Fence laws in Daytona Beach, Florida
What the Daytona Beach municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Daytona Beach sets no rule of its own, the Florida rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Daytona Beach, Florida, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A multifamily or non-residential fence in Daytona Beach facing a public right of way sits behind whatever landscape or buffer yard is required, while on an interior lot line the same fence may go on the line, with tree planters and accent plantings placed against the inside. The figure is 5 feet, for setback from the front line along a major thoroughfare.
- How tall
- Daytona Beach measures the front not from a setback line but from the house: four feet along and between the front lot line and the front of the structure, six feet anywhere else on the lot, and the answer turns on where the fence sits relative to the front of the house, the material, and the district. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in front of the structure.
- Permits
- Daytona Beach requires a permit before a fence or wall goes up and again before fifty percent or more of one is repaired or replaced, so a large repair is treated as new construction, and the answer turns on how much of the fence is being repaired, and what else is happening on the site. The figure is 50 percent, for share of a fence whose repair needs a permit.
- 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
- Daytona Beach has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Daytona Beach controls what a fence looks like as the ground falls away. The figure is 24 inches, for tallest step allowed on a sloping site.
- 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
- Daytona Beach sets no height for a retaining wall.
- Materials
- A required screening wall in Daytona Beach is six feet, solid faced for the lower four, and the upper two may be solid, open faced or ornamental provided at least fifty percent opacity is kept, and the answer turns on whether the fence is required screening, on a major thoroughfare, or in an industrial district. The figure is 6 feet, for height of a required screening wall.
- 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 Daytona Beach?
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Daytona Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A multifamily or non-residential fence in Daytona Beach facing a public right of way sits behind whatever landscape or buffer yard is required, while on an interior lot line the same fence may go on the line, with tree planters and accent plantings placed against the inside. Along a major city thoroughfare the setback is stated as a number as well: at least five feet from the front property line and behind every required setback, including scenic, bufferyard and landscaping setbacks, with that strip landscaped. A wood fence there faces its finished side out, with stringers and posts not visible from outside.
Fences or walls along multifamily or nonresidential property perimeters adjacent to public rights-of-way shall be set behind any required landscape or buffer yard area. On interior lot lines, the fence or wall may be placed on the property line and tree planters with accent plantings shall be placed adjacent to the inside of the fence or wall.
5 ftsetback from the front line along a major thoroughfare
Also on fences on the property line in Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach?
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Daytona Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence sits relative to the front of the house, the material, and the district.
Daytona Beach measures the front not from a setback line but from the house: four feet along and between the front lot line and the front of the structure, six feet anywhere else on the lot. A hedge gets six in front and eight behind. Chain link is barred from the strip in front of the house entirely and held to six feet behind it, or eight in the BW and M districts, with vinyl coated chain link around a tennis or basketball court allowed to pass six. A wrought iron fence may reach six feet with columns a foot above that, and in the BW and M districts a six foot masonry wall may go in the front yard for screening where development review staff find no negative impact. The code also reserves the right to impose more restriction anywhere it is needed for vehicular and pedestrian safety.
Fences and walls shall not exceed four feet in height along and between the front lot line and the front of the structure, and shall not exceed six feet in height elsewhere on the lot.
The answer turns on where the fence sits relative to the front of the house, the material, and the district.
- between the front lot line and the front of the house
- Four feet, and no chain link at all. 4 ft
- elsewhere on the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a hedge behind the front of the house
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- chain link behind the house in the BW and M districts
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach?
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Daytona Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on how much of the fence is being repaired, and what else is happening on the site.
Daytona Beach requires a permit before a fence or wall goes up and again before fifty percent or more of one is repaired or replaced, so a large repair is treated as new construction. Along a major city thoroughfare that same fifty percent threshold is one of five triggers that pull an older fence up to the current design standards, alongside a change of use, a business reopening after six months closed, and renovation work over five thousand dollars that with the past five years of work reaches a fifth of the assessed value of the building.
A permit shall be obtained prior to: (a) Erection of any wall or fence. (b) Repair or replacement of 50 percent or more of any wall or fence.
The answer turns on how much of the fence is being repaired, and what else is happening on the site.
- erecting a fence or wall
- A permit first.
- repairing or replacing half or more of one
- A permit, and on a major thoroughfare the current design standards apply. 50%
- temporary fencing at a construction site or an event
- Exempt, and an event fence stays no more than sixty consecutive days. 60 days
Also on permits in Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach
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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 Daytona Beach 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 Daytona Beach
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Daytona Beach 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 Daytona Beach 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 Daytona Beach
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Daytona Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Daytona Beach controls what a fence looks like as the ground falls away. The top of every fence and wall has to be level and every post set perpendicular to it, and on a sloping site the top is stepped rather than raked, in steps of no more than twenty four inches, with the height limit still binding at every point. A racked fence that follows the slope is therefore not an option.
The top of all fences and walls shall be level, and all posts shall be set perpendicular to the top. On sloping sites, the top of the fence or wall shall be stepped with a maximum step height of 24 inches, and the maximum height shall not be exceeded.
24 intallest step allowed on a sloping site
Also on how height is measured in Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach
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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 Daytona Beach 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 Daytona Beach
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Daytona Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Daytona Beach sets no height for a retaining wall. It says nothing in the regulations prevents one being built where it does not adversely affect the natural flow of surface water or otherwise harm neighboring land, so the test is drainage rather than a dimension. Two further rules attach: where a six foot screening wall would have to stand on top of a retaining wall, the screening wall may be modified or waived for an alternative that still screens, and a retaining wall along a perimeter facing a public right of way has to be stone, brick or another decorative surface, or else screened with landscaping.
Nothing in these regulations shall be construed to prohibit or prevent the erection of a retaining wall on any property where the wall does not adversely affect the natural flow of surface water or create any other adverse effect upon adjacent or adjoining properties.
Also on retaining walls in Daytona Beach
- set in state lawFlorida 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. Fla. Stat. 553.79(1)(i)Florida · Statute
- 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 Daytona Beach
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Daytona Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is required screening, on a major thoroughfare, or in an industrial district.
A required screening wall in Daytona Beach is six feet, solid faced for the lower four, and the upper two may be solid, open faced or ornamental provided at least fifty percent opacity is kept. The outside is painted or stuccoed to industry standards and finished in an earth tone. A required screening fence is solid faced pressure treated pine, cedar, concrete or cypress, with plywood and particle board prohibited, in natural wood or an earth tone. Along a major city thoroughfare the palette is written out: matte earth tones, matte black, matte white or pastels of at least ninety percent matte white, complementing the development and never competing with the building or reading as a sign. Barbed wire is prohibited outside industrial districts, and inside them it is barred from arterial and collector frontages and set back three feet from the right of way.
Required screening walls shall be six feet high. The lower four feet shall be solid-faced construction; the upper two feet may be solid-faced, open-faced or ornamental construction provided at least 50 percent opacity is maintained.
3.2(b), 3.4(b) and (c), 3.5(f) to (h)
The answer turns on whether the fence is required screening, on a major thoroughfare, or in an industrial district.
- a required screening wall
- Six feet, solid for four, at least half opaque above, finished in an earth tone. 6 ft
- a fence along a major city thoroughfare
- Matte earth tones, black, white or pale pastels, and no plywood.
- barbed wire in an industrial district
- Not on an arterial or collector frontage, and three feet back from the right of way. 3 ft
Also on materials in Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach
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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 Daytona Beach 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 Daytona Beach
- 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 Daytona Beach 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 Daytona BeachLand Development Code, Article 8, Section 3, Fences, Walls and Hedges
- 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 Daytona Beach 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