Fence laws in Aurora, Illinois
What the Aurora municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Aurora sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Aurora, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- No part of an Aurora fence may cross the property line, and the rule names posts and post footings so the buried part is caught as well as the visible one. The figure is 1 foot, for setback from a public sidewalk.
- How tall
- Aurora sets a different figure for almost every yard, and the one that catches people is the interior side yard, where the answer depends on how wide the lot is rather than on what the fence is made of, and the answer turns on the yard, the lot type, the width of the lot, and how open the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for open fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Aurora requires a fence permit in every zoning district, and the trigger is broader than new construction: constructing, reconstructing, enlarging or structurally altering a fence all need one first.
- Pool barriers
- Aurora sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Aurora has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Aurora leaves the posts out of the measurement, excluding any post or ornamental post cap that does not rise more than six inches above the fence, so a decorative finial does not put an otherwise compliant fence over the line. The figure is 6 inches, for post or cap height excluded from the measurement.
- Corner lots
- Aurora applies three feet within fifteen horizontal feet of intersecting property lines, and the list of what counts as an intersection is unusually long: public streets, walks, driveways, bike paths and walking paths. The figure is 15 feet, for distance from intersecting property lines.
- Retaining walls
- Aurora leaves retaining walls to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract. It reaches newly built homes only.
- Materials
- Aurora rules out wire mesh by defining it out of the category: it is not a common fence material and is prohibited, though it may be used for a functional purpose such as a garden border up to three feet, and the answer turns on the material and which yard the fence stands in.
- Livestock
- Illinois calls a fence legal at four and a half feet tall and in good repair. The figure is 4.5 feet, for height of a legal fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No part of an Aurora fence may cross the property line, and the rule names posts and post footings so the buried part is caught as well as the visible one. Next to a public sidewalk the fence stands at least a foot back. Posts go on the owner’s side and the finished face toward the neighbor. A fence that completely encloses a residential lot has to have at least one gate for access to the house. Fencing in a utility easement is allowed but discouraged, and where it goes in the owner carries the cost of any repairs if the city or a utility has to dig, with utility boxes never enclosed inside a fence.
No portion of a fence, including posts and post footings, shall extend past the property line. When fences are adjacent to a public sidewalk they must be setback a minimum of one (1) foot from said sidewalk.
Fences and Walls, Location, Posts, Gates Required and Fences in Easements
1 ftsetback from a public sidewalk
Also on fences on the property line in Aurora
- set in state lawIllinois makes both neighbors pay for a fence on the line between them, each one a fair share. Most of the section is about hedge fences. A hedge has to be cut back to four feet in the year after it turns seven, then trimmed to five feet at least every two years. An owner who has done the trimming can give the neighbor ten days written notice, do the work, and sue for the cost. Town officers called fence viewers settle the fights. 765 ILCS 130/3Illinois · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the lot type, the width of the lot, and how open the fence is.
Aurora sets a different figure for almost every yard, and the one that catches people is the interior side yard, where the answer depends on how wide the lot is rather than on what the fence is made of. Under fifty feet of lot width the limit is four feet, and at fifty feet or more it is six. A front yard takes three feet where the fence is less than half open and four feet where it is more than half open. An exterior side yard on an ordinary corner lot or a through lot takes three feet solid or six feet open, and the solid fence may go to six provided everything above three feet is set back at least five feet from the property line or the sidewalk, whichever is greater. A reverse corner lot is held to three feet solid or four feet open, measured from the line of the adjoining front yards, and that restriction reaches no more than thirty feet from the street property line. A rear yard takes six feet.
Fences shall not exceed a height of three (3) feet when less than fifty-percent (50%) open (i.e., solid fencing and masonry) and shall not exceed four (4) feet when greater than fifty-percent (50%) open (i.e., wood picket, ornamental iron).
The answer turns on the yard, the lot type, the width of the lot, and how open the fence is.
