Fence laws in Coral Gables, Florida
What the Coral Gables municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Coral Gables sets no rule of its own, the Florida rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Coral Gables, Florida, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A masonry or coral rock wall may go anywhere on a Coral Gables property, and in some cases has to go on the line, and the answer turns on whether the barrier is masonry or wire, and where on the lot it runs. The figure is 100 feet, for clearance a wire fence keeps from the named roads.
- How tall
- Coral Gables holds a wall or fence to four feet, and the Board of Architects may allow twelve inches more to account for topography, and the answer turns on the type of wall, the district, and whether the Board of Architects has approved it. The figure is 4 feet, for general height limit for a wall or fence.
- Permits
- Coral Gables writes the revocation into the permit itself.
- Pool barriers
- Florida requires a pool barrier at least four feet high, measured on the outside. The figure is 4 feet, for residential swimming pool barrier, measured on the outside.
- Spite fences
- Coral Gables has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Coral Gables measures from the established grade or from the actual ground level at the wall, whichever is more restrictive, so neither a low official datum nor a raised bed at the base can be used to gain height. The figure is 4 inches, for height a column cap may add above the limit.
- Corner lots
- Florida has a state rule about blocking a driver from seeing what is coming, and it is written about signs. It reaches signs next to a state highway, an interstate or a federal aid primary road only.
- Retaining walls
- Florida statute names a wall that holds back earth in one place, and it is about how many permits a town can charge for. It reaches a house, a duplex or a townhouse only.
- Materials
- Coral Gables lists five wall materials: coral rock, concrete block stuccoed on both sides with a concrete cap, slump or adobe brick, precast concrete, and used red brick, limed red brick or cement brick painted white, and the answer turns on the material, and for wood the street or subdivision. The figure is 4 feet, for height of a permitted wood picket fence.
- Livestock
- Florida sets a legal fence at three feet high, made of barbed or other soft wire, with at least three strands pulled tight on posts, trees or other supports no more than twenty feet apart. The figure is 3 feet, for height of a legal fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Coral Gables?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Coral Gables answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the barrier is masonry or wire, and where on the lot it runs.
A masonry or coral rock wall may go anywhere on a Coral Gables property, and in some cases has to go on the line. A wire fence is confined: along the rear line or in the rear setback, along a side line as far as the front of the building extended, or as far as the rear corner of the building nearest that line. Where it runs further toward the street than that corner, a masonry or coral rock wall has to connect the building to the lot line and tie the wire fence in. On a corner lot no wire fence may stand in a yard that abuts a street, and in the Design and Innovation District Overlay no wire fence may come within a hundred feet of Bird Road, LeJeune Road or Ponce De Leon Boulevard. No wire fence at all is allowed in an MX district.
Along the side property line to the front line of a building extended to the nearest point on the side property line provided that a coral rock or masonry wall connects the building with the wire fences;
The answer turns on whether the barrier is masonry or wire, and where on the lot it runs.
- a masonry or coral rock wall
- Anywhere on the premises.
- a wire fence in a residential or special use district
- Rear line and side line to the building, with a masonry wall tying it in.
- the Design and Innovation District Overlay
- No wire fence within a hundred feet of the three named roads. 100 ft
- an MX district
- No wire fences at all.
Also on fences on the property line in Coral Gables
- no rule, documents checkedFlorida has no law about splitting the cost of a fence on a boundary. Chapter 588 is about legal fences and livestock, and every section in it deals with fence strength, posted land and impounding animals. Chapter 704, which covers easements and rights of entry, says nothing about a boundary fence either. In Florida the split is whatever the two neighbors agree to. Fla. Stat. ch. 588Florida · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Coral Gables?
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Coral Gables answers this, but the answer changes depending on the type of wall, the district, and whether the Board of Architects has approved it.
Coral Gables holds a wall or fence to four feet, and the Board of Architects may allow twelve inches more to account for topography. Past that the exceptions are listed one by one. A wing wall running parallel from the building toward the property line may exceed four feet in a residential district with board approval, and so may a courtyard or patio wall and a wall enclosing a screened enclosure. Ornamental wrought iron, cast iron or aluminum picket between masonry columns may reach six feet, or sit on top of a masonry wall of no more than four feet to the same six foot total. On a building site with under seventy five feet of street frontage a solid rear yard wall may go to six feet for privacy. Where a residential and a commercial district adjoin, a six foot wall is required on the line.
