Fence laws in Brookhaven, Georgia
What the Brookhaven municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Brookhaven sets no rule of its own, the Georgia rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Brookhaven, Georgia, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Brookhaven has no statute splitting the cost of a fence on the boundary. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- How tall
- Fences and masonry walls in Brookhaven may not exceed four feet in a front yard or eight feet in any other yard, and a gate in a front yard gets six, which is two more than the fence it hangs in, and the answer turns on the yard, and how tall the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Walls, fences and retaining walls in Brookhaven all have to be permitted by the community development department before installation, so there is no small fence exemption, and the answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or a retaining wall. The figure is 20 feet, for gate setback from the back of curb.
- Pool barriers
- Georgia's public pool rules set barrier requirements and then leave home pools out.
- Spite fences
- Brookhaven has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Brookhaven measures a fence or masonry wall from the finished grade at its base to its highest point, so the reading is taken where the fence stands rather than from a datum elsewhere, and a fence running down a slope is read section by section. The figure is 2 feet, for how far a column may pass the fence.
- Corner lots
- Fences, masonry walls and other visual obstructions over three feet may not be placed or maintained on a corner lot inside a triangle drawn from the point where the two street right-of-way lines meet, running twenty feet along each of them and closed by a third line. The figure is 20 feet, for leg of the intersection visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- On a single family lot, a retaining wall under four feet has to stand back from the line by at least its own vertical height at every point, so a three foot wall sits three feet in, and the answer turns on the district, the height of the wall and how far it stands from the line. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum setback for a taller retaining wall.
- Materials
- Three short rules cover materials and orientation in Brookhaven, and the answer turns on the zoning of the lot and what part of it the fence faces.
- Livestock
- Georgia writes a hard fence spec for one kind of farm. The figure is 8 feet, for minimum fence height around a farmed deer facility. It reaches licensed deer farms only.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Brookhaven?
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Brookhaven law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
No cost sharing rule for a boundary fence was found in Georgia's statewide codes. The state residential code covers construction and says nothing about who pays for a fence on a line, and the state pool rules do not reach it. Georgia does not publish the Official Code of Georgia Annotated as free text on a state site, so a statute outside the state minimum standard codes could not be read and ruled out here.
This one is Georgia law, not Brookhaven law. All Georgia findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-5Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations
How tall can a fence be in Brookhaven?
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Brookhaven answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and how tall the fence is.
Fences and masonry walls in Brookhaven may not exceed four feet in a front yard or eight feet in any other yard, and a gate in a front yard gets six, which is two more than the fence it hangs in. Eight feet is two above the common figure. The design rule underneath is the interesting one: a fence or masonry wall over three feet has to include a column or a decorative element at least every eight linear feet, measured horizontally, to provide architectural variations and eliminate large expanses of blank area. Eight feet is the tightest such spacing in this set, and it means almost every fence in the city taller than a knee wall is articulated rather than plain. Columns, posts and ornaments may then exceed the maximum height by up to two feet, so the piers that satisfy the articulation rule can also stand above the fence.
Fences and masonry walls may not exceed four feet in height when located in the front yard or eight feet in height when located in any other (non-front) yard. Gates may be up to six feet in height in front yards.
The answer turns on the yard, and how tall the fence is.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a gate in a front yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- any other yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a fence over three feet
- A column or decorative element every eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Brookhaven
- no rule, documents checkedGeorgia sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state minimum standard residential code covers building homes and the structures beside them and names no fence height, and the state pool rules do not reach a yard fence. Height is set by city and county zoning. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25Georgia · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Brookhaven?
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Brookhaven answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the structure is a fence or a retaining wall.
Walls, fences and retaining walls in Brookhaven all have to be permitted by the community development department before installation, so there is no small fence exemption. What the ordinance then promises is unusual enough to be worth reading twice: on receipt of a completed, compliant application for a wall or fence, the department issues the permit on the day of receipt, at no cost to the property owner. A retaining wall is treated differently and carries the fee listed in the department schedule. Permits are issued only for work that conforms to the section, so a nonconforming fence has no permit route and has to go to a variance instead. Where the zoning ordinance or a condition of zoning approval requires a wall or fence, it has to be in place before a certificate of occupancy is issued for the principal structure. A vehicle gate has to be set back at least ten feet from the right-of-way or twenty feet from the back of curb, whichever is greater.
For walls and fences, upon receipt of a completed, compliant application, the community development department shall issue the applicant a permit on the day of receipt of the completed application at no cost to the property owner.
27-953, with 27-956 and 27-954(b)
The answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or a retaining wall.
- a wall or fence
- Permit the same day, free.
- a retaining wall
- The scheduled fee applies.
