Complaint for Forcible Entry and Detainer - Defendant Refuses to Surrender Premises on Demand

Unlawful entry is illegal entry upon lands or structures without force but by means of fraud or other willful wrong. It is closely related to housebreaking. But unlike housebreaking, the intent to commit an offense within the place entered is not needed for this offense. The basis of proof for this offense is that the entry was unlawful and that the conduct of the accused was contrary to good order and discipline.

Unlawful detention means keeping in custody unlawfully. Under criminal law it means keeping or confining a person in custody without any lawful reason. In civil law it is keeping in custody real property to which one is not entitled. A person is guilty of unlawful detention of real property when entry is made wrongfully without any right or title into any vacant or unoccupied lands tenements or other possessions.