Fence laws in Auburn, Alabama
What the Auburn municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Auburn sets no rule of its own, the Alabama rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Auburn, Alabama, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The residential use regulations list what may project into or be built in a minimum required yard, and they are precise about the things that get a number. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line for a fence.
- How tall
- Auburn sets a fence height in one place only, and the answer turns on whether the lot sits in a corridor overlay area and what is built on it. The figure is 4 feet, for front yard fence in a corridor overlay area.
- Permits
- Auburn names no fence permit and the ordinance decides what it reaches through the definition of a structure, and the answer turns on what the fence is made of and how tall it is. The figure is 3 feet, for height below which an object is not a structure.
- Pool barriers
- Auburn sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Auburn has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Auburn never says what a fence height is measured from. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Corner lots
- Auburn leaves corner clearance to Section 5.3 of the Auburn Engineering Design and Construction Manual.
- Retaining walls
- Auburn leaves retaining walls to the Alabama Residential Building Code adopted by the Home Builders Licensure Board, which is a published edition of the International Residential Code. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- The one material rule for a house fence in Auburn is in the corridor overlay standards and it is a single sentence: no type of wire fabric fencing material may be used forward of the front plane of the primary structure, and the answer turns on whether the lot fronts a designated corridor and what use is behind the fence. The figure is 10 feet, for tallest opaque screening fence the ordinance requires for a use.
- Livestock
- Alabama says what a fence has to be to count as a lawful fence. The figure is 5 feet, for height of a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Auburn?
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Auburn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The residential use regulations list what may project into or be built in a minimum required yard, and they are precise about the things that get a number. An awning, canopy, roof overhang or balcony gets three feet. A bay window gets two. An uncovered deck no more than thirty inches tall may come within five feet of the property line. Fences, walls and hedges are in the same list with no distance at all, alongside clotheslines and driveways, and may be built in the minimum yard areas provided the installation does not break some other provision of the ordinance. So a fence may stand on the line. The one place that is closed off is the bufferyard: nothing in the section may be read as allowing any feature to encroach into a required bufferyard, which is the planted strip between incompatible uses.
driveways and their curbs, fences, walls, and hedges may be constructed in minimum yard areas, provided that their installation does not violate any other provision of this Ordinance.
0 ftsetback stated from a property line for a fence
Also on fences on the property line in Auburn
- set in state lawBoth neighbors share the cost of a fence on the line in Alabama. Section 35-7-3 says a fence between improved land is built and repaired at the joint cost of the occupants, and it calls that kind of fence a partition fence. A person who later ties into a neighbor's fence and uses it as a line fence owes a share of what it cost, based on the shape the fence was in when it was joined. Ala. Code 35-7-3Alabama · Statute
- set in state lawAn owner who will not pay a share can be sued for it after ten days notice. Section 35-7-7 sets out that step: notice goes to the joint owner asking for help to build, repair or keep up the shared fence, and after ten days the owner who refuses can be taken to any court that hears such a case. The court or the jury decides whether the work was needed and what it was worth. The section also stops one owner from spending carelessly on the fence and billing the others. Ala. Code 35-7-7Alabama · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Auburn?
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Auburn answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot sits in a corridor overlay area and what is built on it.
Auburn sets a fence height in one place only. Inside a corridor overlay area, which covers the thoroughfares the ordinance singles out for design control, a fence in a front yard may not exceed four feet. Nothing in the rest of the ordinance states a height for a fence on an ordinary residential lot away from those corridors, in a front yard or behind the house. The only other fence figure belongs to attached housing: a town house or twin house may have its front, side or rear yards enclosed by a masonry wall up to six feet, provided the wall does not prevent a clear view of intersecting streets. So the answer depends on where the lot sits rather than on the zoning district, and on most lots the code leaves the number open.
No type of wire fabric fencing material shall be used forward of the front plane of the primary structure. Fences in the front yards shall not exceed four (4) feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the lot sits in a corridor overlay area and what is built on it.
- a front yard in a corridor overlay area
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a lot away from a corridor
- No height stated.
- a town house or twin house yard
- Six feet of masonry wall. 6 ft
- a clear view of the intersection
- That wall may not block it.
Also on fence height in Auburn
- no rule, documents checkedAlabama sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. City and county zoning sets it. The one height in state fence law is in Section 3-4-1, which says a lawful fence has to be at least five feet high, and that number is a floor for holding livestock rather than a cap on a yard fence. Ala. Code 3-4-1Alabama · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Auburn?
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Auburn answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is made of and how tall it is.
