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Housebreaking? Intrusion upon habitation? Please review whether it is established.

After the lease expired, the tenant neither vacated nor answered my calls, so I had no choice but to unlock the door with the master key and enter. But the tenant filed a complaint against me for housebreaking, claiming that I intruded upon the residence. Whether it is housebreaking or intrusion upon habitation, it seems I will be punished; even though it is my own house, if I entered without the tenant's knowledge, is housebreaking established?

housebreaking

intrusion upon habitation

Answer

Published: 2025-08-20

Author : Byung Joon KOH

Hello. This is a real estate attorney at Daeryun Law LLC.

To put the conclusion first, in your situation housebreaking may be established.

The offense formerly called housebreaking has now been renamed intrusion upon habitation, and it is an offense established when a person intrudes without justifiable grounds into another's residence, structure, vessel, or the like.

Housebreaking, or intrusion upon habitation, is punishable under the Criminal Act by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine not exceeding 5 million won.

Where a lessor enters, without authorization, a house occupied by the lessee, the lessor may be punished for intrusion upon habitation.

Put simply, the very fact of unlocking the door with a master key and entering without the tenant's consent can, in itself, establish intrusion upon habitation.

The level of punishment varies depending on factors such as the circumstances of the case, the victim's assertions, the state of possession, whether there was urgency, and whether there was good faith.

Therefore, it is important, through an attorney, to present the facts and arguments of justification to the police and prosecution from the early stage of the case.

In your situation, you should secure the lease expiration date, records of the tenant's failure to respond, photo and video evidence, and call records, and emphasize the protection of property inside the house, the urgency, and the situation in which you could not reach the tenant.

In addition, to prevent future disputes, we recommend proceeding with eviction measures through an eviction lawsuit or compulsory execution.

First, if you request a consultation to defend against criminal punishment, we will provide a one-stop response to the criminal proceedings for intrusion upon habitation and to the eviction lawsuit procedure.

Because intrusion upon habitation carries the possibility of an actual custodial sentence, we recommend consulting an attorney as quickly as possible.