Fence laws in Des Plaines, Illinois
What the Des Plaines municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Des Plaines sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Des Plaines, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Des Plaines requires no setback from the property line at all except along an alley, where a fence comes back three feet from the alley right of way. The figure is 3 feet, for setback required along an alley right of way.
- How tall
- A residential fence in Des Plaines takes four feet in a front yard or a corner side yard and six feet in a rear yard, a side yard or inside the buildable area of the lot, and the answer turns on the use, the yard, and what the lot backs onto. The figure is 4 feet, for residential fence at the front of a lot.
- Permits
- Illinois has no one statewide permit rule for work at a house.
- Pool barriers
- Des Plaines sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Des Plaines has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Des Plaines leaves the measuring rule to the corporate authorities of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Des Plaines uses a ten foot sight triangle and applies it at alleys, driveways and streets alike, so an ordinary driveway gets the same protection as a street corner. The figure is 10 feet, for sight triangle at an alley, driveway or street.
- Retaining walls
- Des Plaines 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
- Des Plaines regulates appearance in front and danger behind, and the answer turns on the yard, the district, and whether the dwelling shares a wall. The figure is 50 percent, for open area required on a front yard fence.
- 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 Des Plaines?
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Des Plaines answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Des Plaines requires no setback from the property line at all except along an alley, where a fence comes back three feet from the alley right of way. The posts go on the side facing the fence owner property and the finished side faces the exterior of the lot. Three further rules deal with what happens when fences multiply. A new fence has to sit at least five feet from any parallel fence on the same property, a fence that directly abuts an existing fence on the same property is prohibited, and where two abutting properties share a driveway no fence or other raised barrier may be installed on or near the property line inside that shared driveway area. Any fence that completely encloses a residential lot has to have at least one gate reaching a principal entrance, and where the fence is not on the line the strip outside it still has to be maintained.
All fence posts shall be located on the side of the fence facing the fence owner's property, and the fence's finished side shall face the exterior of the lot.
3 ftsetback required along an alley right of way
Also on fences on the property line in Des Plaines
- 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
- set in state lawDes Plaines defines a parkway as the city owned land lying between the improved street and the sidewalk, and then bars a fence from it entirely. The same sentence caps bushes and other dense plantings at twenty four inches, and it reaches past the parkway to cover the first eight feet back of the property line, so the low planting rule applies on private ground as well. The code adds that nothing in the section is permission to build a fence of any size in a parkway where the building code, the fence ordinance or any other law already prohibits one. It names these acts a nuisance and a traffic hazard because they obstruct the clear view of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians on the adjoining streets and sidewalks, and authorizes the director of public works to remove them immediately on detection. 8-6-1 and 8-6-3Des Plaines · Zoning code
How tall can a fence be in Des Plaines?
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Des Plaines answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use, the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
A residential fence in Des Plaines takes four feet in a front yard or a corner side yard and six feet in a rear yard, a side yard or inside the buildable area of the lot. A non-residential fence takes eight feet anywhere. Two lot shapes get their own answer. A lot with double frontage where one frontage abuts an arterial street may run six feet along the arterial side, and a lot abutting a railroad right of way may run eight feet along the railroad side, which is the only place a residential lot reaches the non-residential figure. A six foot fence in a rear or side yard may not enter the ten foot sight triangle of any alley, driveway or street. A dog run is separately placed rather than sized, screened from the street and kept ten feet off any side or rear line and twenty five feet off the front.
The maximum height of a fence for a residential use shall be four feet (4') when located in front yards and corner side yards and six feet (6') when located in rear yards, side yards, or within the buildable area of the lot.
The answer turns on the use, the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
- a residential front yard or corner side yard
- Four feet, and at least half see through. 4 ft
- a residential rear yard, side yard or buildable area
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a lot abutting a railroad right of way
- Eight feet along the railroad side. 8 ft
- any non-residential use
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Des Plaines
- 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 Des Plaines?
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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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence regulations never say that an ordinary fence needs a permit. The word permit appears once in the whole section, and it is attached to barbed wire and electrically charged fencing: those may go up only in a non-residential district, only where the zoning administrator first finds the fence necessary to protect the safety of persons or the security of the property, and only once he issues a permit accordingly. No height threshold, no application list, no exemption for a low fence and no review authority for anything else appears anywhere in the section, so the general permit question is answered outside the zoning chapter rather than inside it. 12-8-1 and 12-8-2Des Plaines · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Des Plaines
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Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
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Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
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Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence regulations set four heights and never say what any of them is measured from. There is no mention of grade, of the ground at the base of the fence, of averaging between two lots, or of what happens where the land slopes, and nothing saying whether a post cap or a decorative top counts toward the figure. The one thing the chapter does measure from a stated reference is the barbed wire rule, which requires the wire to sit at least six feet above ground level. The accessory structure rules the fence section builds on set a fifteen foot maximum height for an accessory structure and are silent on the datum in the same way. 12-8-1 and 12-8-2Des Plaines · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Des Plaines
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Des Plaines answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Des Plaines uses a ten foot sight triangle and applies it at alleys, driveways and streets alike, so an ordinary driveway gets the same protection as a street corner. The rule is written as an exclusion rather than a reduced height: no portion of a six foot fence in a rear or side yard may sit inside it. The four foot cap on front yard and corner side yard fences does the rest of the work at a corner. A separate rule in the parkway chapter reaches the strip beyond the property line.
When a six foot (6') tall fence is located in any rear yard or side yard, there shall be no portion of such fence located within the ten foot (10') sight triangle of any alley, driveway or street.
10 ftsight triangle at an alley, driveway or street
Also on corner visibility in Des Plaines
- 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 Des Plaines
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Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
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Des Plaines answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the district, and whether the dwelling shares a wall.
Des Plaines regulates appearance in front and danger behind. A front yard fence in a residential district has to provide at least fifty percent open see through area of uniform distribution, so the openness has to be spread across the panel rather than concentrated at the top. Where two or more dwelling units share a common wall, the fences for those units have to match in height, material, type, color and design, which makes a townhouse row a single decision rather than several. Barbed wire and electrically charged fences are confined to non-residential districts, need a finding from the zoning administrator, and then have to sit at least six feet above ground level in one of two named configurations: a gable with five strands or fewer, or an arm angled about forty five degrees off vertical carrying three strands or fewer.
Barbed wire and electrically charged fences may be permitted only in nonresidential districts, and only where the zoning administrator first makes a finding that such a fence is necessary to protect the safety of persons or for security of the property, and issues a permit accordingly.
The answer turns on the yard, the district, and whether the dwelling shares a wall.
- a residential front yard fence
- At least half open see through area, evenly distributed. 50%
- townhouses sharing a common wall
- Matching height, material, type, color and design.
- barbed wire on an angled arm
- Three strands or fewer, at six feet or higher. 3 strands
- barbed wire in a gable configuration
- Five strands or fewer. 5 strands
Also on materials in Des Plaines
- 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 Des Plaines
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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 Des Plaines 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 Des Plaines
- 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
11 documents, of which 2 were published by Des Plaines itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of Des PlainesCity Code, Title 12, Zoning, Chapter 8, Accessory, Temporary, and Specific Use Regulations, Section 12-8-2, Fence Regulations
- City of Des PlainesCity Code, Title 8, Chapter 6, Parkways, Section 8-6-3, Plant and Fence Restrictions
- 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 Des Plaines 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