Fence laws in North Miami, Florida
What the North Miami municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where North Miami sets no rule of its own, the Florida rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in North Miami, Florida, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A North Miami fence, wall or hedge may go on the property line, but not past the line or the official right of way, and no gate or opening may swing, roll or otherwise encroach into the right of way. The figure is 3 feet, for clearance kept around a fire hydrant or water connection.
- How tall
- A North Miami single family front yard takes five feet, with decorative arches for gates allowed a foot above the fence and posts six inches, and every fence there has to be of a decorative design, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, and whether the fence is opaque. The figure is 5 feet, for fence or wall in a single family front yard.
- Permits
- Every fence, wall and hedge in North Miami goes through zoning clearance and building permit procedures, and neither a certificate of occupancy nor a certificate of use issues until the required fences, walls and screening hedges are actually built.
- Pool barriers
- No North Miami pool passes final inspection or is filled until a safety barrier of at least four feet is up, and no pool permit issues unless a permit for the barrier is taken out at the same time. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of a pool safety barrier.
- Spite fences
- North Miami has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- North Miami measures a fence from the finished grade of the lot or from the average elevation of the finished building site, taking readings along both sides at five foot intervals and dividing. The figure is 20 percent, for most a decorative column may add above the permitted height.
- Corner lots
- North Miami keeps its safe sight distance triangle clear between two and a half feet and seven feet above grade, and names grass, ground cover, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees, rocks, walls and fences among the things that may not obstruct it, and the answer turns on the functional classification of the through street. The figure is 260 feet, for required visibility to the left at an arterial.
- 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
- Chain link in North Miami is pushed all the way back: permitted only behind the rear building line, barred from front yards, side yards and side street yards in every district, and barred from a through lot, with the M-1 district the one exception, and the answer turns on the district and the position of the fence relative to the rear building line.
- 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 North Miami?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
North Miami answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A North Miami fence, wall or hedge may go on the property line, but not past the line or the official right of way, and no gate or opening may swing, roll or otherwise encroach into the right of way. Building inside a recorded easement is heavier: the owner needs written, notarized releases from every public agency or utility with rights to it, and from every private interest, and then a notarized letter to the city accepting the full cost of gaining access and restoring the area, holding the city, its officials and the utilities harmless. Nothing may be built within three feet of a fire hydrant or water connection.
No fence, wall or other similar structure may be constructed within an identified and duly recorded easement unless the property owner has: Obtained a written, notarized release from all public agencies or utility entities having rights to the easement;
5-1209, Location on property lines and Encroachment on recorded easement
3 ftclearance kept around a fire hydrant or water connection
Also on fences on the property line in North Miami
- 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 North Miami?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
North Miami answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, and whether the fence is opaque.
A North Miami single family front yard takes five feet, with decorative arches for gates allowed a foot above the fence and posts six inches, and every fence there has to be of a decorative design. A completely opaque fence over three feet is prohibited in that front setback, so anything taller has to be see-through. Side and rear setbacks get six feet, and opaque is allowed there. Multifamily districts get six feet in the front yard. Non-residential land gets eight feet, cut back to six where a commercial property abuts a single family neighborhood, and a six foot masonry wall is required wherever a non-residential side or rear line faces residential zoning. Outdoor storage screening runs to eight feet, a tennis court fence to fourteen.
Completely opaque fences or walls exceeding three (3) feet in height shall be prohibited in the required front yard setback.
The answer turns on the district, the yard, and whether the fence is opaque.
- a single family front yard
- Five feet, decorative, and no more than three feet if opaque. 5 ft
- a required side or rear setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a non-residential district
- Eight feet, or six where it abuts a single family neighborhood. 8 ft
- a tennis court fence meeting accessory use setbacks
- Fourteen feet. 14 ft
Also on fence height in North Miami
- 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 North Miami?
Compare permits across all 50 states
North Miami answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every fence, wall and hedge in North Miami goes through zoning clearance and building permit procedures, and neither a certificate of occupancy nor a certificate of use issues until the required fences, walls and screening hedges are actually built. A temporary construction fence may be exempted from the height, opacity and landscaping rules at the discretion of the community planning and development director, provided it does not block a driver’s view. Where a non-residential fence would face its post side outward, the director may allow it only if the applicant produces notarized approval letters from every adjacent or affected owner.
All fences, walls, or hedges shall comply with appropriate zoning clearance and building permit procedures. A certificate of occupancy or certificate of use shall not be issued until all required fences, walls, or screening hedges are erected, constructed, or installed.