Walls or fences shall not exceed four (4) feet in height from the established grade or the actual ground level at such wall or fence, whichever is more restrictive, unless granted by the Board of Architects to maximum of twelve (12) inches to account for topography, except in the following cases:
The answer turns on the type of wall, the district, and whether the Board of Architects has approved it.
- an ordinary wall or fence
- Four feet, plus a foot the Board of Architects may allow for topography. 4 ft
- ornamental picket between masonry columns, with board approval
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a rear yard wall on a site under seventy five feet of frontage
- Six feet for privacy. 75 ft
- the line between a residential and a commercial district
- A six foot wall is required, built by the commercial owner. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Coral Gables
- no rule, documents checkedFlorida sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The only height in the fence chapter is the five foot floor that makes a fence a legal fence for holding livestock, which is a minimum for farm land and not a cap for a yard. The permit statute names no height either. Height comes from city and county ordinance. Fla. Stat. ch. 588Florida · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Coral Gables?
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Coral Gables answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Coral Gables writes the revocation into the permit itself. Every permit to build a wall or fence in a recorded public utility easement has to provide that it is subject to revocation, and the wall is built on the condition that the owner removes it whenever a utility company asks for the space. If the owner does not remove it after request and notice, the utility or the city may do so at the owner’s expense. Wood picket fences carry their own timing condition, having to be built and painted within a reasonable time after the permit issues, as the Building Official determines.
Every permit for the erection of a wall or fence in any public utility easement of record shall provide that it is subject to revocation.
Also on permits in Coral Gables
- set in state lawFlorida runs one building code for the whole state and makes a permit the default for building work. The statute itself says nothing about fences. It does force a local government to skip the permit for work on a single family home worth under $7,500. The fence exemption by height is in the Florida Building Code, not in the statute. Fla. Stat. 553.79(1)(a)Florida · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Coral Gables
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Florida answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Florida requires a pool barrier at least four feet high, measured on the outside. The same section bars gaps or footholds that let a small child get under, through or over it. The barrier has to ring the pool itself and has to be separate from a yard fence, unless that yard fence runs along the pool and meets the same rules. Gates swing away from the pool and latch on their own.
This one is Florida law, not Coral Gables law. All Florida findings
The barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside.
4 ftresidential swimming pool barrier, measured on the outside
Spite fence laws in Coral Gables
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Coral Gables law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Florida has no spite fence law. The fence chapter sets no height that sets anything off and no rule about why a fence went up. Chapter 823, the public nuisance chapter, runs from bonfires to abandoned boats and never reaches a fence built to annoy a neighbor. A claim in Florida rests on common law nuisance instead, which is judge made rather than written by the legislature.
This one is Florida law, not Coral Gables law. All Florida findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Fla. Stat. ch. 588The Florida Senate
- Fla. Stat. ch. 823The Florida Senate
How fence height is measured in Coral Gables
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Coral Gables answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Coral Gables measures from the established grade or from the actual ground level at the wall, whichever is more restrictive, so neither a low official datum nor a raised bed at the base can be used to gain height. A cap or architectural feature on a column may rise four inches above the permitted height and no more, which is the tightest column allowance of any Florida city on this site. Wall motifs and other architectural details may exceed the wall height only with the approval of the Board of Architects or the Development Review Official.
Columns in connection with a fence and wall may include a cap or architectural feature as a vertical extension of the column up to a maximum of four (4) inches above the maximum permitted fence orwall height.
4 inheight a column cap may add above the limit
Also on how height is measured in Coral Gables
- set in state lawFlorida answers the measuring question outright in its oldest fence section. A general fence stands at least five feet and keeps its gaps under four inches for the first two feet up from the ground. Where the fence is built with a trench beside it, those five feet run from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the fence. A bottom point and a top point, both named, which is the part most state fence rules leave out. The rule is about holding livestock. A yard fence in a Florida city is sized by local land development rules adopted under section 163.3202, and those rules carry their own way of measuring. Fla. Stat. 588.01Florida · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Coral Gables
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Florida answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Florida has a state rule about blocking a driver from seeing what is coming, and it is written about signs. Chapter 479 bans a sign on the inside of a curve, or placed any way that could keep road users from seeing approaching vehicles, next to a state highway or a federal aid primary road. Section 337.406 adds that using a state road right of way in a way that gets in the way of traffic is unlawful. Neither one draws a triangle on a corner lot. That is left to local land development rules.
This one is Florida law, not Coral Gables law. All Florida findings
Which is placed on the inside of a curve or in any manner that may prevent persons using the highway from obtaining an unobstructed view of approaching vehicles and which is adjacent to the right-of-way of any highway on the State Highway System, interstate highway system, or federal-aid primary highway system.
