Fence laws in Berwyn, Illinois
What the Berwyn municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Berwyn sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Berwyn, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Berwyn fence or wall has to sit completely within the boundaries of its own lot, and the code names the parts that usually cross without anyone noticing: all posts, all bases and all other structural parts.
- How tall
- Berwyn sets one maximum for every fence and wall in the city at six feet, and unlike most of this state it does not raise that anywhere, and the answer turns on the yard, and what the lot backs onto. The figure is 6 feet, for fence in an interior side or rear yard.
- Permits
- Illinois has no one statewide permit rule for work at a house.
- Pool barriers
- Berwyn sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Berwyn has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Berwyn reads a fence or wall from the ground at its own base, so the reading follows the fence along its run and a difference in level between two lots does not change the answer. The figure is 6 feet, for maximum height the datum is applied to.
- Corner lots
- Illinois treats this as blocking the road. It reaches a public highway, where the highway authority has not given permission only.
- Retaining walls
- Berwyn 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
- Berwyn names seven allowed materials for a fence, a wall and any gate that goes with them: brick, stone, treated wood, simulated wood, PVC, chain link and metal mesh, and the answer turns on the material and the zoning district.
- 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 Berwyn?
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Berwyn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Berwyn fence or wall has to sit completely within the boundaries of its own lot, and the code names the parts that usually cross without anyone noticing: all posts, all bases and all other structural parts. That rules out the shared boundary fence and means a footing poured over the line is a violation even where the panel above it is not. The city then bans the arrangement that normally follows, refusing to allow a second fence to be attached or installed parallel to an existing fence at the same lot line, so two neighbors cannot each run their own along the same boundary. The finished side of the fence faces outward from the lot.
Fences and walls, including all posts, bases, and other structural parts, shall be located completely within the boundaries of the lot on which it is located.
Also on fences on the property line in Berwyn
- 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 Berwyn?
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Berwyn answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
Berwyn sets one maximum for every fence and wall in the city at six feet, and unlike most of this state it does not raise that anywhere. A residential lot directly adjacent to a Commercial or Industrial District, or across an alley from one, gets permission for the fence to be solid rather than permission for it to be taller, and the six feet there expressly includes any decorative open trellis on top. The front yard is not a height question: fences and walls are prohibited there outright. In a corner side yard a fence is allowed only in the stretch between the rear facade of the principal structure and the rear lot line, so the part of the side yard alongside the house stays open to the street.
A residential lot located directly adjacent to or across an alley from a Commercial or Industrial District may erect a solid fence or wall in the rear yard not to exceed a maximum height of six feet, including any decorative open trellis.
The answer turns on the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
- a front yard
- No fence or wall at all.
- an interior side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a corner side yard
- Six feet, but only behind the rear facade of the house. 6 ft
- a rear yard facing a commercial or industrial district
- Six feet, and it may be solid, trellis included.
Also on fence height in Berwyn
- 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 Berwyn?
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Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois 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.
This one is Illinois law, not Berwyn law. All Illinois findings
A contract to build new residential construction in any non-building code jurisdiction must adopt as part of the construction contract the applicability of a residential building code that is agreed to by the home builder and the home purchaser as provided in this Section.
Illinois Residential Building Code Act, Sec. 15
Also on permits in Berwyn
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence and wall rules in the zoning code set out location, height, materials and which face points outward, and never say that a permit is required, who issues it, what the application carries or whether there is a height below which none is needed. The only approval the subsection names is a discretionary one for a specific material: chain link or barbed wire may be allowed in the Commercial, Industrial and Public Areas Districts with Zoning Administrator approval. So the permit question for an ordinary fence is answered by the building and housing code rather than by the zoning code that sets the standards. 1244.04(C)(6)Berwyn · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Berwyn
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Berwyn 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 Berwyn 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 Berwyn
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Berwyn 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 Berwyn 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 Berwyn
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Berwyn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Berwyn reads a fence or wall from the ground at its own base, so the reading follows the fence along its run and a difference in level between two lots does not change the answer. The rule is stated once and governs both of the height limits that follow it. Beyond that the section is bare. It sets no allowance for a post or a cap to rise above the limit, says nothing about whether an ornamental top counts, does not address a fence built on a retaining wall, and does not prohibit regrading before a fence goes up. The one thing it does fold into the figure is the decorative open trellis on a solid fence next to commercial or industrial land, which counts toward the six feet rather than sitting above it.
The maximum height of a fence or wall shall be measured from the ground at the base of the fence or wall and shall be subject to the following limitations.
6 ftmaximum height the datum is applied to
Also on how height is measured in Berwyn
- 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 Berwyn
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Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois 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.
This one is Illinois law, not Berwyn law. All Illinois findings
If any person injures or obstructs a public highway by felling a tree or trees in, upon or across the same, or by placing or leaving any other obstruction thereon, or encroaching upon the same with any fence
Also on corner visibility in Berwyn
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence and wall rules draw no sight triangle. There is no leg length, no reduced height near an intersection, no band above grade to keep clear and no test about obstructing a driver view. What protects a corner in Berwyn is position instead. Fences and walls are prohibited in the front yard entirely, and in a corner side yard one is allowed only between the rear facade of the principal structure and the rear lot line, which keeps the quadrant nearest the intersection free of fencing without ever drawing a triangle. The same subsection also requires every fence to sit completely inside the lot, so nothing may reach into the right of way at the corner. 1244.04(C)(6)Berwyn · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Berwyn
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Berwyn 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 Berwyn 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 Berwyn
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Berwyn answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zoning district.
Berwyn names seven allowed materials for a fence, a wall and any gate that goes with them: brick, stone, treated wood, simulated wood, PVC, chain link and metal mesh. The prohibited list mixes danger with appearance. No fence or wall may incorporate sharp or dangerous components, and barbed wire and razor wire are named, but so are exposed cinder block, exposed concrete block and corrugated metal, which are banned for how they look rather than for any risk. Chain link and barbed wire may still be allowed in the Commercial, Industrial and Public Areas Districts where the Zoning Administrator approves. The finished side of every fence and wall faces outward from the lot.
Barbed wire, exposed cinder block, exposed concrete block, corrugated metal, and razor wire are prohibited materials, except that chain link or barbed wire fencing may be allowed in the Commercial, Industrial, and Public Areas Districts with Zoning Administrator approval.
The answer turns on the material and the zoning district.
- a residential fence
- Brick, stone, treated or simulated wood, PVC, chain link or metal mesh.
- exposed cinder block, concrete block or corrugated metal
- Prohibited, on appearance rather than safety.
- chain link or barbed wire on commercial, industrial or public land
- Allowed where the Zoning Administrator approves.
Also on materials in Berwyn
- 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 Berwyn
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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 Berwyn 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 Berwyn
- 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 Berwyn itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of BerwynCodified Ordinances, Planning and Zoning Code, Chapter 1244, Use Standards, Section 1244.04, Accessory Structures and Uses, Fence or Wall
- 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 Berwyn 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