a window, break a wall, and so on).

Important ! A criminal can get into a house either openly or covertly.

You can get into the house both openly and secretly

Paragraph ten of article five of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure regulates the term “dwelling” in relation to the purposes of regulating production through various investigative and other manipulations. Dwelling – a personal residential building, including various premises, regardless of the form of ownership, included in the housing stock and used for living there, as well as other premises or buildings that are not part of the stock, but suitable for housing.

Violation of the boundaries of someone else’s house, committed without the consent of the owners or residents or the presence of any legal grounds for this act, which we have already mentioned above, is considered a crime.

Trespassing someone else's home is considered a crime.

Let us note that the court does not take into account the path that the criminal used to commit his act. This does not affect the progress of the case. You cannot enter someone else's home unless you have obtained the consent of the residents or owners.

Important ! There are also frequent cases of deception - when criminals use fake documents to enter a home.

For example, citizen Voronin K.A. was sentenced under the first part of Article 139 and the second part of Article 131 of the Criminal Code. He showed Sokolova a fake police officer's ID, entered her home and raped her.

The act is considered completed if the citizen ends up outside the boundaries of someone else’s house, and it does not matter how long the criminal was in the premises.

It doesn’t matter how long a person has been in someone else’s home

In general, based on Article 139, the term entry into a house “against the will of the citizen living there” can be understood differently. This provokes certain difficulties in applying the law.

For example, there are situations when criminals violate the boundaries of someone else’s home if there are no residents there at the moment: when they are working, on vacation, and the like.

Important ! If you look at the court practice, then such acts are understood as illegal entry into a home without taking into account the consent of the residents or owners.

For example, V.V. Morozov, having drunk a hefty dose of alcohol, felt that he was freezing and decided to warm up in someone else’s house, without obtaining the consent of the owner and the tenant who was in the home at that moment. He climbed into the house through the window and went to sleep there. Morozov’s act is qualified under the first part of Article 139.

Sometimes it becomes difficult to prove truly illegal entry

As for the subjective side of the act, this is a direct plan. In other words, the criminal must be aware that his actions constitute illegal entry into a home, moreover, his actions pursue this goal. The reasons why crimes are committed do not matter.

The subject of the crime is a person who is 16 years old.

Important ! Entering someone else's house is allowed in some situations regulated by federal law. A court verdict can also help in this situation.

There are cases when a citizen quite legally ends up in someone else’s house, but then does not want to leave, despite the demands of the owner or tenant. Do these actions constitute illegal entry into a home? Obviously not, since there is no fact of an act that could harm society.

In general, the issue of illegal entry into a home is very controversial and can be understood in different ways. For a more complete picture, it is necessary to study all the laws and carefully consider each specific act.

Violation of land boundaries

Although land ownership is protected by law, the question of how to prosecute its violators remains open. This situation is due to several factors:

1. Land, as an object of law, has a special status. This is not only property, but also a natural resource protected by environmental laws, which means that:

• The owner's exercise of his rights must not violate the rights of others to use natural resources. For example, if the site is located near a river or forest and blocks access to citizens, the owner does not have the right to prevent those wishing to swim or hunt from passing through his yard;
• the owner cannot prohibit a neighbor or other interested person from passing through his plot if he has the right of easement. This privilege is given by the court if necessary, for example, when it is not possible to use another road bypassing private property.

In such a situation, it is better to voluntarily allow your neighbor to pass through the yard. This will help avoid legal red tape and unnecessary costs.

2.In itself, entering the yard without the consent of the owner does not entail criminal liability, even if it is illegal. If someone entered an open gate or even climbed over a fence without damaging it and walked around the yard, there is no corpus delicti in his actions.

The Criminal Code does not have an article regulating this issue, and judicial practice recognizes this fact as insignificant. In this case, the violator of property rights can be punished only if he causes significant harm to the owner of the site. That is, this action is considered in conjunction with another crime (theft, causing harm to health, etc.).

At the same time, Article 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not allow interference in the private affairs of the owner, therefore entering the site without the consent of the owner is considered illegal. But the mechanism for protecting the violated right is not clear.