Fence laws in Dunwoody, Georgia
What the Dunwoody municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Dunwoody sets no rule of its own, the Georgia rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Dunwoody, Georgia, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Walls and fences constructed along all property lines in Dunwoody have to be built with a finished side toward the neighboring property, and the rule is written about every line rather than only the ones facing a street, and the answer turns on what the fence stands next to and how tall it is. The figure is 3 feet, for setback from a public right-of-way.
- How tall
- In residential districts a fence or wall in a street yard may not exceed four feet, and the answer turns on the class of street and whether the lot faces it. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a street yard.
- Permits
- Dunwoody requires a building permit only where the fence faces a street: walls, fences and retaining walls built in a front yard, or in a side yard fronting a street, have to be permitted by the community development department before installation, and the answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands.
- Pool barriers
- Georgia's public pool rules set barrier requirements and then leave home pools out.
- Spite fences
- Dunwoody has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Dunwoody leaves the measuring rule to each Georgia county and municipality, through the zoning ordinance it adopts. It reaches land inside a Georgia county or city that has adopted zoning only.
- Corner lots
- Dunwoody states the corner rule without a height at all. The figure is 15 feet, for distance the rule reaches from a corner.
- Retaining walls
- Dunwoody prints its retaining wall rule as a table with three rungs, and the answer turns on how tall the wall is and which approval it carries. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall allowed without a permit.
- Materials
- Walls and fences in Dunwoody have to be built of wood, brick, block, vinyl, PVC, stone, metal, stucco, split rail or wrought iron, and the community development director may approve anything not on the list and not on the prohibited one, and the answer turns on the material and the district.
- 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 Dunwoody?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Dunwoody answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence stands next to and how tall it is.
Walls and fences constructed along all property lines in Dunwoody have to be built with a finished side toward the neighboring property, and the rule is written about every line rather than only the ones facing a street. Nothing sets a distance from an interior line and nothing asks for consent from the adjoining owner, so a fence may sit on the boundary. Against a street a fence has to stand back at least three feet from the public right-of-way, unless the community development director approves otherwise. A second three foot rule works from the house rather than the street: a fence in a front yard over four feet has to be set back at least three feet from the leading edge of the primary structure, so a tall front fence cannot line up with the face of the house. No fence, wall or other private improvement may encroach into a public right-of-way without written approval from the appropriate public entity.
Fences and walls shall be set back a minimum of three feet from a public right-of-way unless otherwise approved by the community development director. Fences in front yards exceeding four feet in height must be setback from the leading edge of the primary structure by a minimum of three feet.
The answer turns on what the fence stands next to and how tall it is.
- a public right-of-way
- Three feet back. 3 ft
- a front yard fence over four feet
- Three feet behind the face of the house. 3 ft
- which side faces out
- The finished side, on every property line.
Also on fences on the property line in Dunwoody
- no rule, documents checkedNo 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. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25Georgia · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Dunwoody?
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Dunwoody answers this, but the answer changes depending on the class of street and whether the lot faces it.
In residential districts a fence or wall in a street yard may not exceed four feet. Then comes a split that turns on which way the house faces. A fence on a residential lot adjacent to a collector or arterial street may reach eight feet within that street yard, while a fence on a lot fronting on a collector or arterial is held to four feet in the front yard. So a lot that backs onto a busy road gets the tall fence and a lot that fronts on one does not. On a residential corner lot the community development director may approve an administrative permit allowing a fence in the side yard fronting a street at up to six feet, which is the middle answer between the two. Everything else is limited to eight feet unless the ordinance says otherwise. Height is measured from the natural adjacent grade on the lowest side of the fence to the top, so the taller face sets the number.
In residential zoning districts fences and walls located in street yards may not exceed four feet in height. Fences on residential lots adjacent to a collector or arterial street may not exceed eight feet in height within said street yard. Fences on residential lots fronting on a collector or arterial street may not exceed four feet within the front yard.
The answer turns on the class of street and whether the lot faces it.
- a residential street yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a lot backing onto a collector or arterial
- Eight feet in that street yard. 8 ft
- a corner lot with a permit
- Six feet in the side street yard. 6 ft
- every other fence
- Eight feet.
Also on fence height in Dunwoody
- 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 Dunwoody?
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Dunwoody answers this, but the answer changes depending on where on the lot the fence stands.
Dunwoody requires a building permit only where the fence faces a street: walls, fences and retaining walls built in a front yard, or in a side yard fronting a street, have to be permitted by the community development department before installation. A fence in a back yard needs nothing. On receipt of a completed, compliant application the department issues the permit for a wall or fence within one business day and at no cost to the owner, while a retaining wall carries the fee in the department schedule. Permits are issued only for work that conforms to the section, so a nonconforming fence has to go to an administrative permit or a special exception instead. Where a fence or wall is required to be installed, it has to be in place before the certificate of occupancy is issued for the principal use or structure.
