Fence laws in Cicero, Illinois
What the Cicero municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Cicero sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Cicero, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Cicero fence has to sit wholly on the owner’s land and no less than four inches inside the property line, so the shared boundary fence is ruled out and a narrow strip is always left. The figure is 4 inches, for minimum distance a fence sits inside the property line.
- How tall
- Cicero prohibits a front yard fence in the R-1 through R-4 residential districts and in the C-1 and C-2 commercial districts alike, so the question in a front yard is not how tall but whether at all, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, and the zoning of the land on the other side. The figure is 6 feet, for fence between two residential lots.
- Permits
- It is unlawful in Cicero to erect or alter any fence without a permit from the Building Commissioner first, and altering one is named alongside building it.
- Pool barriers
- Cicero sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Cicero has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Cicero uses two different starting points and ties each to a kind of fence, and the answer turns on whether the fence is built on a concrete footing. The figure is 6 feet, for structural fence in a residential area.
- Corner lots
- Cicero writes its visibility rule as an outcome rather than a shape, and puts it first among the requirements applying to every fence.
- Retaining walls
- Cicero 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
- A Cicero side or rear yard fence in a residential district has to be built from wood, chain link, PVC or wrought iron, has to leave at least fifteen feet between the house on its own lot and the house next door, and has to be non-locking, and the answer turns on the district, and what the fence is made of. The figure is 8 feet, for lowest point of barbed wire in an industrial 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 Cicero?
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Cicero answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Cicero fence has to sit wholly on the owner’s land and no less than four inches inside the property line, so the shared boundary fence is ruled out and a narrow strip is always left. The town then closes the arrangement that follows from that, prohibiting back-to-back fences and defining them as parallel fences no more than four feet apart, which stops two neighbors each building their own along the same boundary. The structural elements face the owner’s own property and the finished side faces out. An existing fence being replaced has to come down before the new one goes up, and every fence fronting a right of way, other than on a corner lot, has to include a gate to it.
Back-to-back fences are prohibited. Back to back fences shall mean parallel fences that are located no more than four feet apart.
4 inminimum distance a fence sits inside the property line
Also on fences on the property line in Cicero
- 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 Cicero?
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Cicero answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, and the zoning of the land on the other side.
Cicero prohibits a front yard fence in the R-1 through R-4 residential districts and in the C-1 and C-2 commercial districts alike, so the question in a front yard is not how tall but whether at all. Behind the front yard the height turns on what is next door rather than on what the lot itself is zoned: an interior side or rear yard in a residential district takes six feet where it adjoins residential zoning and eight where it adjoins non-residential. The commercial districts take eight feet on both. The M-1, M-2 and M-3 manufacturing districts take eight feet in every yard. A structural fence, meaning one built on a concrete footing, is separately capped at six feet in a residential area.
Table 3.2 Maximum Fence Height provides maximum height requirements for fences by zoning district. Maximum fence heights shown are for both an open fence and solid fence designs unless otherwise noted.
The answer turns on the district, the yard, and the zoning of the land on the other side.
- a front yard in a residential or commercial district
- Prohibited.
- a residential side or rear yard next to residential zoning
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a residential side or rear yard next to non-residential zoning
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- the manufacturing districts
- Eight feet in every yard. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Cicero
- 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 Cicero?
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Cicero answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
It is unlawful in Cicero to erect or alter any fence without a permit from the Building Commissioner first, and altering one is named alongside building it. The written application goes to the Building department with plans drawn to scale, a spot survey, specifications of the work, the location of the fence on the premises, and the name of the individual or company doing the work, which is a detail most cities do not ask for on a fence permit.
It shall be unlawful to erect or alter any fence within the Town unless a permit has been issued by the Building Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this article.
Also on permits in Cicero
- 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 Cicero
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Cicero 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 Cicero 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 Cicero
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Cicero 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 Cicero 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 Cicero
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Cicero answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is built on a concrete footing.
Cicero uses two different starting points and ties each to a kind of fence. An ordinary fence is measured from the ground at the base of the fence or wall, so the reading follows the ground the fence stands on. A structural fence, which the code defines as one built on a concrete footing, is measured from the average ground level of both sides, so on a slope the two owners split the difference. The distinction matters because the structural fence is the one capped at six feet in a residential area.
The maximum height of a fence or wall is measured from the ground at the base of the fence or wall.
The answer turns on whether the fence is built on a concrete footing.
- an ordinary fence
- From the ground at the base of the fence.
- a structural fence, built on a concrete footing
- From the average ground level of both sides. 6 ft
Also on how height is measured in Cicero
- 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 Cicero
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Cicero answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Cicero writes its visibility rule as an outcome rather than a shape, and puts it first among the requirements applying to every fence. No fence may be built which, by the material used or by where it stands, would impair public protection services or impair public safety by obstructing the vision of people using the streets, sidewalks or driveways next to the lot. No sight triangle is drawn, no leg length is given and no reduced height is set for a corner, so the test is applied to the particular fence rather than to a mapped area. A separate rule bars any fence that would block a fire hydrant.
No fence shall be constructed which by nature of the material used for its construction or by its location would impair public protection services or would impair public safety by obstructing the vision of persons using the streets, sidewalks, or driveways adjacent to the lot upon which the fence is proposed to be constructed.
Also on corner visibility in Cicero
- 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 Cicero
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Cicero 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 Cicero 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 Cicero
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Cicero answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, and what the fence is made of.
A Cicero side or rear yard fence in a residential district has to be built from wood, chain link, PVC or wrought iron, has to leave at least fifteen feet between the house on its own lot and the house next door, and has to be non-locking. A fence on park or school property has to be vinyl-coated chain link. Barbed wire, razor wire and electrically charged fences are prohibited, with barbed wire allowed in the industrial districts only at eight feet or more above the ground, and elsewhere only by a variation from the Planning and Zoning Commission after notice and a public hearing, and only where the Commission finds it is required for the health, safety and welfare of the town. Every fence has to be designed to resist a horizontal wind pressure of at least thirty five pounds per square foot.
Fences shall be designed and constructed to resist a horizontal wind pressure of not less than 35 pounds per square foot, in addition to all other forces to which they may be subjected.
Section 11.b.(3), 11.c and 11.g
The answer turns on the district, and what the fence is made of.
- a residential side or rear yard fence
- Wood, chain link, PVC or wrought iron, and non-locking.
- park or school property
- Vinyl-coated chain link.
- barbed wire in an industrial district
- Allowed, but only starting eight feet above the ground. 8 ft
Also on materials in Cicero
- 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 Cicero
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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 Cicero 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 Cicero
- 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 Cicero itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- Town of CiceroUnified Development Code, Chapter 114, Article III, Section 11, Fences (2024 edition)
- 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 Cicero 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