There are various offences of this kind in the Crimes Act 1900. Break, enter and commit a serious indictable offence,’ under s 112 of the Crimes Act, which covers the offence of ‘break, enter and steal is the most common charge.

• Under s 113 of the Crimes Act, there is a separate offence of ‘break and enter with intent to commit a serious indictable offence.’ This means that you can still get into trouble where you don’t commit a serious indictable offence – for example, where the homeowner catches you before you steal anything.
• You can also be charged under s 114 of the Crimes Act where you are caught upon enclosed lands armed with a weapon, instrument, housebreaking instrument, or disguises.
• You can also face harsher penalties where you’ve previously been convicted of an indictable offence and you are found armed with a weapon, with the intention of committing a serious indictable offence.

There are a host of things that “aggravate” the offence. That is, make the penalties harsher. If you have a weapon, if you tie somebody up, if there is more than one person involved, or if you knew that somebody was inside the dwelling when you entered these are aggravating features.

1. That you broke into a property without the owner’s permission. Breaking in can be as simple as opening a closed door or entering using a key without the owner’s permission.
2. That you committed a serious indictable offence which is one that has a maximum penalty of at least five years in prison. Larceny is an indictable offence as it has a five- year penalty. This is stealing, basically.

Depending on what you are charged with, jail time runs as high as 25 years.

• Where someone coerced or threatened you into committing the break and enter (duress)
• Where you committed the break and enter to prevent serious injury or death to another person (necessity).
• Where the owner of the property gave you permission to break and enter