Fence laws in Pompano Beach, Florida
What the Pompano 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 Pompano Beach sets no rule of its own, the Florida rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Pompano Beach, Florida, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where one face of a Pompano Beach fence or wall looks more finished than the other, the finished face turns outward. The figure is 50 percent, for share of the rails that has to be covered when posts face out.
- How tall
- Four feet in a Pompano Beach residential front yard and six in an interior side, street side or rear yard, with fence posts and decorative finials allowed six inches above that, and the answer turns on the zoning district, the yard, and whether the fence is required screening or recreational. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in a residential front yard.
- Permits
- Pompano Beach bars a fence from a vacant lot outright, whether the land was always empty or became empty through demolition, and a lot holding a principal building or use, a community garden, a park or other open space does not count as vacant, and the answer turns on whether the lot is vacant, and whether it fronts the Scenic Highway. The figure is 4 feet, for height of the barrier allowed on a vacant lot.
- Pool barriers
- Where a Pompano Beach corner lot needs a pool barrier under section 454.2.17 of the Florida Building Code and chapter 515 of the Florida Statutes, the Development Services Director may waive the zoning height limits to let it be built.
- Spite fences
- Pompano Beach has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Pompano Beach reads a fence from the finished grade on its interior side, which fixes the height to the owner’s own ground rather than the neighbor’s and settles what happens when the two sides sit at different levels.
- 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
- Building a Pompano Beach fence on top of a wall or a berm does not add to what it may reach.
- Materials
- A Pompano Beach fence is built from treated wood posts and planks, rot resistant wood, wrought iron, decorative metal or chain link, and a wall from brick, stone, masonry or a product made to resemble them, and the answer turns on the material, and what the fence runs alongside. The figure is 15 feet, for distance from a street right of way that triggers the rule.
- 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 Pompano Beach?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Pompano Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where one face of a Pompano Beach fence or wall looks more finished than the other, the finished face turns outward. The code then writes an exception for the case that makes the rule impossible: a wood fence built against a significant obstacle on the adjoining land, such as a hedge or an existing fence, may put its posts on the outside, provided the horizontal rails are at least half covered by boards on the far side. Every segment along one side of a lot has to match in style and color, and a fence may not sit in a utility easement unless the Development Services Director finds it would not impede the easement.
then the more "finished" side of the fence shall face the exterior of the lot rather than the interior of the lot.
50%share of the rails that has to be covered when posts face out
Also on fences on the property line in Pompano 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 Pompano Beach?
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Pompano Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning district, the yard, and whether the fence is required screening or recreational.
Four feet in a Pompano Beach residential front yard and six in an interior side, street side or rear yard, with fence posts and decorative finials allowed six inches above that. A commercial or special district gets eight feet, or ten where the lot abuts industrial zoning, and an industrial district gets ten. A fence built to satisfy the screening standards escapes these limits but can never pass ten feet, and tennis court and athletic field fencing escapes them entirely. Where a lot line meets a canal along a sea wall under four and a half feet above mean sea level, the fence may reach seven and a half feet above mean sea level.
No fence or wall within an interior side yard, street side yard or a rear yard shall exceed a height of six feet.
The answer turns on the zoning district, the yard, and whether the fence is required screening or recreational.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a residential interior side, street side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a commercial or special base district
- Eight feet, or ten where it abuts industrial zoning. 8 ft
- an industrial district, or a required screening fence
- Ten feet, and ten is the ceiling for screening however tall the equipment. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Pompano 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 Pompano Beach?
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Pompano Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is vacant, and whether it fronts the Scenic Highway.
Pompano Beach bars a fence from a vacant lot outright, whether the land was always empty or became empty through demolition, and a lot holding a principal building or use, a community garden, a park or other open space does not count as vacant. Two things are still allowed. A split rail or guard rail barrier, or posts and bollards joined by wire or chain, may go round the perimeter to keep vehicles off, at three horizontal members and four feet. And a vacant lot on the Scenic Highway has to carry a white split rail barrier up to four feet with no more than two horizontal members along its frontage, on the side street too where the lot is on a corner, with single-family zoned lots exempt.
fences are prohibited on any lot that is vacant for any reason (including the result of demolition) or is generally in a vacant state.
The answer turns on whether the lot is vacant, and whether it fronts the Scenic Highway.
- a vacant lot generally
- No fence, apart from a low vehicle barrier. 4 ft
- a vacant lot on the Scenic Highway
- A white split rail barrier is required along the frontage.
- a vacant lot on the Scenic Highway in a single-family district
- Exempt from the split rail requirement.
Also on permits in Pompano 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 Pompano Beach
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Pompano Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a Pompano Beach corner lot needs a pool barrier under section 454.2.17 of the Florida Building Code and chapter 515 of the Florida Statutes, the Development Services Director may waive the zoning height limits to let it be built. The waiver comes with two ceilings written into the same subsection: the fence may not pass the maximum for the district it sits in, and it may never be taller than what is allowed on the abutting lot lines.
In no event shall fences or walls be permitted a higher maximum height than those permitted on abutting lot lines.
Also on pool barriers in Pompano Beach
- 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 Pompano Beach
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Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano Beach
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Pompano Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Pompano Beach reads a fence from the finished grade on its interior side, which fixes the height to the owner’s own ground rather than the neighbor’s and settles what happens when the two sides sit at different levels. The waterfront rules are the one place the datum changes, because there the limit is stated against mean sea level instead of the ground.
Fence or wall height is measured from finished grade on the interior side of the fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano Beach
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Pompano Beach answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Building a Pompano Beach fence on top of a wall or a berm does not add to what it may reach. The combined height of the two counts against the limit that would apply to the fence or wall on its own, and on a retaining wall the total is measured from the finished grade on the interior side. The one carve out is the low split rail or bollard barrier allowed around a vacant lot, which may sit on a berm of up to four feet where the berm is landscaped and covered with ground cover.
if a fence is constructed on top of a wall or berm, the combined height of the fence and wall or berm shall not exceed the maximum height that would apply to the fence or wall alone. The total height of a fence on top of a retaining wall is measured from the finished grade on the interior side of the retaining wall.
Also on retaining walls in Pompano 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 Pompano Beach
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Pompano Beach answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and what the fence runs alongside.
A Pompano Beach fence is built from treated wood posts and planks, rot resistant wood, wrought iron, decorative metal or chain link, and a wall from brick, stone, masonry or a product made to resemble them. Chain link then loses two positions: it is prohibited abutting any arterial or collector street on the Broward County Trafficways Plan, and prohibited on any perimeter fence within fifteen feet of a street right of way, where the fence also has to be a uniform style and sit outside the right of way. Barbed, razor and concertina wire and aboveground electric fencing are out of every district unless an approved security plan allows them, while an underground pet containment fence is allowed. Debris, junk, rolled plastic, sheet metal and plywood are prohibited citywide unless the material was recycled and reprocessed to resemble a new building material.
Fences constructed of chain link fences shall be prohibited abutting an arterial or collector street designated on the Broward County Trafficways Plan.
The answer turns on the material, and what the fence runs alongside.
- a fence abutting an arterial or collector street
- No chain link.
- a perimeter fence within fifteen feet of a street right of way
- Uniform style, outside the right of way, and not chain link. 15 ft
- barbed, razor or concertina wire, or an aboveground electric fence
- Prohibited in every district unless an approved security plan allows it.
Also on materials in Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano 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 Pompano BeachZoning Code, Chapter 155, Article 5, Part 3, Section 155.5302, Fences and Walls
- 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 Pompano 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