- a front yard
- Three feet solid, or four feet if more than half open. 4 ft
- an interior side yard on a lot under fifty feet wide
- Four feet. 50 ft
- an interior side yard on a lot fifty feet wide or more, or a rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an exterior side yard on a corner lot, set five feet back
- Six feet of solid fence instead of three. 5 ft
Also on fence height in Aurora
- no rule, documents checkedIllinois sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The Fence Act names four and a half feet, but that is a floor for a farm fence that holds animals, and the same section lets a town meeting or the county board pick a different number. The state housing law sets no height either. A yard fence height comes from city zoning. 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Aurora requires a fence permit in every zoning district, and the trigger is broader than new construction: constructing, reconstructing, enlarging or structurally altering a fence all need one first. No height threshold and no exemption for a replacement appear in the section. A permit is separately refused where the fence would unreasonably obstruct the natural flow of water in a drainage easement, and no fence is allowed at all in a floodway shown on the FEMA map.
No fence shall be constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, or structurally altered in any zoning district unless a fence permit has first been issued in accordance with the requirements of this and other relevant Sections.
Also on permits in Aurora
- set in state lawIllinois has no one statewide permit rule for work at a house. Where a town or county has no building code of its own, the Residential Building Code Act makes the builder and the buyer name a code in the building contract, and the International Residential Code applies when they name none. A separate law, in force since January 1, 2025, also requires a city or county code to be at least as strict as a recent model code on how a building is built to hold weight. Illinois Residential Building Code Act, Sec. 15Illinois · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Aurora
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Aurora law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Illinois writes no fence rule for a pool at a private home. The Swimming Pool Safety Act covers pools built for public swimming, and it says plainly that a pool at a private home used by the owner and guests is left out. The state Swimming Facility Code leaves the same pools out. What a home pool needs comes from the city or county and from whatever building code that place has adopted.
This one is Illinois law, not Aurora law. All Illinois findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 210 ILCS 130/1Illinois General Assembly
- 77 Ill. Adm. Code 820Illinois General Assembly, Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
Spite fence laws in Aurora
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Aurora law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Illinois has no spite fence law. The Fence Act covers who pays, what counts as a legal fence, and how hedges get trimmed. Nothing in it turns on why a fence was built. A fence put up to annoy a neighbor is fought in Illinois as a nuisance case in court, or under a city rule.
This one is Illinois law, not Aurora law. All Illinois findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 765 ILCS 130/3Illinois General Assembly
- 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Aurora
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Aurora answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Aurora leaves the posts out of the measurement, excluding any post or ornamental post cap that does not rise more than six inches above the fence, so a decorative finial does not put an otherwise compliant fence over the line. On sloping ground the code asks for effort to follow the contour of the grade rather than stepping the fence up, which is a design instruction more than a datum. Grades at a property line may not be altered because of fence construction unless a grading plan is submitted to and approved by the City Engineer, so raising the ground to gain height is closed off.
Height of fences are exclusive of any posts or ornamental post caps or caps that do not exceed six (6) inches For sloping grades, effort shall be made to follow the contour of the grades.
Fences and Walls, Measurement of Fence Height and Grade Alterations
6 inpost or cap height excluded from the measurement
Also on how height is measured in Aurora
- left to the townIllinois never says where a fence height is measured from. The Illinois Municipal Code lets a city set the height and size of buildings, in one short line, and stops there. The Fence Act calls four and a half feet a legal fence and says nothing about the surface those feet start at. So the number and the way to measure it both come from the city. 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1Illinois · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Aurora
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Aurora answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Aurora applies three feet within fifteen horizontal feet of intersecting property lines, and the list of what counts as an intersection is unusually long: public streets, walks, driveways, bike paths and walking paths. The limit applies whether the fencing is solid or open, which removes the transparency argument available elsewhere in the section. A second triangle covers a driveway on the lot itself, measured fifteen feet along the property line and fifteen feet up the driveway, and it is triggered by any fence over three feet solid or four feet open.
Within fifteen horizontal feet (15’) of intersecting property lines at public streets, walks, driveways, bike paths, or walking paths, fences shall not exceed three (3’) feet in height, whether solid or open fencing is used.
