A burglar who discovered a dead body hanging in a Hamilton house is unlikely to face charges for the break-in.

The 26-year-old man made the grisly discovery early yesterday morning while attempting to burgle the vacant house in the suburb of Fairfield.

Hamilton Police city tactical coordinator Senior Sergeant Freda Grace said the burglar, who called police himself to raise the alarm, had been arrested but not charged.

Mrs Grace said the man was released after helping police with their inquiries.

The incident unfolded in the early hours of yesterday morning when the burglar stumbled across the dead body hanging in the dark.

His screams alerted neighbours who also phoned police. It's understood they thought the screaming was a domestic dispute.

Mrs Grace said the victim had died hours before the burglary but if not for the break-in he may not have been found for days.

She said the death of the man, whose age is unknown, was not being treated as suspicious and had been referred to the coroner.

The burglar was known to police and Mrs Grace hoped the "weird" circumstances would alter his behaviour.

"Hopefully there will be a positive out of it and that he will decide it's not the thing to do. I would be taking that as pretty bad karma."

Mrs Grace said the whole situation was incredibly sad".

"It's sad for the guy who felt so bad that that's what happened to him. Really the whole set of circumstances are just horrid."

She did not know if the dead man's next of kin had been notified.

- NZ Herald