- a required fence
- In place before the certificate of occupancy.
- a vehicle gate
- Twenty feet from the back of curb. 20 ft
Also on permits in Brookhaven
- set in state lawGeorgia sets no statewide fence permit exemption, so each local government writes its own. Georgia adopted the 2024 International Residential Code as its state minimum standard code for one and two family homes, then deleted Chapter 1. Chapter 1 is the part of the model code holding the permit rules and the list of work that needs no permit. It stays in the book only as a guide local governments can copy when writing their own procedures. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25Georgia · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Brookhaven
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Georgia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Georgia's public pool rules set barrier requirements and then leave home pools out. The scope rule excludes a private pool, hot tub or spa that serves a single family home and is used only by the people living there and their guests. It also excludes pools at apartment complexes, country clubs and subdivisions open only to residents. A barrier at a Georgia home pool comes from the state minimum standard residential code and from local ordinance instead.
This one is Georgia law, not Brookhaven law. All Georgia findings
These rules shall not apply to private swimming pool and hot tubs or spas serving a single-family dwelling and used only by the residents of that dwelling and their guests
Spite fence laws in Brookhaven
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Brookhaven law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
No spite fence rule was found in Georgia's statewide codes. The state residential code is about construction and sets no test tied to why a fence went up. Georgia does not publish its annotated code as free text on a state site, so the search here covered the state minimum standard codes and the state pool rules only.
This one is Georgia law, not Brookhaven law. All Georgia findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-5Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations
How fence height is measured in Brookhaven
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Brookhaven answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Brookhaven measures a fence or masonry wall from the finished grade at its base to its highest point, so the reading is taken where the fence stands rather than from a datum elsewhere, and a fence running down a slope is read section by section. Columns, posts and ornaments are then allowed to exceed the maximum height by up to two feet. That allowance does real work here, because the city already requires a column or decorative element at least every eight linear feet on any fence over three feet: the same piers that satisfy the articulation rule are the ones permitted to stand proud of the fence. Nothing in the division addresses a fence built on a berm or a mound, and a fence on top of a retaining wall is handled by the retaining wall section rather than by this one.
Masonry wall and fence heights are measured from finished grade at the base of the fence or masonry wall to the highest point of the fence or wall. Fence and masonry wall columns, posts and ornaments are permitted to exceed maximum allowed fence and wall heights by up to two feet.
2 fthow far a column may pass the fence
Also on how height is measured in Brookhaven
- left to the townGeorgia never says where a fence height is measured from. The Zoning Procedures Law defines a zoning ordinance as the local rule that sets the uses and development standards of property, and a fence height with its starting point is one of those standards. The state minimum standard codes chapter never uses the word fence, so the building side of state law does not pick the question up either. That leaves how a fence is measured, whether from natural grade or finished grade and what happens when a fence sits on a retaining wall, to the county or city ordinance that sets the number. O.C.G.A. 36-66-3(5)Georgia · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Brookhaven
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Brookhaven answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Fences, masonry walls and other visual obstructions over three feet may not be placed or maintained on a corner lot inside a triangle drawn from the point where the two street right-of-way lines meet, running twenty feet along each of them and closed by a third line. The ordinance prints a figure alongside it. Three feet is low enough that even the four foot front yard fence fails inside the triangle, so a corner lot in Brookhaven loses height on both street sides rather than one. The rule names other visual obstructions as well as built things, so planting is caught. Nothing in the section states a band of heights measured above a street grade, so the three feet is read from the ground, and nothing allows the city to waive the triangle administratively.
Fences, masonry walls and other visual obstructions over three feet in height may not be placed or maintained on corner lots within the triangular formed by two lines that begin at the point of intersection of the street right-of-way lines and extend for a distance of 20 feet along each intersecting street right-of-way line and a third connecting line that forms the triangle
20 ftleg of the intersection visibility triangle
Also on corner visibility in Brookhaven
- left to the townGeorgia writes no sight triangle into state law. The Zoning Procedures Law confirms that the zoning power belongs to each county and city, and says the chapter itself only sets the least procedure a local government has to follow when it uses that power. So the corner clearance rule, both the shape of the wedge near an intersection and the height nothing may pass inside it, is written in the local zoning ordinance. The state minimum standard codes chapter never mentions a fence, so it adds nothing here. O.C.G.A. 36-66-2(a)Georgia · Statute
Retaining wall rules in Brookhaven
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Brookhaven answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the height of the wall and how far it stands from the line.
