Fence laws in Joliet, Illinois
What the Joliet municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Joliet sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Joliet, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Joliet does not allow a fence post to be set directly on a property line, which rules out the shared boundary fence that most cities treat as normal and pushes the whole structure onto one owner’s land.
- How tall
- Joliet allows four feet in a front yard and six in a side or rear yard, and the answer turns on the yard, whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether it sits in the visibility triangle. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- A Joliet fence permit needs an accurate plat of survey with the proposed fence marked on it, a completed application, and the height and material of the fence, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and which yard it stands in. The figure is 4 feet, for corner side yard height that triggers neighbor sign-off.
- Pool barriers
- Joliet sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Joliet has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Joliet leaves the measuring rule to the corporate authorities of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Where two Joliet streets meet, the safety triangle is measured forty six feet along each curb from the corner and closed with a line between the end points. The figure is 46 feet, for leg of the visibility triangle, measured along the curb.
- Retaining walls
- Joliet 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
- Joliet names its materials in the definition rather than in a permitted list: a fence is commercial grade material on posts connected by boards and rails in wood, wire in chain link, metal posts in wrought iron or aluminum, vinyl, or composite, and it is distinguished from a wall by not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
- 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 Joliet?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Joliet answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Joliet does not allow a fence post to be set directly on a property line, which rules out the shared boundary fence that most cities treat as normal and pushes the whole structure onto one owner’s land. A fence may not extend into a landscape easement or a recorded shared driveway at all. It may go into a public utility or drainage easement, on the understanding that if the utility or the city needs access the fence comes out at the owner’s expense. No fence is allowed in a stormwater detention or retention pond easement, a floodplain easement or a floodway, and anything proposed near those may need Public Utilities review.
Fence posts must not be placed directly on property lines.
Also on fences on the property line in Joliet
- 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 Joliet?
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Joliet answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether it sits in the visibility triangle.
Joliet allows four feet in a front yard and six in a side or rear yard. Above six feet anywhere on the lot the answer is not a taller permit but a hearing, because the Zoning Board of Appeals has to review and approve it. On a corner side yard, where the setback is twenty feet or the existing side setback of the house, whichever is greater, anything over four feet needs the adjoining neighbor to sign off as well as the city. Inside the visibility triangle the figures drop sharply, with a solid privacy fence held to two and a half feet while a see-through fence keeps the ordinary four and six.
The maximum fence height in the front yard is 4 feet high, the maximum fence height in the side & rear yards is 6 feet high.
The answer turns on the yard, whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether it sits in the visibility triangle.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- anything above six feet
- Zoning Board of Appeals review and approval. 6 ft
- a solid fence inside the visibility triangle
- Two and a half feet. 2.5 ft
Also on fence height in Joliet
- 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 Joliet?
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Joliet answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and which yard it stands in.
A Joliet fence permit needs an accurate plat of survey with the proposed fence marked on it, a completed application, and the height and material of the fence. Two approvals sit above that. Anything over six feet in any area goes to the Zoning Board of Appeals. And anything over four feet in the corner side yard needs the adjoining owner with the shared property line to sign off, in a signed note, a signature on the plat of survey, or an email to the Joliet Planning Division, which puts a private consent into the permit process rather than leaving it to the neighbors afterwards.
On corner lots, the corner side yard setback is 20 ft. or the current side yard setback measurement of the principal residence, whichever is greater. Any fence taller than 4 ft. high in this area requires a signature from the adjoining neighbors with shared property lines.
Corner Side Yard and Fence Regulations
The answer turns on the height of the fence and which yard it stands in.
- any fence
- A plat of survey with the fence marked, plus the height and material.
- over four feet in a corner side yard
- The adjoining neighbor signs off in writing, on the plat, or by email. 4 ft
- over six feet anywhere
- Zoning Board of Appeals review and approval.
Also on permits in Joliet
- 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 Joliet
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Joliet 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 Joliet 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 Joliet
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Joliet 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 Joliet 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 Joliet
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Joliet 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 Joliet 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.
Fence rules for corner lots in Joliet
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Joliet answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where two Joliet streets meet, the safety triangle is measured forty six feet along each curb from the corner and closed with a line between the end points. That is roughly one and a half times the largest triangle most cities draw, and measuring from the curb rather than the property line pushes it further onto private land. The rule inside it is a choice rather than a flat cap: a fence there has to be either see-through or, if solid, short enough to see over at two and a half feet. Visibility is separately reviewed by staff near driveways, alleys and street corners, and every fence is subject to final approval by the Planning Division.
Where streets meet, there is a 46 ft. visibility triangle for safety. Measure along each curb from the corner 46 feet in each direction. Connect the ending points to create a triangle.
46 ftleg of the visibility triangle, measured along the curb
Also on corner visibility in Joliet
- 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 Joliet
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Joliet 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 Joliet 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 Joliet
Compare materials across all 50 states
Joliet answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Joliet names its materials in the definition rather than in a permitted list: a fence is commercial grade material on posts connected by boards and rails in wood, wire in chain link, metal posts in wrought iron or aluminum, vinyl, or composite, and it is distinguished from a wall by not having a solid foundation along its whole length. The category that does the work is see-through, which the city defines by example as chain link, picket or wrought iron and aluminum. A see-through fence keeps four feet in the front and six in the rear even inside a visibility triangle, where a solid privacy fence drops to two and a half.
"See through" fences (chain link, picket or wrought iron/aluminum) are allowed up to a maximum height of 4 feet high in the front yard & 6 feet high in the rear yard.
Fence Description and Visibility
Also on materials in Joliet
- 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 Joliet
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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 Joliet 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 Joliet
- 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 Joliet itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of Joliet, Community Development DepartmentFences, building permit information (fence definition from Ordinance 18650, revised 21 May 2024)
- 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 Joliet 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