Auburn names no fence permit and the ordinance decides what it reaches through the definition of a structure. A structure is anything built that needs rigid and permanent location on or attachment to the ground, and walls and fences are listed by name. Then three exclusions carve fences back out: a retaining wall or terrace wall, a wire fence of any height, and any other object less than three feet tall. So a chain link fence sits outside the word structure entirely in Auburn, the same way it does in Montgomery, and a three foot picket fence does too. What that leaves inside is a solid fence over three feet, which is caught by the ordinance and by the building permit process that runs on the word structure. A landscape plan, where one is required, is filed before a building permit issues.
not including telephone and other utility poles, overhead wires, retaining walls and terrace walls, wire fences, and any other object less than three (3) feet in height.
Article II, definition of Structure
The answer turns on what the fence is made of and how tall it is.
- a wire fence
- Not a structure.
- anything under three feet
- Also not a structure. 3 ft
- a solid fence above that
- Caught by the ordinance.
- a retaining wall
- Excluded by name.
Also on permits in Auburn
- set in state lawAlabama does not write its own house building code. Section 34-14A-82 says the Alabama Residential Building Code is built from a published edition of the International Residential Code and the International Energy Conservation Code, and the Home Builders Licensure Board is what adopts it. The rule that lets a fence skip a permit is inside that adopted code. Alabama does not post that code text, so the wording is not quoted here. Ala. Code 34-14A-82(b)Alabama · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Auburn
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Auburn law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Alabama names no pool fence height in a law or in a statewide health rule. The Department of Public Health runs pool permits and inspections through county health departments rather than through one statewide chapter. The height that does apply comes from the Alabama Residential Building Code, which the state builds out of the International Residential Code. The International Code Council sells that text and Alabama does not post it, so no number is quoted here.
This one is Alabama law, not Auburn law. All Alabama findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Ala. Code 34-14A-82Alabama Legislature
- ADPH public swimming pool programAlabama Department of Public Health
Spite fence laws in Auburn
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Auburn law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Alabama has no spite fence law. Nothing in the Code of Alabama limits a fence put up to annoy a neighbor, and no height turns a fence into one. Title 35, Chapter 7 covers only who pays for a fence on the line, and Title 3, Chapter 4 covers fences for livestock. That leaves a general nuisance lawsuit or a city ordinance.
This one is Alabama law, not Auburn law. All Alabama findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Ala. Code 35-7-1Alabama Legislature
- Ala. Code 3-4-1Alabama Legislature
How fence height is measured in Auburn
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Auburn law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Alabama never says what a fence height is measured from. Section 3-4-1 requires a fence to be at least five feet high and stops there. The five feet could start at bare dirt, at a graded yard, or at the low side of a slope, and the law does not pick one. The city zoning article does not fill the gap. Sections 11-52-70 and 11-52-71 let a city say what kind of structures may go up in each district, and neither one uses the word height. So the town writes both the number and the surface it starts from.
This one is Alabama law, not Auburn law. All Alabama findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Ala. Code 3-4-1Alabama Legislature
- Ala. Code 11-52-70Alabama Legislature
Also on how height is measured in Auburn
- no rule, documents checkedAuburn defines structure height carefully and the definition is about buildings. It is the vertical distance from grade level to the highest point of the roof on a flat roof, to the deck line on a mansard, and to the eave on a gable, hip or gambrel roof. None of those reaches a fence. The corridor rule states four feet and never says from what. The attached housing rule states six feet for a masonry wall and never says from what. A berm is not addressed, a fence built on a retaining wall is not addressed even though retaining walls are named in the definition of a structure, and a fence stepping down a slope is not addressed. Nothing says whether a height is read on the owner’s side of the line or the neighbor’s. The three foot line in the definition of a structure is the one fence measurement the ordinance uses, and it has no datum either. Article II, definition of Structure, HeightAuburn · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Auburn
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Auburn does not set this. It leaves it to Section 5.3 of the Auburn Engineering Design and Construction Manual.
Auburn gives corner visibility its own numbered section and then puts no dimensions in it. Development at intersecting streets has to provide a clear view and be designed and built to Section 5.3, Intersection Design Elements, of the Auburn Engineering Design and Construction Manual. There is no triangle, no distance along the curb or the lot line, and no band of protected height anywhere in the zoning ordinance. The pattern repeats through the section around it: curb cuts follow Section 5.2 of the same manual, deceleration lanes follow Section 5.3, and a transportation impact report follows Section 4.1. The one place the idea appears as a standard rather than a reference is the attached housing rule, where a six foot masonry wall around a yard is allowed only where it does not prevent a clear view of intersecting streets.
Development at intersecting streets shall provide a clear view and be designed and constructed in accordance with the regulations, requirements and specifications of Section 5.3, Intersection Design Elements, of the Auburn Engineering Design and Construction Manual.
