Trespassing Trespassing is a crime that may be committed by both NPCs and the player . Trespassing is when you ( or a non - owner / welcome NPC ) are told to leave a Home or Store by the owner , and after being told refusing to leave . Being seen picking a locked door is trespassing as well , sometimes if you have already picked the lock it will not display that it is trespassing ( because it is open and just shows [ Enter : - Store / Person ' s Name - ] ) but being seen entering those doors is still a crime . This can be avoided with the Quick Hands perk ( only ) . Once you have been spotted , even if you manage to get out of sight , and hide in the house or store you are trespassing in , the NPC will still know exactly where you are and even if you stay hidden they will still call the guards . NPC behavior . When trespassing , the NPCs will always give a warning twice before calling for the guards . After they call for the guards , they may run out of their home . Stopping them may prevent the guards from becoming aware , but sometimes the guards will hear from outside the home and come inside . Sleeping . Sleeping NPCs will be very aware of you and will wake up easier while trespassing than most other circumstances . Follower behavior . As an NPC , your follower will exhibit conflicting behaviors . They " will " follow you around when you trespass , but when you speak with them they will repeatedly say " You ' re not supposed to be in here . . . " and you cannot ( and should not ) issue them any commands whatsoever . The only way that you can issue commands while trespassing is by holding down the " Activate " button ( PS3 : X ; Xbox : ? ) from a distance that is too far to open up a dialogue menu . You can issue the standard " wait , sit , attack , take , & c . , " but " WARNING : be careful not to order your follower to ' wait , ' or issue them any commands that will result in them waiting , whilst trespassing as this will very likely result in them being unable to leave the building with you . " This is because it is impossible to issue a " Follow me " command when you are trespassing , meaning that your follower will be stuck waiting . Should you find yourself in this predicament , a possible solution is to have your follower wait near the exit ( directly in front of the door is preferable ) , exit yourself and wait for three days . This will cause your follower to " become tired of waiting . . . " and they will stop being your follower at that point and will begin walking to wherever their default location is , you can catch them and reenlist them as your follower at this point . Note : they will have switched back to their default equipment at this point , but they will still be carrying the gear they had before — it will just be unequipped . Penalty . The fine for committing trespassing is 5 Septims . Sometimes , when trespassing , if the owner of the house is still inside they may assault the trespasser . If you refuse to pay the fine the guard s will attempt to kill the player . If it is another NPC ( such as a Thief ) , trespassing , assault and murder is always the punishment . After the guards have killed them nobody will retrieve stolen items from the corpse and you are free to loot it without punishment . If this is the only crime the player has committed , your bounty will be so low that the guards will not pursue you if you can escape the house before they come . They will , however , recognize you as wanted if you speak to them , but you can usually just back out and they will ignore it . Sometimes there will be a speech option to bribe the guard , or convince them that it is not worth their time . Committing other crimes . Theft . Often when performing an act of theft you will find yourself trespassing . You may also trespass in mines where you will mine ore from a vein that is owned , which is considered theft ( this is a rare occurrence ) . Murder & assault . When attempting to murder or beat up an NPC ( occasionally even quest related ) you may find yourself trespassing . Lockpicking . Often when trespassing , you will first have to pick a locked door to enter the domicile . After that , inside there may be many containers , display cases , and locked doors . Pickpocket ing . Sometimes , you will find NPCs in the place you are trespassing , usually owners of the location , their guests or guards that were just called because you have been caught . If they are sleeping , you may pickpocket them with an increased success rate . Forging Ledgers . Sometimes , you will be asked to change the records of a store for the Thieves Guild . You may be trespassing while performing this task . Framing . Sometimes , you will be asked to frame somebody for a crime they did not commit to have them penalized by the guards after they are tipped off about the " thief " . This is a side quest for the Thieves Guild . Pros & cons . There are many advantages and disadvantages of trespassing .