Fences and Walls, Sight Triangle and Fences Adjacent to Driveways
15 ftdistance from intersecting property lines
Also on corner visibility in Aurora
- set in state lawIllinois treats this as blocking the road. Under the Illinois Highway Code it is a petty offense to block a public highway, and running a fence onto one counts, unless the highway authority in charge gave permission. The fine runs from fifty to five hundred dollars, and more for each day the blockage stays after an order to take it out. That rule covers the road strip. A clear view triangle on private ground comes from city zoning. 605 ILCS 5/9-117Illinois · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Aurora
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Aurora does not set this. It leaves it to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract.
Illinois has no statewide building code for homes, so no state law sets a height at which a wall that holds back dirt needs a permit. Where a town or county has its own building code, that code answers it. Where there is none, the Residential Building Code Act makes the builder and the buyer name a code in the building contract, and the current International Residential Code becomes part of that contract when they name none.
This one is Illinois law, not Aurora law. All Illinois findings
The home builder and the home purchaser may agree to adopt the International Residential Code or any municipal residential building code or county residential building code that is in effect on the first day of construction in any county or municipality that is within 100 miles of the location of the new home.
The code hands this to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Aurora
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and which yard the fence stands in.
Aurora rules out wire mesh by defining it out of the category: it is not a common fence material and is prohibited, though it may be used for a functional purpose such as a garden border up to three feet. Chain link and wire mesh are barred from front yards and from the exterior side yard of a corner lot, unless that yard abuts an alley, and from reverse corner lots outright. Where chain link is allowed it has to carry a top rail. Wood has to be a species either pressure treated or naturally resistant to decay, lattice has to be completely framed in uniform framing material, and tarps or similar coverings secured to a fence are prohibited. The uniformity rule runs through all of it: a fence has to be one height, material, type, color and design for its whole length, except where it transitions between yards or between heights.
Wire mesh shall not be considered a common fence material and is prohibited, however, wire mesh may be used for functional purposes such as a border for gardens when the height does not exceed three (3) feet.
Fences and Walls, Materials and Uniformity
The answer turns on the material and which yard the fence stands in.
- anywhere in the city
- No wire mesh as a fence, and no tarps secured to one.
- a front yard or a reverse corner lot exterior side yard
- No chain link.
- chain link where it is allowed
- It has to include a top rail.
Also on materials in Aurora
- set in state lawIllinois lists what a legal fence can be made of: rails, boards, stone, hedge, barbed wire, woven wire, or anything the town fence viewers judge just as good. The fence has to stand four and a half feet tall and be in good repair. 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Aurora
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Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois calls a fence legal at four and a half feet tall and in good repair. It can be rails, boards, stone, hedge, barbed wire, woven wire, or anything the town fence viewers judge just as good at keeping cattle, horses, sheep and hogs off the land next door. Voters at the yearly town meeting can set a different number for their own town. In a county with no townships, the county board sets it.
This one is Illinois law, not Aurora law. All Illinois findings
Fences four and one-half feet high, and in good repair, consisting of rails, timber boards, stone, hedges, barb wire, woven wire or whatever the fence viewers of the town or precinct where the same shall lie shall consider equivalent thereto suitable and sufficient to prevent cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and other stock from getting on the adjoining lands of another
4.5 ftheight of a legal fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Aurora
- set in state lawIllinois puts the duty on the animal owner, not on the neighbor. A separate act bans letting livestock roam loose anywhere in the state and tells owners to put up whatever it takes to hold them. The owner pays in court for the damage loose animals do. The one way out is showing the animals got out without the owner knowing, and that the owner had taken reasonable care to keep them in. 510 ILCS 55/1Illinois · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Aurora itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of AuroraCode of Ordinances, Chapter 49, Zoning, Fences and Walls
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act, Legal and sufficient fences
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois Residential Building Code Act
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Health Facilities and Regulation, Swimming Pool Safety Act
- Illinois General Assembly, Joint Committee on Administrative RulesIllinois Administrative Code, Title 77, Part 820, Swimming Facility Code
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 65 ILCS 5, Illinois Municipal Code, Article 11, Division 13, Section 11-13-1
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 605 ILCS 5, Illinois Highway Code, Article 9, Section 9-117
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 765, Fence Act
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 510 ILCS 55, Domestic Animals Running at Large Act
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 Aurora publishes, plus the Illinois rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Illinois 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