The code hands this to Section 5.3 of the Auburn Engineering Design and Construction Manual, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Auburn
- left to the townAlabama draws no clear view triangle at a corner. The city does that. Section 11-52-70 gives each city the power to say what kind of structures may go up in each district, and a corner clearance rule belongs there. Section 11-52-72 lists what a zoning ordinance is for, including easing traffic in the streets, and it names no corner and no triangle. The highways title has one rule about blocking a driver, section 23-1-274, and it covers outdoor advertising signs in business areas, not a fence on a house lot. Ala. Code 11-52-70Alabama · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Auburn
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Auburn does not set this. It leaves it to the Alabama Residential Building Code adopted by the Home Builders Licensure Board, which is a published edition of the International Residential Code.
Alabama writes no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. Section 34-14A-82 says the Alabama Residential Building Code is built from a published edition of the International Residential Code, and the Home Builders Licensure Board adopts it. The height at which a wall of that kind needs a permit, and how one has to be built, are inside that adopted code. Alabama does not post the code text, so the number is not quoted here.
This one is Alabama law, not Auburn law. All Alabama findings
The proposed Alabama Residential Building Code, and any subsequent amendment to the code, shall be based upon a published edition of the Alabama Energy and Residential Code as adopted and amended from the International Residential Code (IRC) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
The code hands this to the Alabama Residential Building Code adopted by the Home Builders Licensure Board, which is a published edition of the International Residential Code, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Auburn
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Auburn answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot fronts a designated corridor and what use is behind the fence.
The one material rule for a house fence in Auburn is in the corridor overlay standards and it is a single sentence: no type of wire fabric fencing material may be used forward of the front plane of the primary structure. Wire fabric covers chain link and welded and woven wire, so along a designated corridor the street face of a lot cannot be chain link, and behind the front plane it can. Nowhere else does the ordinance name a permitted or prohibited material for an ordinary fence. Barbed wire does not appear. Razor wire does not appear. An electric fence does not appear. The other material rules belong to screening for particular uses and get more specific the more sensitive the use: a wood stockade or other opaque fence at least six feet for some, a continuous fence or wall of masonry, wood or other opaque material for others, and an opaque fence no less than ten feet in one case.
No type of wire fabric fencing material shall be used forward of the front plane of the primary structure.
The answer turns on whether the lot fronts a designated corridor and what use is behind the fence.
- in front of the house on a corridor
- No wire fabric.
- behind the front plane
- No material named.
- barbed, razor or electric wire
- Not mentioned at all.
- screening a heavy use
- Opaque, from six feet to ten. 10 ft
Also on materials in Auburn
- set in state lawA battery charged fence in Alabama stands at least ten feet tall. State law defines that kind of fence as part of an alarm system and then gives a list of things it has to meet, and the ten feet is one of them. Ala. Code 11-80-17Alabama · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Auburn
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Alabama answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Alabama says what a fence has to be to count as a lawful fence. Five feet high is the base rule. A rail fence needs rails no more than four inches apart from the ground up through every two feet. A paling fence needs palings no more than three inches apart. A fence built with a ditch needs the ditch four feet wide at the top, the fence five feet high measured from the bottom of the ditch, and three feet high from the top of the bank.
This one is Alabama law, not Auburn law. All Alabama findings
All inclosures and fences must be made at least five feet high, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. If the fence is made of rails, the rails must be not more than four inches apart from the ground to the height of every two feet. If the fence is made of palings, the palings must be not more than three inches apart.
5 ftheight of a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Auburn
- set in state lawThe animal owner keeps the animals in, not the neighbor. Alabama's stock law makes it an offense to let livestock run loose on another person's land or on public land, roads and streets, and it says no county in the state is open range. Section 3-5-3 then makes that owner pay for damage the animals do to crops, shade or fruit trees, shrubs and flowers. Ala. Code 3-5-2Alabama · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Auburn itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 35-7-3, Expenses to Be Borne Proportionately by Adjoining Owners
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 35-7-7, Action to Recover Costs and Expenses
- City of AuburnCity of Auburn Zoning Ordinance, as amended 2 December 2025
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 3-4-1, Requirements as to Construction of Lawful Fences - Generally
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 34-14A-82, Proposal, Adoption, and Implementation of Alabama Residential Building Code
- Alabama Department of Public HealthPublic Swimming Pools, Spas, and Interactive Water Features program page
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 35-7-1, Partition Fences Defined
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama 1975, Section 11-52-70, Establishment, Etc., of Business, Industrial and Residential Districts
- Alabama LegislatureSenate Bill 13, 2021 Regular Session, Enrolled (Act 2021-380)
- Alabama LegislatureCode of Alabama, Title 3, Chapter 5, Stock Law
What this page does not cover
A city ordinance is not the only rule that reaches a fence. The zoning district a parcel sits in can change the height allowed on it, and so can an overlay district, a recorded easement, a fire hazard severity zone or a coastal zone. A homeowner association can be stricter than the city and nothing in the municipal code will say so. None of those appear here.
The rules above are the ones Auburn publishes, plus the Alabama rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Alabama has the state layer in full.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, ordinances are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean