Fence laws in Delaware
What Delaware statutes and statewide codes say about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line.
Delaware fence laws at a glance
| Topic | What the record says | Figure | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fences on the property line | Stated | no figure | 25 Del. C. 1304 |
| Fence height | Silent | no figure | 25 Del. C. ch. 13 |
| Permits | Delegated | no figure | 16 Del. C. 7601 |
| Pool barriers | Statedpublic and semipublic pools | 48 in | 16 Del. Admin. C. 4464, 9.12.2 |
| Spite fences | Silent | no figure | 25 Del. C. ch. 13 |
| How height is measured | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Corner visibility | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Retaining walls | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Materials | Statedresidential districts | no figure | 25 Del. C. 1301 |
| Agricultural fencing | Stated | 54 in | 25 Del. C. 1301 |
Fence laws in Delaware, question by question
Who owns the fence between two properties in Delaware?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Delaware splits a partition fence in equal shares between the occupants on either side, for as long as both of them keep improving their land. Where somebody fences land next to land that is already fenced, so that part of the existing fence becomes the shared line, the fence viewers set the sum one side pays the other. After that payment the fence is kept up equally.
The respective occupants of lands enclosed by fences shall maintain partition fences between them in equal shares, as long as both parties continue to improve the same.
Also on fences on the property line in Delaware
- StatedThe second half of the same section covers the neighbor who fenced first. When new fencing turns an existing fence into a partition fence, the fence viewers fix what the later owner pays toward the fence that is already standing. 25 Del. C. 1304(b)Delaware · Statute
- StatedDelaware still runs fence disputes through fence viewers. The Superior Court appoints between five and eight of them in each hundred every year, and they are the judges of whether a fence is good enough, what it costs to build or repair, how that cost is divided, and what damage trespassing animals did. Any three of them may act and a majority of those three decides. 25 Del. C. 1303Delaware · Statute
- StatedWhen the fence viewers call a fence insufficient they notify the person who has to maintain it. Five days of neglect after that notice lets a justice of the peace send the other side in to do the work, and the side that did the work gets back double what the neglecting party was supposed to pay. 25 Del. C. 1305Delaware · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Delaware?
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Delaware sets no statewide limit on how tall a residential fence may be. The heights in the fence chapter are minimums that define a lawful fence for holding livestock, not a cap on a yard fence, and the chapter that deals with construction codes hands the whole subject to the counties. Height is a local zoning question in Delaware.
Documents read before writing that:
- 25 Del. C. ch. 13Delaware General Assembly
- 16 Del. C. ch. 76Delaware General Assembly
Do I need a permit for a fence in Delaware?
DelegatedThe code hands the question to a department standard that is not printed in the code.
Delaware does not have a state building code. The statute lets the Levy Court of Kent County and the county councils of New Castle and Sussex adopt and enforce building codes of their own and charge fees to enforce them. A separate section ties county and municipal codes to the International Energy Conservation Code for energy, and nothing else in state law sets a construction standard. Whether a fence needs a permit is therefore a county or municipal question, and the answer is not printed anywhere in the Delaware Code.
The Levy Court of Kent County and the County Councils of New Castle County and Sussex County may adopt and enforce building codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes or other similar codes.
The code hands this to building codes adopted by the three counties and by municipalities, which is not published in the code itself.
Pool fence requirements in Delaware
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Delaware requires every outdoor public pool to be enclosed by a fence at least four feet high at every point, measured from the ground outside the fence, and the regulation names six feet as the recommended height. The gate has to lock and has to be locked when the pool is closed. The regulation defines a fence as a continuous vertical barrier whose openings are no more than four inches across. It covers public and semi public pools, not a pool at a private home.
All outdoor pools shall be enclosed by a fence which provides a barrier that is at least four (4) feet high everywhere
16 Del. Admin. C. 4464, 9.12.2
48 infence around an outdoor public pool
Spite fence laws in Delaware
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Delaware has no spite fence statute. The fence chapter in the property title says nothing about a fence built to annoy a neighbor, and the criminal nuisance section reaches only conduct that endangers health or safety or a place kept for unlawful conduct. Neither one sets a height at which a fence becomes a nuisance.
Documents read before writing that:
- 25 Del. C. ch. 13Delaware General Assembly
- 11 Del. C. 1322Delaware General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Delaware
Not researched yet for Delaware. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence rules for corner lots in Delaware
Not researched yet for Delaware. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Retaining wall rules in Delaware
Not researched yet for Delaware. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence materials allowed in Delaware
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Delaware bans barbed wire, razor wire and anything like them in a residential district unless the county or municipal zoning board, or its board of adjustment, approves it first. Land being used for farming or for education is outside the ban. This is a statewide rule sitting in the property title rather than in a zoning code, which is where most states put it.
No fence of any kind which is composed in whole or in part of, or to which there is or has been added, barbed wire, razor wire or any barbed wire type of fencing material shall be permitted in any residential district without prior approval of the county or municipal zoning board or its board of adjustment
Also on materials in Delaware
- StatedA separate sentence in the same section governs the line between two properties. Barbed wire on a division fence takes the agreement of both owners, whatever the zoning district is. 25 Del. C. 1301Delaware · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Delaware
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Delaware defines a lawful fence by county. In New Castle and Kent counties it stands four and one half feet high, or four feet high with a ditch within two feet of it. In Sussex County four feet is the height. These numbers exist to hold livestock, and a lawful fence is what decides who pays when an animal gets out.
shall be deemed a lawful fence in New Castle and Kent Counties, and in Sussex County 4 feet shall be the height of lawful fences.
54 inlawful fence in New Castle and Kent counties
Also on agricultural fencing in Delaware
- StatedGround enclosed by a lawful fence is protected ground in Delaware. The owner of a horse, cow, goat, sheep or hog that gets in pays whatever the fence viewers award. An animal already known to break through lawful fences costs its owner double damages once notice has been given. 25 Del. C. 1302Delaware · Statute
Documents behind this page
4 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- Delaware General AssemblyDelaware Code, Title 25, Chapter 13, Section 1304
- Delaware General AssemblyDelaware Code, Title 16, Chapter 76, County or Municipal Building, Plumbing, Electrical and Other Codes
- Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public HealthDelaware Administrative Code, Title 16, 4464 Public Swimming Pools
- Delaware General AssemblyDelaware Code, Title 11, Chapter 5, Subchapter VII, Offenses Against Public Health, Order and Decency
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean