Fence laws in Oak Lawn, Illinois
What the Oak Lawn municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Oak Lawn sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Oak Lawn, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where a fence has its posts and support pieces on one side only, Oak Lawn requires that side to face the interior of the fence owner property, away from streets, alleys and neighboring properties.
- How tall
- Oak Lawn uses one number for the whole village, and the answer turns on the district and where on the lot the fence stands. The figure is 6 feet, for fence in a residential use district.
- Permits
- It is unlawful to erect or construct any fence inside Oak Lawn without first getting a permit from the director of the office of quality control, and the chapter prints the fee in the code itself at thirty dollars.
- Pool barriers
- Oak Lawn sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Oak Lawn has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Oak Lawn settles the threshold question before the height question. The figure is 2 feet, for height above which a barrier counts as a fence.
- Corner lots
- Oak Lawn draws no sight triangle, sets no leg length and gives no reduced height for a corner. The figure is 90 percent, for visibility required through a business district fence.
- Retaining walls
- Oak Lawn 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
- Oak Lawn allows any suitable construction material and then names what is not suitable, and the answer turns on the district and the material. The figure is 7 feet, for lowest point barbed wire may sit at.
- 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 Oak Lawn?
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Oak Lawn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a fence has its posts and support pieces on one side only, Oak Lawn requires that side to face the interior of the fence owner property, away from streets, alleys and neighboring properties. A second structural rule follows from how close the fence sits: where the distance from the lot line to the face of the fence is less than the fence height, it has to carry lateral supports on one side with structural braces reaching the top. No fence may go in an easement unless the owner first gives the village a release absolving it of all liability and damages from later entry to repair, inspect, maintain, install or remove utilities, and any fence allowed in an easement has to be built so the fence and posts are readily removable, with the village never liable for putting it back. Every fence enclosure has to have a gate or opening.
Any fence allowed or permitted in an easement shall be so constructed that the fence and posts may be readily removable.
Also on fences on the property line in Oak Lawn
- 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 lawOak Lawn does not decide who pays for a boundary fence. The chapter contains one sentence on the subject and it sends the question to state law: a dispute between adjoining landowners over the cost of erecting a division fence is settled under 765 Illinois Compiled Statutes 130, the Illinois Fence Act. So the village regulates what the fence looks like, how tall it is and where it sits, and leaves the money to the statute and the courts that apply it. 6-11-4Oak Lawn · Building code
How tall can a fence be in Oak Lawn?
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Oak Lawn answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and where on the lot the fence stands.
Oak Lawn uses one number for the whole village. Six feet in a residential use district, between buildings or in the rear yard behind the building, and six feet in the commercial, office and manufacturing districts too, which is unusual because most codes let business land go higher. The front of the lot is handled by position rather than height: no fence may extend past the front yard building line set by the zoning ordinance, and on a corner lot none may go past the side street yard, so there is no low front yard fence allowance at all. No fence may be erected in any public right of way. On a construction or demolition site a chain link fence of at least six feet is required around the building or the whole work site, put up no more than seven days before work starts.
The maximum fence height in a residential use district shall not exceed six feet (6') between buildings or in the rear yard behind the building.
The answer turns on the district and where on the lot the fence stands.
- a residential rear yard or between buildings
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a commercial, office or manufacturing district
- Six feet, and ninety percent see through in front. 6 ft
- past the front yard building line, or past the side street yard on a corner lot
- No fence at all.
- a construction or demolition site
- Chain link, at least six feet, gate locked when nobody is working. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn?
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Oak Lawn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
It is unlawful to erect or construct any fence inside Oak Lawn without first getting a permit from the director of the office of quality control, and the chapter prints the fee in the code itself at thirty dollars. Because the chapter defines a fence as a barrier more than two feet high, that two foot line doubles as the permit threshold. A construction or demolition site fence is not separately permitted but is a condition of the demolition or building permit already issued, and the village department of quality control decides when it may come down, which is when the building is secure from unpermitted entry or, after a demolition, when the debris is gone and the hole is filled.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or construct any fence within the village limits without having first obtained a permit from the director of the office of quality control.
Also on permits in Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Oak Lawn settles the threshold question before the height question. A fence is defined as a manmade structure forming a barrier, not part of any building or structure, and more than two feet high over existing grade, so anything two feet or under is not a fence for the purposes of the chapter and the permit rule never reaches it. For anything above that line, all height dimensions are measured from the established grade to the topmost section of the fence, which brings a post cap or a decorative top inside the figure and keeps the reading on the ground rather than an averaged level. The chapter sets no allowance for a post to exceed the limit and no adjustment for a difference in grade between two lots.
A "fence" is hereby defined as a manmade structure forming a barrier which is not a part of any building or structure, and is more than two feet (2') in height over existing grade.
2 ftheight above which a barrier counts as a fence
Also on how height is measured in Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Oak Lawn draws no sight triangle, sets no leg length and gives no reduced height for a corner. What it does instead is require a commercial, office or manufacturing fence to give a clear and unobstructed view from the building line to the property line, and then define that phrase with a number: at least ninety percent of any object on the opposite side of the fence has to be clearly visible at all times. That is a much stricter transparency test than the fifty percent most Illinois codes use, and it applies along the whole frontage rather than only inside a triangle at the corner. On a residential lot the protection comes from position rather than transparency, since no fence may extend past the front yard building line or past the side street yard on a corner lot.
A clear and unobstructed view shall be construed to mean that at least 90 percent of any object on the opposite side of the fence shall be clearly visible at all times.
90%visibility required through a business district fence
Also on corner visibility in Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn
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Oak Lawn answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the material.
Oak Lawn allows any suitable construction material and then names what is not suitable. In a residential district that list is chicken wire, square welded mesh wire, barbed wire, electrically charged wire, temporary snow fence and solid concrete block, plus anything topped with sharp edged material, with picket fences expressly not caught by that last phrase. The commercial, office and manufacturing list is the same minus barbed wire and solid concrete block. Barbed wire is allowed on that non-residential land on three conditions together: it starts at least seven feet above the established grade, it turns to the inside of the property, and it stays at least five feet from any public street, sidewalk, alley, park or public right of way. Whatever the district, the entire length of the fence has to be built of the same or harmonious materials, and every fence has to resist twice the horizontal wind pressure the building code requires of a building.
Any suitable construction material may be used for a fence, except chicken wire, square welded mesh wire, barbed wire, electrically charged wire, temporary snow fence, or solid concrete block; or be topped with sharp edged material, except that this shall not be construed to prohibit picket fences.
The answer turns on the district and the material.
- a residential district
- Anything suitable except six named materials, and picket fences are fine.
- barbed wire in a commercial, office or manufacturing district
- Above seven feet, turned inside, five feet clear of any public way. 7 ft
- any fence
- The whole run in the same or harmonious materials, at twice the building wind load.
Also on materials in Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn
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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 Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn
- 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 Oak Lawn itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- Village of Oak LawnVillage Code, Title 6, Building Regulations, Chapter 11, Fences
- 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 Oak Lawn 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