Forcible Entry - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition forcible-entry

Definition :

Forcible entry is the entering upon any land or tenement with a strong hand, or in a violent manner, in order to take possession. There may be a forcible entry although no actual force is used, as, for example, when threats are made or an unusual number of persons collected. Forcible entry was permissible at Common Law in certain cases, e.g., when the rightful owner had been wrongfully deprived of possession, but it was absolutely pro-hibited by the Statutes of Forcible Entry (5 Rich. 2, c. 7; 15 Rich. 2, c. 2; 8 Hen. 6, c. 9), which make forcible entries punishable with imprisonment. The first of these statues provides that 'none shall make entry into any lands or tenements, but in case where entry is given bylaw, and in such case not with strong hand nor with multitude of people, but only in a peaceable and easy manner.' A forcible entry by a person entitled to possession, though indictable, does not give rise to civil responsibility in damages. See Hemmings v. Stoke Poges Golf Club, (1920) 1 KB 720; and Clerk and Lindsell on Torts, 7th Edn. pp. 328-331. See DISTRESS.

At common law, the act or an instance of violently and unlawfully taking possession of laws and tenants against the will of those entitled to possession, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 657.