Retaining wall rules in Coral Gables
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Florida answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Florida statute names a wall that holds back earth in one place, and it is about how many permits a town can charge for. When one wall runs across more than one lot, the local government has to issue a single permit for the whole job and cannot demand one for each lot the wall crosses. The rule is written for houses, duplexes and townhouses. It sets no height and it does not say how the wall has to be built.
This one is Florida law, not Coral Gables law. All Florida findings
If a retaining wall spans more than one lot or parcel, a local government that issues building permits must issue a permit for a retaining wall for the project as a whole and may not require a building permit for each lot or parcel upon which a retaining wall is installed on the property of a single-family or two-family residential dwelling or a townhouse.
Also on retaining walls in Coral Gables
- left to the townThe height at which a wall that holds back earth needs a permit is not in Florida statute. It is in the Florida Building Code, which the Florida Building Commission rewrites every three years from the newest International Building Code and International Residential Code. Once the commission adopts it, that code applies across the state with no vote by any city or county, and a local government may only make it stricter. Fla. Stat. 553.73(7)(a)Florida · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Coral Gables
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Coral Gables answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and for wood the street or subdivision.
Coral Gables lists five wall materials: coral rock, concrete block stuccoed on both sides with a concrete cap, slump or adobe brick, precast concrete, and used red brick, limed red brick or cement brick painted white. A wire fence may be aluminum or galvanized steel chain link, vinyl coated chain link in black, dark green, forest green, turf green or aqua only, or a looped ornamental type, at no lighter than eleven gauge, with terminal posts of at least two inch pipe set in concrete. Wood picket is allowed only on Santa Maria Street and in Golden Gate, MacFarlane Homestead and the Coconut Grove Warehouse Subdivision, at four feet, in cedar, cypress or redwood, with gaps at least half a picket wide. The finished side faces the neighboring lot.
Vinyl coated galvanized steel chain link in the following colors only: black, dark green, forest green, turf green and aqua.
The answer turns on the material, and for wood the street or subdivision.
- a wall
- One of five named masonry or brick materials.
- a wire fence
- Chain link or looped ornamental at eleven gauge or better, in the listed colors.
- a wood picket fence
- Only on the named street and in the three named subdivisions, at four feet. 4 ft
Also on materials in Coral Gables
- set in state lawFlorida describes its legal fence by the wire it uses. The fence stands at least three feet tall with three or more strands of barbed or other soft wire on supports no more than twenty feet apart. Battens let the supports stand farther apart, and an electric fence built with high tensile wire gets the widest spacing of all. Fla. Stat. 588.011Florida · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Coral Gables
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Florida answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Florida sets a legal fence at three feet high, made of barbed or other soft wire, with at least three strands pulled tight on posts, trees or other supports no more than twenty feet apart. With battens the supports may stand up to sixty feet apart for a plain fence and one hundred fifty feet for an electric one built with high tensile wire. Any other material that meets about the same specs counts, and gates are built to the same standard.
This one is Florida law, not Coral Gables law. All Florida findings
Any fence or enclosure at least 3 feet in height made of barbed or other soft wire consisting of not less than three strands of wire stretched securely on posts, trees, or other supports, standing not more than 20 feet apart
3 ftheight of a legal fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Coral Gables
- set in state lawFlorida runs one livestock law over the whole state, and holding the animals in is the owner's job. An owner who lets livestock run loose or stray onto a public road pays for all the injury and property damage that follows. Section 588.25 leaves county laws in place where they already require livestock to be penned, and fills the gap where they do not. Fla. Stat. 588.15Florida · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Coral Gables itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- The Florida Senate2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 588, Legal Fences and Livestock at Large
- The Florida Senate2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 704, Easements
- City of Coral GablesZoning Code, Article 5 Architecture, Section 5-400, Walls and Fences
- The Florida LegislatureThe 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 553, Part IV, Florida Building Code
- The Florida LegislatureThe 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 515, Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act
- The Florida Senate2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 823, Public Nuisances
- The Florida Senate2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 479, Outdoor Advertising, Section 479.11, Specified signs prohibited
- The Florida LegislatureThe 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 553, Part IV, Florida Building Code
- The Florida LegislatureThe 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 553, Part IV, Florida Building Code
- Florida LegislatureThe 2025 Florida Statutes, Title XLV, Chapter 588, Legal Fences and Livestock at Large
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 Coral Gables publishes, plus the Florida rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Florida 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