Fence laws in Schaumburg, Illinois
What the Schaumburg municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Schaumburg sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Schaumburg, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Schaumburg defines a perimeter fence as one on or within six inches of the property line, and an area fence as one further back than that, and then requires perimeter fences to stay within the six inches. The figure is 6 inches, for how far from the line a perimeter fence may sit.
- How tall
- Schaumburg draws its main line between a boundary fence and a privacy screen, and the answer turns on whether the fence is a perimeter fence or a privacy screen around a patio, and the yard it stands in. The figure is 5 feet, for perimeter fence in a side or rear yard.
- Permits
- Schaumburg sets the lowest permit threshold of any Illinois city on this site: nothing higher than two feet may go up without a permit from the director of community development. The figure is 2 feet, for height above which a permit is required.
- Pool barriers
- Schaumburg sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Schaumburg has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Schaumburg measures a fence along a typical unit of fencing, which the chapter defines as the portion between and including two vertical posts or other supporting members, read vertically from grade to the top. The figure is 8 inches, for how far a post may rise above the limit for ornament.
- Corner lots
- Schaumburg handles the corner with a line rather than a triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Schaumburg 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
- Schaumburg grades openness in three bands and puts numbers on each: an open fence lets light and air through more than eighty percent of its surface, a semiopen fence between eighty and thirty percent, and a solid fence less than thirty, and the answer turns on the material, and the zoning district. The figure is 80 percent, for openness that makes a fence open.
- 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 Schaumburg?
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Schaumburg answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Schaumburg defines a perimeter fence as one on or within six inches of the property line, and an area fence as one further back than that, and then requires perimeter fences to stay within the six inches. A fence may be set further in only where an appropriate means of access is provided, so the strip left outside can still be maintained and reached for utility work. Fence posts and supporting structures go up so the finished side or sides face the neighboring properties or the public right of way. No fence or appurtenance may impede or alter the natural surface water drainage.
Perimeter fences constructed within the village must be within six inches (6") of the property line. Fences can be constructed more than six inches (6") from the property line, only if appropriate means of access is provided to assure the property outside the fence line will be maintained and can be accessible for utility work.
6 inhow far from the line a perimeter fence may sit
Also on fences on the property line in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg?
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Schaumburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is a perimeter fence or a privacy screen around a patio, and the yard it stands in.
Schaumburg draws its main line between a boundary fence and a privacy screen. A perimeter fence in a residential side or rear yard, behind the front of the house, may be open or semiopen and no more than five feet, which is a foot lower than most of Illinois allows. A privacy fence of solid, semiopen or open type may reach six feet, but only around a patio or deck, only up to sixteen feet into the rear yard measured from the back of the house, and no closer to the side line than the required side yard. No fence may be built in a front yard beyond the front of the building at any point, and on a corner lot none may go beyond the required building setback line on either side.
Perimeter fences may be erected in the side and rear yard in back of the front of the building. These fences may be open or semiopen and no greater than five feet (5') in height when measured along the vertical from the surface of the ground to the highest point on the fence.
The answer turns on whether the fence is a perimeter fence or a privacy screen around a patio, and the yard it stands in.
- a perimeter fence in a residential side or rear yard
- Five feet, open or semiopen. 5 ft
- a privacy fence around a patio or deck
- Six feet, reaching no more than sixteen feet into the rear yard. 16 ft
- a front yard, or a corner lot beyond the setback line
- No fence at all.
Also on fence height in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg?
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Schaumburg answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Schaumburg sets the lowest permit threshold of any Illinois city on this site: nothing higher than two feet may go up without a permit from the director of community development. The application carries a sketch showing the material and the dimensions, and a plat of survey with the fence located on the lot. A security fence application has to demonstrate the need for it within reasonable parameters. The director approves or denies, and a denial may be appealed to the village manager, who is the final review authority for the districts where security fences are allowed.
No person shall erect a fence higher than two feet (2') without having first received a permit from the director of community development.
2 ftheight above which a permit is required
Also on permits in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Schaumburg measures a fence along a typical unit of fencing, which the chapter defines as the portion between and including two vertical posts or other supporting members, read vertically from grade to the top. That makes the panel rather than the whole run the thing being measured. Two allowances sit on top. A post may exceed the limit by up to eight inches to allow ornamental treatment, and where drainage or a change in grade makes it necessary the director of community development may allow parts of a fence to go six inches over. The chapter then closes the obvious workaround: altering the existing grade before putting a fence up, for the purpose of changing its height, is not permitted.
Alterations to the existing grade preceding an addition of a fence for the purpose of altering the height of the fence will not be permitted.
8 inhow far a post may rise above the limit for ornament
Also on how height is measured in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Schaumburg handles the corner with a line rather than a triangle. On a corner lot no fence may be erected beyond the required building setback line on either side, so the answer is distance from both streets rather than a reduced height inside a mapped area. The chapter states no sight triangle, gives no leg length and sets no lower figure for a fence near an intersection, which leaves the building setback doing all the work.
No fence shall be constructed in a front yard beyond the front of the building at any point. On corner lots, no fence shall be erected beyond the required building setback line on either side.
Also on corner visibility in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg
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Schaumburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and the zoning district.
Schaumburg grades openness in three bands and puts numbers on each: an open fence lets light and air through more than eighty percent of its surface, a semiopen fence between eighty and thirty percent, and a solid fence less than thirty. Hazardous fences that can cause injury are prohibited outright, including barbed wire, electric fences and anything with spikes, broken glass or other sharp points, with barbed wire and similar security devices allowed only in commercial and industrial districts and on village property, and a special use hearing before the zoning board of appeals required where such an area abuts a residential district. Snow fencing is prohibited on private property altogether, except to protect the public from drifting onto a public right of way.
No hazardous type fence that can cause injuries will be permitted to be erected or maintained within the village, such as barbed wire and electric fences and fences and walls with spikes, broken glass, or other sharp points.
The answer turns on the material, and the zoning district.
- an open fence
- More than eighty percent of the surface passes light and air. 80%
- a solid fence
- Less than thirty percent open. 30%
- barbed wire in a commercial or industrial district
- Allowed, with a special use hearing where it abuts housing.
Also on materials in Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg
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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 Schaumburg 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 Schaumburg
- 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 Schaumburg itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- Village of SchaumburgCode of Ordinances, Title 9, Chapter 102, 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 Schaumburg 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