5-1209, Permits required, and 5-1210
Also on permits in North Miami
- 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 North Miami
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
North Miami answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No North Miami pool passes final inspection or is filled until a safety barrier of at least four feet is up, and no pool permit issues unless a permit for the barrier is taken out at the same time. The barrier may be a screened patio, a wooden or wire fence, a rock or concrete block wall or another material chosen to match the architecture, and it may enclose the pool or the premises so long as the area is entirely closed. Gates are the spring lock type so they shut and fasten by themselves, carry a safe lock, and are locked when the pool is not in use. A pool inside a building or on a roof needs no barrier.
The minimum height of the safety barrier shall be not less than four (4) feet.
5-1210, Required safety barriers for swimming pools
4 ftminimum height of a pool safety barrier
Also on pool barriers in North Miami
- set in state lawFlorida 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. Fla. Stat. 515.29(1)(a)Florida · Statute
Spite fence laws in North Miami
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
North Miami 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 North Miami 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 North Miami
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
North Miami answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North Miami measures a fence from the finished grade of the lot or from the average elevation of the finished building site, taking readings along both sides at five foot intervals and dividing. Vacant land may not be raised or lowered to change the answer unless the whole site is graded or brought to the city flood elevation. The berm rule is stated separately and closes the usual loophole: a fence on an earthen mound or berm is allowed only where the total stays within the district limit measured from the finished grade of the lot. Decorative columns and architectural features are left out, provided they add no more than twenty percent.
No fence or wall may be placed on any portion of an earthen mound or berm unless the height of the fence or wall is cumulatively not higher than the allowable height in the zoning district from the finished grade of the lot.
5-1209, Measuring height of wall, fence, and hedge
20%most a decorative column may add above the permitted height
Also on how height is measured in North Miami
- 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 North Miami
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
North Miami answers this, but the answer changes depending on the functional classification of the through street.
North Miami keeps its safe sight distance triangle clear between two and a half feet and seven feet above grade, and names grass, ground cover, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees, rocks, walls and fences among the things that may not obstruct it. The triangle is sized by the through street: two hundred and sixty feet to the left and forty to the right on an arterial of eighty feet or more, one hundred and ninety and forty on a collector, and nothing on a local street of fifty feet or less, where the triangle falls inside the public right of way. Depth on the minor street is seven feet, measured along its centerline from the through street right of way line.
The safe sight distance triangle area shall not contain obstructions to cross-visibility at a height of two and one half (2 ½) feet to seven (7) feet above grade, in order to minimize traffic hazards at street or driveway intersections.
The answer turns on the functional classification of the through street.
- an arterial through street
- Two hundred and sixty feet left, forty right. 260 ft
- a collector through street
- One hundred and ninety feet left, forty right. 190 ft
- a local street of fifty feet or less
- The triangle lies within the public right of way.
Also on corner visibility in North Miami
- 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 North Miami
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
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 North Miami 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 North Miami
- 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 North Miami
Compare materials across all 50 states
North Miami answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the position of the fence relative to the rear building line.
Chain link in North Miami is pushed all the way back: permitted only behind the rear building line, barred from front yards, side yards and side street yards in every district, and barred from a through lot, with the M-1 district the one exception. Where it is allowed in a commercial district it goes up knuckled side up, plastic coated, with straps matching the color of the main building. Barbed wire, spikes, spears, broken glass, electrical elements and exposed sharp projections are all prohibited unless a special exception is approved in M-1, and the top of any chain link or cyclone fence has to be crimped. A masonry wall is finished in stucco and paint on every outside face and on any inside face visible from a right of way or a neighbor.
Notwithstanding anything in the LDRs to the contrary, chain link fences shall be permitted only behind the rear building line, and shall not be permitted along property lines abutting side streets or on through (double frontage) lots.
The answer turns on the district and the position of the fence relative to the rear building line.
- any district other than M-1
- Chain link only behind the rear building line.
- a commercial district where chain link is allowed
- Knuckled side up, plastic coated, straps matching the building.
- the M-1 district by special exception
- Barbed wire and other hazardous materials may be approved.
Also on materials in North Miami
- 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 North Miami
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 North Miami 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 North Miami
- 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 North Miami 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 North MiamiLand Development Regulations, Chapter 29, Article 5, Division 12, Section 5-1209, 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 North Miami 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