On a single family lot, a retaining wall under four feet has to stand back from the line by at least its own vertical height at every point, so a three foot wall sits three feet in. A wall of four feet or more has to stand back four feet, or half the required side building setback, whichever is greater. On RS-zoned lots the height itself stops at four feet, with two graded routes past it: the community development director may allow up to six feet, and the board of appeals up to eight, in each case only where exceptional topographical restrictions exist on the lot in context with the adjoining property and were not created by the applicant. Outside the RS districts the limit is a ratio rather than a number, with the maximum height not exceeding the horizontal distance between the face of the wall and the property line of a lot containing a residential use. Retaining walls may not sit in a transition buffer. A lawful nonconforming wall may be repaired or replaced at the same height so long as its footprint does not grow by more than ten percent.
The maximum height of a retaining wall in zoning districts other that RS districts may not exceed the horizontal distance between the face of the retaining wall and the property line of a lot containing a residential use.
The answer turns on the district, the height of the wall and how far it stands from the line.
- a wall under four feet on a house lot
- Set back its own height.
- a wall of four feet or more
- Four feet, or half the side setback. 4 ft
- an RS district
- Four feet, six by the director, eight by the board. 8 ft
- a nonconforming wall
- Same height, and no more than ten percent more footprint. 10%
Also on retaining walls in Brookhaven
- left to the townGeorgia writes no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. The Board of Community Affairs adopts a list of state minimum standard codes, and the residential one on that list is the International Residential Code, 2024 Edition, with Georgia Amendments. So the rule is whatever that model code says, and the state does not print its text. Current State Minimum Codes for ConstructionGeorgia · Building code
Fence materials allowed in Brookhaven
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Brookhaven answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning of the lot and what part of it the fence faces.
Three short rules cover materials and orientation in Brookhaven. Chain link fences are prohibited in the street yard areas of all lots, which reaches every district rather than only the residential ones, and is written about the part of the lot facing the street rather than about the front yard as such. Fences on residentially zoned lots may not include barbed wire, spikes, similar devices or an electric charge, so those remain available on commercial and industrial property. And the finished side of all fences has to face the abutting property and the public right-of-way, stated without an exception for a shared fence. Nothing else in the division names a permitted material, so an ordinary wood, vinyl or metal fence is available at the stated heights provided it carries a column or decorative element every eight feet once it passes three.
Chain link fences are prohibited in street yard areas of all lots. The finished side of all fences shall face the abutting property and public right-of-way. Fences on R-zoned lots may not include barbed wire, spikes, or similar devices, or an electric charge.
The answer turns on the zoning of the lot and what part of it the fence faces.
- a street yard area
- No chain link, in any district.
- a residentially zoned lot
- No wire, spikes or electric charge.
- which side faces out
- The finished side, to the neighbor and the street.
Also on materials in Brookhaven
- set in state lawGeorgia has one statewide description of an electric security fence, which it calls a fence detection system, and the first item on the list is where the fence may sit. It has to be on land that is not zoned for homes. O.C.G.A. 36-60-12.1Georgia · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Brookhaven
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Georgia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Georgia writes a hard fence spec for one kind of farm. A licensed deer farm has to ring the part of the site holding farmed deer with a fence at least eight feet tall. The bottom six feet is woven mesh, in a design, strength, gauge and mesh the Department of Agriculture approves. Wire added on top to reach eight feet may be smooth, barbed or woven, with strands no more than six inches apart. Trees and structures that could fall and break the fence have to come out.
This one is Georgia law, not Brookhaven law. All Georgia findings
Any portion of such facility within which farmed deer are maintained shall be surrounded by a fence with a minimum height of eight feet with the bottom six feet made of woven mesh and constructed of a design, strength, gauge, and mesh approved by the department
8 ftminimum fence height around a farmed deer facility
Documents behind this page
7 documents, of which 1 was published by Brookhaven itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and RegulationsGeorgia Administrative Code, Rule 110-11-1-.25, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (IRC), 2024 Edition with 2026 Georgia State Amendments
- Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and RegulationsGeorgia Administrative Code, Subject 511-3-5, Public Swimming Pools, Spas, and Recreational Water Parks
- City of BrookhavenBrookhaven Code of Ordinances, Chapter 27, Zoning, Division 3, Fences and Walls
- Georgia Department of Community AffairsOfficial Code of Georgia Annotated, Title 36, Local Government, Chapter 66, Zoning Procedures, published by the Department of Community Affairs
- Georgia Department of Community AffairsCurrent State Minimum Codes for Construction
- Georgia General AssemblyGeorgia Senate Bill 182, 2021 Regular Session, as passed
- Georgia Department of AgricultureOfficial Code of Georgia Annotated, Title 4, Animals, Chapter 4, Article 5, Deer Farming
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 Brookhaven publishes, plus the Georgia rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Georgia 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