Inhabited Dwelling in Louisiana: Entry, Burglary, Home Invasion

In Louisiana, an inhabited dwelling is any structure used in whole or in part as a home, and the state punishes unauthorized entry into one far more severely than entry onto other property. Depending on what the intruder intended, whether anyone was home, and whether a weapon or violence was involved, charges range from unauthorized entry (up to six years) to aggravated burglary or home invasion (up to thirty years at hard labor).¹

What Counts as an Inhabited Dwelling

Louisiana law defines an inhabited dwelling as any structure used in whole or in part as a home or place to live.¹ That reaches houses, apartments, mobile homes, and any other structure where someone actually lives. A vacant building no one uses as a residence does not qualify. A home whose occupant is away on vacation still does.

That line decides how prosecutors charge an entry offense. Breaking into an empty warehouse is simple burglary. Breaking into an apartment is burglary of an inhabited dwelling, with a mandatory minimum prison sentence. The physical act can be identical; the consequences diverge because of what the building is used for.

Unauthorized Entry of an Inhabited Dwelling

This is the baseline inhabited-dwelling offense. It applies when someone intentionally enters a home without permission, even without any plan to steal or commit another crime inside. The penalty is a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to six years, or both.²

Prosecutors reach for this charge when they can prove the entry but cannot prove criminal intent. Once intent to steal or commit a felony inside can be shown, the charge moves up to burglary.

Simple Burglary of an Inhabited Dwelling

Simple burglary generally requires unauthorized entry into a structure plus intent to commit a felony or theft inside. When the target is a home rather than a commercial building, warehouse, or vehicle, Louisiana applies a separate and harsher statute: simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling. The elements are the same, but the penalty carries a mandatory minimum of one year at hard labor and a maximum of twelve years.³

There is no option for a fine in place of prison. A conviction means at least a year of hard labor. By contrast, someone who breaks into a closed retail store with intent to steal faces up to twelve years under the general simple burglary statute but may receive a fine and probation.⁴ The same person breaking into an occupied apartment is going to prison.

Aggravated Burglary

Aggravated burglary is the most serious burglary offense in the state. It applies when someone enters an inhabited dwelling without authorization, or any other structure where a person is present, with intent to commit a felony or theft, and at least one of the following is also true:

The offender is armed with a dangerous weapon when entering.
The offender arms themselves with a dangerous weapon after entering.
The offender commits a battery on someone while inside, entering, or leaving the premises.

The penalty is one to thirty years at hard labor, with no option for a fine or probation in place of prison.⁵ The statute is not limited to homes, but most aggravated burglary prosecutions involve inhabited dwellings because that is where occupants are most likely to be present and where confrontations most often occur.

Home Invasion

Home invasion is a distinct offense from burglary and is often confused with it. It requires entering an inhabited dwelling where a person is present, with intent to use force or violence against someone inside or to vandalize or damage property.⁶ The dividing line from burglary is the type of intent. Burglary requires intent to commit a felony or theft; home invasion requires intent to use violence or cause destruction, and someone must be inside.

The penalty is a fine up to $5,000 and one to thirty years at hard labor.⁶ The “and” matters. Unlike most other offenses in this area, where a judge chooses between a fine and prison, home invasion carries both. A person who kicks in a door intending to assault someone inside faces at least a year of hard labor plus a potential $5,000 fine, regardless of whether they actually succeeded in harming anyone.

How the Inhabited Dwelling Offenses Stack Up

From least to most severe:

Unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling: entry without permission, no criminal intent required. Up to six years, up to $1,000 fine, or both.
Simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling: entry with intent to steal or commit a felony. Mandatory one to twelve years at hard labor, no fine substitute.
Aggravated burglary: entry with felony or theft intent, plus a weapon or a battery. One to thirty years at hard labor.
Home invasion: entry into an occupied dwelling with intent to use violence or vandalize. One to thirty years at hard labor plus a fine up to $5,000.

The variables that move a charge up the ladder are criminal intent at the moment of entry, whether anyone was present inside, and whether weapons or violence were involved.

How This Differs From Criminal Trespass

Criminal trespass is the catch-all entry offense and sits well below any inhabited-dwelling charge. It covers entering any structure or property without permission, or staying after authorization has been revoked, and it does not require any intent to commit a crime once inside. A first offense carries a fine of $100 to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both; penalties escalate for repeat convictions.⁷

Walking onto someone’s vacant lot without permission is trespass. Walking through the front door of their home without permission is unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, with a six-year maximum that is roughly seventy times the jail exposure of a first-offense trespass. The nature of the place entered is what drives the difference.

What Occupants Can Do: Louisiana’s Castle Doctrine

Louisiana gives people inside a home broad authority to defend themselves. Under the justifiable homicide statute, a person lawfully inside a dwelling who reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to prevent an unlawful entry, or to compel an intruder to leave, may use that force.⁸

The statute also creates a legal presumption in the occupant’s favor. If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters a dwelling and the occupant uses deadly force, courts presume the occupant reasonably believed the force was necessary. The intruder’s own unlawful entry supplies the justification rather than the occupant having to build it from scratch.⁸

There is no duty to retreat. A person who is not engaged in illegal activity and is somewhere they have a right to be can stand their ground and meet force with force, and judges and juries are prohibited from considering whether retreat was possible when deciding whether the use of force was justified.⁸ These protections extend beyond the home to a place of business or a vehicle.

When officers respond to a scene where a homeowner has used force against an intruder, they weigh the defensive actions against these statutory protections, drawing on surveillance footage, physical evidence, and witness accounts. Where the evidence supports a justified use of force, criminal charges against the occupant are unlikely.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 14:62.3 – Unauthorized Entry of an Inhabited Dwelling
2
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:62.3 – Unauthorized Entry of an Inhabited Dwelling
3
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:62.2 – Simple Burglary of an Inhabited Home
4
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:62 – Simple Burglary
5
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:60 – Aggravated Burglary
6
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:62.8 – Home Invasion
7
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:63 – Criminal Trespass
8
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:20 – Justifiable Homicide