Fence laws in Chicago, Illinois
What the Chicago municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Chicago sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Chicago, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Illinois makes both neighbors pay for a fence on the line between them, each one a fair share.
- How tall
- Chicago does not have a fence chapter, and the answer turns on how opaque the fence is, and which setback it stands in. The figure is 20 percent, for opacity at or below which six feet is allowed in front.
- Permits
- Chicago asks for no building permit to install a fence of five feet or less, on two conditions stated in the same line: the height is measured on both sides, and the fence conforms to the Zoning Ordinance, and the answer turns on the height of the fence, and whether the property is a landmark. The figure is 5 feet, for height below which no building permit is required.
- Pool barriers
- Chicago sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Chicago has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Chicago leaves the measuring rule to the corporate authorities of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Chicago draws two sight triangles and then limits only one kind of thing inside them. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the sight triangle where two streets meet.
- Retaining walls
- A Chicago retaining wall escapes the building permit up to four feet, and the four feet is counted from the bottom of the footing rather than from the ground, so a wall standing three feet above the soil with a foot of footing under it is already at the line. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall height, from the bottom of the footing.
- Materials
- Where Chicago requires a screening fence between a parking area and residential land, it specifies the material and then adds a maintenance obligation most cities leave out.
- 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 Chicago?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois 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.
This one is Illinois law, not Chicago law. All Illinois findings
When 2 or more persons have lands adjoining, each of them shall make and maintain a just proportion of the division fence between them
How tall can a fence be in Chicago?
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Chicago answers this, but the answer changes depending on how opaque the fence is, and which setback it stands in.
Chicago does not have a fence chapter. Its fence heights are three rows in the table of features allowed to encroach into a required setback, and the line they turn on is twenty percent opacity. A fence or wall no more than twenty percent opaque may be six feet in the front, side and rear setbacks alike. One that is more than twenty percent opaque, or solid, may be four and a half feet in all three. That same solid fence may go to six feet in the side and rear setbacks, and the table answers No for the front, so six feet of solid fence in a Chicago front setback is the one combination the table refuses. Because these are encroachment rules, they bite only inside a required setback, and the table applies in all districts rather than only residential ones.
Required setbacks in all districts must be unobstructed and unoccupied from the ground to the sky except that features are allowed to encroach into required setbacks to the extent indicated in the following table:
The answer turns on how opaque the fence is, and which setback it stands in.
- a fence no more than twenty percent opaque, in any setback
- Six feet. 20%
- a fence more than twenty percent opaque, in a front setback
- Four and a half feet. 4.5 ft
- a fence more than twenty percent opaque, in a side or rear setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Chicago
- 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 Chicago?
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Chicago answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence, and whether the property is a landmark.
Chicago asks for no building permit to install a fence of five feet or less, on two conditions stated in the same line: the height is measured on both sides, and the fence conforms to the Zoning Ordinance. Removing a fence of five feet or less is exempt as well, and so is maintaining one by painting it or replacing limited damaged elements. Anything taller needs a permit. The exemption may not apply at all on a proposed or designated Chicago Landmark or inside a landmark district, and a fence in the public way needs a separate public way use permit from Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Installing a fence that is no more than 5 feet above the ground (measured on both sides) and that conforms to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance
Fences, work not requiring a building permit
The answer turns on the height of the fence, and whether the property is a landmark.
- a fence of five feet or less, measured on both sides
- No building permit, provided it meets the Zoning Ordinance. 5 ft
- a fence above five feet
- A building permit.
- a landmark property or landmark district
- The exemption may not apply.
Also on permits in Chicago
- 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 Chicago
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Chicago 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 Chicago 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 Chicago
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Chicago 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 Chicago 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 Chicago
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Chicago does not set this. It leaves it to the corporate authorities of each municipality.
Illinois 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.
This one is Illinois law, not Chicago law. All Illinois findings
(1) to regulate and limit the height and bulk of buildings hereafter to be erected;
The code hands this to the corporate authorities of each municipality, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Chicago
- no rule, documents checkedChicago gives four and a half feet and six feet for a fence and never says in the zoning ordinance what either is measured from. The measurements section of the terminology chapter runs to building height, accessory building height, grade and lot dimensions, and its height rules at 17-17-0311 govern buildings rather than fences. The encroachment table that carries the fence figures states no datum of its own. The one place a datum appears anywhere in the city is the Department of Buildings permit guidance, which exempts a fence of five feet or less measured on both sides, and that phrase decides whether a permit is needed rather than whether the fence meets the zoning limit. 17-17-0300 and 17-17-0309Chicago · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Chicago
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Chicago answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Chicago draws two sight triangles and then limits only one kind of thing inside them. At the intersection of a street with an alley or a driveway the triangle runs twelve feet from the point of intersection along the edges of each, and at the intersection of two or more streets it runs thirty feet along the street rights of way, each closed with a line between the ends. Inside either, no landscape material more than twelve inches high may be installed or allowed to grow. The rule names landscape material and nothing else, so a fence, a wall or a structure in a Chicago sight triangle is left to the setback encroachment table rather than to this section.
No landscape material more than 12 inches in height may be installed or allowed to grow within any sight triangle.
30 ftleg of the sight triangle where two streets meet
Also on corner visibility in Chicago
- 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 Chicago
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Chicago answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Chicago retaining wall escapes the building permit up to four feet, and the four feet is counted from the bottom of the footing rather than from the ground, so a wall standing three feet above the soil with a foot of footing under it is already at the line. Two things cancel the exemption at any height: a wall supporting a surcharge, meaning extra load above it, and a wall impounding liquids. Removing such a wall is exempt on the same terms as installing one.
Installing or removing a retaining wall that is not more than 4 feet in height (measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall), not supporting a surcharge, and not impounding liquids
Fences, work not requiring a building permit
4 ftretaining wall height, from the bottom of the footing
Also on retaining walls in Chicago
- left to the townIllinois 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. 815 ILCS 670/15Illinois · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Chicago
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Chicago answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where Chicago requires a screening fence between a parking area and residential land, it specifies the material and then adds a maintenance obligation most cities leave out. The fence has to be masonry or wood and has to be planted with vines, chain link is prohibited, and the screen as a whole has to be at least five feet and no more than seven. Ornamental fencing required along the perimeter of a parking area facing a front or corner line sits at least five feet inside the property line, is limited to five feet in height, and may reach six only where the Zoning Administrator finds it necessary for security. The zoning ordinance names no material at all for an ordinary residential fence.
Screening fences must be masonry or wood and must be planted with vines. Chain-link fencing is prohibited.
Also on materials in Chicago
- 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 Chicago
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 Chicago 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 Chicago
- 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
12 documents, of which 3 were published by Chicago itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act, Legal and sufficient fences
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois Residential Building Code Act
- City of ChicagoChicago Zoning Ordinance, Title 17, Section 17-17-0309, Features Allowed to Encroach in Required Setbacks
- City of Chicago, Department of BuildingsGuide to Building Permits, what types of work do not require a building permit, Fences
- 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
- City of ChicagoChicago Zoning Ordinance, Title 17, Chapter 17-11, Landscaping and Screening
- 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 Chicago 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