DWELLING HOUSE
dwelling house. 1. The house or other structure in which a person lives; a residence or abode.
2.Real estate. The house and all buildings attached to or connected with the house. 3.Criminal law.
A building, a part of a building, a tent, a mobile home, or another enclosed space that is used or
intended for use as a human habitation. • The term has referred to connected buildings in the same
curtilage but now typically includes only the structures connected either directly with the house or
by an enclosed passageway. — Often shortened to dwelling. — Also termed (archaically) mansion
house; (more broadly) dwelling place. [Cases: Burglary 4.C.J.S. Burglary §§ 27–28, 30–37.]
“A ‘dwelling house’ or ‘dwelling’ has been defined in connection with the crime of arson as
any house intended to be occupied as a residence, or an enclosed space, permanent or temporary,
in which human beings usually stay, lodge, or reside. If a building is not used exclusively as a
dwelling, it is characterized as a dwelling if there is internal communication between the two parts
of the building. Dwellings include mobile homes and a boat, if the person resides on it.” 5 Am. Jur.
2d Arson and Related Offenses § 13, at 789 (1995).
quasi-dwelling-house.Hist. Any outbuilding, such as a barn, that is in proximity to the
building used as a residence. See BURGLARY(1). [Blacks Law 8th]