Definition of Dwelling House

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General Principles

See also: Break and Enter (Offence)

"Dwelling house" is defined in section 2:

2 In this Act,
...
 "dwelling-house" means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

(a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passage-way, and
(b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence;

...
 R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 2; R.S., 1985, c. 11 (1st Supp.), s. 2, c. 27 (1st Supp.), ss. 2, 203, c. 31 (1st Supp.), s. 61, c. 1 (2nd Supp.), s. 213, c. 27 (2nd Supp.), s. 10, c. 35 (2nd Supp.), s. 34, c. 32 (4th Supp.), s. 55, c. 40 (4th Supp.), s. 2; 1990, c. 17, s. 7; 1991, c. 1, s. 28, c. 40, s. 1, c. 43, ss. 1, 9; 1992, c. 20, s. 216, c. 51, s. 32; 1993, c. 28, s. 78, c. 34, s. 59; 1994, c. 44, s. 2; 1995, c. 29, ss. 39, 40, c. 39, s. 138; 1997, c. 23, s. 1; 1998, c. 30, s. 14; 1999, c. 3, s. 25, c. 5, s. 1, c. 25, s. 1(Preamble), c. 28, s. 155; 2000, c. 12, s. 91, c. 25, s. 1(F); 2001, c. 32, s. 1, c. 41, ss. 2, 131; 2002, c. 7, s. 137, c. 22, s. 324; 2003, c. 21, s. 1; 2004, c. 3, s. 1; 2005, c. 10, s. 34, c. 38, s. 58, c. 40, ss. 1, 7; 2006, c. 14, s. 1; 2007, c. 13, s. 1; 2012, c.1, s. 160, c. 19, s. 371; 2013, c. 13, s. 2; 2014, c. 17, s. 1, c. 23, s. 2, c. 25, s. 2; 2015, c. 3, s. 44, c. 13, s. 3, c. 20, s. 15; 2018, c. 21, s. 12; 2019, c. 13, s. 140; 2019, c. 25, s. 1; 2022, c. 17, s. 1.

– CCC

Note up: 2

Factors

Factors to consider include:[1]

  • the intention of the builder;
  • the traditional use;
  • the type of temporary use;
  • the seasonal use;
  • the actual use; and
  • the character of the building.
Detached Building

Detached building on private property does not usually amount to dwelling. [2]

Empty, Abandoned or Incomplete Building

An incomplete building does not constitute a dwelling.[3] However, an abandoned building however is one.[4]

A house which is not occupied can still retain its character as a dwelling-house.[5]

Certain types places will lose their dwelling-house status from non-use. A house may be abandoned for a period of time, dilapidated, boarded-up, and "not intending to be live[d] in ...again" rendering it a non-dwelling.[6]

A "dwelling-house" for the purpose of a conviction under s. 348 for a break and enter will not include a building under construction that has not been occupied as a residence.[7]

Garage or Driveway

A driveway is not a dwelling house; it is a place where people drive and park their vehicles.[8]

A garage or parkade under the residential building is also a dwelling-house.[9]

Hotel or Motel

A motel room,[10] camp,[11] can be a dwelling.

Moveable Shelters

Living in a truck does not render the vehicle a dwelling house.[12]

Curtilage

"Curtilage" in US law is meant to "include all buildings in close proximity to a dwelling, which are continually used for carrying on domestic employment; or such place as is necessary and convenient to a dwelling and is habitually used for family purposes."[13]

The meaning of curtilage has been defined in domestic courts as "the land or yard adjoining a house, usually within an enclosure."[14]

Relationship with CDSA Definition

The definition of "dwelling-house" in the Code has no interdependence with the definition in the CDSA.[15]

  1. ↑ R v Sappier, 2005 NBPC 37 (CanLII), 34 CR (6th) 313, per Ferguson J
  2. ↑ R v NM, 2007 CanLII 31570 (ON SC), 223 CCC (3d) 417, per Hill J
  3. ↑ Sappier, supra
  4. ↑ R v DeWolfe (1988), 82 N.S.R.(2d) 175 (CA)(*no CanLII links)
  5. ↑ De Wolfe, supra - a house that was emptied a month prior was a dwelling
  6. ↑ R v Paquet, 1978 CanLII 2510 (ON CA), [1978] OJ No 980 (O.C.A.), per Martin JA - abandoned three years, falling apart
    R v Tapley, 2013 NBPC 8 (CanLII), per Brien J - 3 months abandoned
  7. ↑ R v Sappier, 2005 NBPC 37 (CanLII), 34 CR (6th) 313, per Ferguson J
  8. ↑ R v Evans, 1996 CanLII 248 (SCC), [1996] 1 SCR 8, at para 32
  9. ↑ R v Chomik, 2011 ABPC 152 (CanLII), 234 CRR (2d) 109, per Kerby J
  10. ↑ R v Henderson, [1975] 1 WWR 360 (BCPC)(*no CanLII links)
  11. ↑ R v Nowlan, 2009 NBQB 117 (CanLII), 894 APR 39, per Ferguson J
  12. ↑ R v MacDonald, 2020 NSCA 69 (CanLII), per Derrick JA, at para 99
  13. ↑ United States v Potts, 297 F.2d 68 [6th Cir. 1961]
  14. ↑ R v Le (TD), 2011 MBCA 83 (CanLII), 275 CCC (3d) 427, per Scott CJ, at para 83
    R v Beune, 2005 BCPC 175 (CanLII), BCJ No 1082, per Dhillon J, at para 31
  15. ↑ MacDonald, supra, at para 98
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