For walls and fences, upon receipt of a completed, compliant application, the community development department shall issue the applicant a permit within one business day of receipt of the completed application at no cost to the property owner.
The answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands.
- a fence facing a street
- A permit, issued in a day and free.
- a fence behind the house
- No permit at all.
- a retaining wall
- The scheduled fee applies.
- a required fence
- In place before the certificate of occupancy.
Also on permits in Dunwoody
- 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 Dunwoody
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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 Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody
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Dunwoody does not set this. It leaves it to each Georgia county and municipality, through the zoning ordinance it adopts.
Georgia 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.
This one is Georgia law, not Dunwoody law. All Georgia findings
"Zoning ordinance" means an ordinance or resolution of a local government establishing procedures and zones or districts within its respective territorial boundaries which regulate the uses and development standards of property within such zones or districts.
The code hands this to each Georgia county and municipality, through the zoning ordinance it adopts, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in Dunwoody
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Dunwoody answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Dunwoody states the corner rule without a height at all. No fence, wall, building, structure, sign, plant material or other obstruction of any kind may be maintained within fifteen feet of the intersection of the right-of-way lines of any two streets extended, or of a street meeting a railroad right-of-way. Because the sentence names no protected band, nothing is permitted inside that fifteen feet regardless of how low it is, which is stricter than the usual arrangement where anything under three feet is fine. Extending the right-of-way lines matters on a rounded corner, since the point of intersection is found from the lines produced rather than from the curb. The fence section points at this rule from its own text, saying fences shall not obstruct visibility as prescribed in section 27-289, so satisfying the four foot street yard limit proves nothing about the corner.
No fence, wall, building, structure, sign, plant material, or other obstruction of any kind may be maintained within 15 feet of the intersection of the rights-of-way lines of any two streets extended, or of a street intersection with a railroad right-of-way line.
27-289, Intersection visibility
15 ftdistance the rule reaches from a corner
Also on corner visibility in Dunwoody
- 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 Dunwoody
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Dunwoody answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the wall is and which approval it carries.
Dunwoody prints its retaining wall rule as a table with three rungs. In a single dwelling residential district a new wall is allowed up to four feet as of right, more than four and up to eight on an administrative permit, and more than eight and up to twelve on a special exception. Either exception has to rest on a finding that exceptional topographical restrictions exist on the lot in context with the adjoining property and were not created by the applicant, together with a finding that no practical alternative design is feasible, and a certified site plan or topographical map has to come with the application. On a lot with a detached house a retaining wall has to be set back from every property line by the required building setback, which is far stricter than the fence rule, though the director may permit an encroachment. An existing wall may be repaired or replaced at the same height, and no retaining wall may rise more than twelve inches above grade on its higher side.
On lots occupied by a detached house, retaining walls must be set back from all property lines a distance equal to the required building setback.
The answer turns on how tall the wall is and which approval it carries.
- as of right
- Four feet. 4 ft
- an administrative permit
- Up to eight feet. 8 ft
- a special exception
- Up to twelve feet. 12 ft
- the top of the wall
- No more than twelve inches above the higher grade. 12 in
Also on retaining walls in Dunwoody
- 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 Dunwoody
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Dunwoody answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the district.
Walls and fences in Dunwoody have to be built of wood, brick, block, vinyl, PVC, stone, metal, stucco, split rail or wrought iron, and the community development director may approve anything not on the list and not on the prohibited one. The prohibitions run to four groups: barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing on any single family lot, with barbed wire allowed elsewhere as security strands from six feet up; plywood, sheet goods, canvas, cloth, vinyl sheeting and other nondurable materials; chain link with plastic, vinyl or wooden inserts; and exposed concrete block, tires, junk or other discarded materials. Then the section gets specific in a way most codes never do. Chain link where permitted has to be vinyl coated in black or green, metal fencing has to be painted or coated, painted or stained wood has to be maintained, fence supports have to face inwards, posts have to be anchored in concrete, and a fence may step down a slope provided the supports stay vertical and plumb.
Fence supports shall face inwards. Posts shall be anchored in concrete. Fences may step down a slope, however supports shall be vertical and plumb.
The answer turns on the material and the district.
- the permitted list
- Ten materials, plus anything the director allows.
- a single family lot
- No barbed wire, razor wire or electric charge.
- chain link where allowed
- Vinyl coated, black or green.
- a street right-of-way in a detached house development
- No wire fencing at all.
Also on materials in Dunwoody
- 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 Dunwoody
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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 Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody 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 DunwoodyDunwoody Code of Ordinances, Chapter 27, Zoning, Division 4, 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 Dunwoody 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