Fence laws in Lauderhill, Florida
What the Lauderhill municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Lauderhill sets no rule of its own, the Florida rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Lauderhill, Florida, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Lauderhill fence or wall at a property line sits next to the line, not on it, unless both owners apply jointly for the permit and give mutual assent.
- How tall
- Four feet is the Lauderhill limit for a hedge, wall or fence in a residential front street setback area, which runs the full width of the lot on interior and corner lots alike, and six feet applies elsewhere including along the property lines of a corner lot, and the answer turns on the district, the setback, what the land abuts, and whether the director has approved more. The figure is 4 feet, for hedge, wall or fence in a front street setback.
- Permits
- Lauderhill requires a permit from the Chief Building Official not only to erect a fence or wall but to replace, repair or relocate one.
- 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
- Lauderhill has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Lauderhill measures every hedge, fence and wall from the existing grade at the situs of the thing itself, so the reading is taken where the structure stands rather than at an average across the lot or at the street.
- Corner lots
- Nothing in Lauderhill may be built or grown more than two feet above the nearest street grade within twenty five feet of where street lines meet, or where they would meet if produced. The figure is 25 feet, for distance from the intersection of street lines.
- 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
- A Lauderhill fence is iron, steel, aluminum, PVC, wood or a similar material meeting industry standards and the Florida Building Code, and the answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or a wall, and the material. The figure is 18 inches, for height an architectural feature may add to a 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 Lauderhill?
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Lauderhill answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Lauderhill fence or wall at a property line sits next to the line, not on it, unless both owners apply jointly for the permit and give mutual assent. Where they do, the code sets out the consequence that usually has to be litigated: maintenance and repair of that wall or fence become the joint and severable responsibility of both property owners. An owner who builds on land subject to a city easement or right of way is also liable for what it costs the city to remove, move, tear down or rebuild the structure.
where walls or fences are located at property lines they shall be adjacent to them unless the adjoining property owners apply jointly for a permit giving their mutual asset to the erection of the wall or fence on their common property line. Maintenance and repair of such walls and fences shall be the joint and severable responsibility of the property owners.
Also on fences on the property line in Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill?
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Lauderhill answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the setback, what the land abuts, and whether the director has approved more.
Four feet is the Lauderhill limit for a hedge, wall or fence in a residential front street setback area, which runs the full width of the lot on interior and corner lots alike, and six feet applies elsewhere including along the property lines of a corner lot. On non-residentially zoned property the limit along a lot line is eight feet. Where commercial or industrial land abuts a residential district, or is separated from one only by a street, alley, canal or open space, an eight foot buffer wall is required, and along the Florida Turnpike the city may require sixteen feet or more. A privacy fence may be six feet measured from the floor elevation of the house, or eight where the rear line abuts another single family home, and the Planning and Zoning Director may allow eight feet inside a residential development where vision clearance and the CPTED standards are met.
Where any district zoned commercial or industrial abuts on a residential district or is separated from a residential district by a street, alley, canal or other open space then any plot or parcel in such nonresidential district shall be buffered from said residential district by a wall of a height of eight (8) feet. Along the Florida Turnpike, a sixteen (16) or more feet high wall may be required.
5.18.5, 5.18.6, 5.18.9, 5.18.13 and 5.18.16
The answer turns on the district, the setback, what the land abuts, and whether the director has approved more.
- a residential front street setback area
- Four feet, across the full width of the lot. 4 ft
- elsewhere on a residential lot, including the lines of a corner lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a lot line on non-residentially zoned property
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a buffer wall along the Florida Turnpike
- Sixteen feet or more may be required. 16 ft
Also on fence height in Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill?
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Lauderhill answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Lauderhill requires a permit from the Chief Building Official not only to erect a fence or wall but to replace, repair or relocate one. Nothing may go in a public right of way and a permit may be refused in an easement, with one route left open: the City Commission may allow a fence in a right of way or easement for a term of years where the land is not presently needed and the installation would serve the public health, safety or general welfare. Separately, a review body may require a screening fence at a height above the ordinary limits, weighing its appearance, whether it sits on private or public land, and its effect on visibility at street and driveway intersections.
No fences or walls shall be erected or installed, replaced, repaired or relocated unless a permit for same has been issued by the Chief Building Official or designee.
Also on permits in Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill
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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 Lauderhill 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 Lauderhill
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Lauderhill 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 Lauderhill 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 Lauderhill
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Lauderhill answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Lauderhill measures every hedge, fence and wall from the existing grade at the situs of the thing itself, so the reading is taken where the structure stands rather than at an average across the lot or at the street. The privacy fence rule is the one departure, because there the six or eight feet is measured from the floor elevation of the house instead of from the ground.
The height of all hedges, fences and walls shall be measured from existing grade at the situs of said hedge, fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill
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Lauderhill answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Nothing in Lauderhill may be built or grown more than two feet above the nearest street grade within twenty five feet of where street lines meet, or where they would meet if produced. A hedge is caught on the same terms as a fence, and the rule reaches every district rather than only residential land.
No fence wall or hedge shall be erected, constructed, maintained or grown to a height exceeding two (2) feet above the street grade nearest thereto, within twenty-five (25) feet of the intersection of any street lines, or of the street lines produced.
25 ftdistance from the intersection of street lines
Also on corner visibility in Lauderhill
- set in state lawFlorida 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. Fla. Stat. 479.11Florida · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Lauderhill
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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 Lauderhill 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 Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill
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Lauderhill answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the structure is a fence or a wall, and the material.
A Lauderhill fence is iron, steel, aluminum, PVC, wood or a similar material meeting industry standards and the Florida Building Code. Chain link or mesh has to be at least eleven gauge and chicken wire is prohibited outright. Shadow box, stockade, board on board and picket fences are all permitted, but no permitted fence may be built with any plywood. A wall is concrete, masonry, tile or a similar permanent material, finished on both sides with features such as changes in texture, materials and capstones, and architectural features and light fixtures on top may add eighteen inches over no more than twenty percent of the wall’s length. Barbed wire, razor wire, broken glass and electrified fencing are prohibited as injurious materials.
Chain link or mesh fences shall contain a minimum gauge of eleven (11). Chicken wire or similar material is prohibited. Wood fences such as shadow box, stockade, board-on-board, and picket fences are permitted. The construction of any permitted fence with any type of plywood material is prohibited.
The answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or a wall, and the material.
- a chain link or mesh fence
- At least eleven gauge, and never chicken wire.
- a wood fence
- Shadow box, stockade, board on board or picket, and no plywood.
- a wall
- Finished on both sides, with features on top adding no more than eighteen inches. 18 in
Also on materials in Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill
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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 Lauderhill 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 Lauderhill
- 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 Lauderhill 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 LauderhillLand Development Regulations, Article III, Section 5.18, 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 Lauderhill 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