Fence laws in Wheaton, Illinois
What the Wheaton municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Wheaton sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Wheaton, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Wheaton allows one fence and one only along the lot line of a parcel, which rules out two neighbors each running their own along the same boundary. The figure is 12 inches, for closest a fence may sit to a public sidewalk.
- How tall
- Wheaton starts at six feet above grade, open or solid, and then cuts it back at the front and raises it at the edges, and the answer turns on the yard, the street the lot faces, and what the lot backs onto. The figure is 3 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- A permit from the director of building and code enforcement is needed before any fence is erected, enlarged or structurally altered in Wheaton, and proceeding without one is unlawful.
- Pool barriers
- Wheaton sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Wheaton has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Every Wheaton height is stated as so many feet above grade, and two adjustments sit on top of that. The figure is 6 inches, for how far a structural element may rise above the limit.
- Corner lots
- Wheaton draws the largest corner area of any city on this site outside the arterial rules, measuring thirty feet from the intersection of the lot lines, and caps anything inside it at three feet above grade. The figure is 30 feet, for distance from the corner the three foot limit reaches.
- Retaining walls
- Wheaton 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
- Wheaton writes an unusual maintenance rule that ends as a materials rule, and the answer turns on the material, the district, and the condition the fence is in. The figure is 40 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 Wheaton?
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Wheaton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wheaton allows one fence and one only along the lot line of a parcel, which rules out two neighbors each running their own along the same boundary. Every fence, including all posts, bases and other structural parts, sits completely inside its own lot, and none may come closer than twelve inches to a public sidewalk. The finished side faces outward from the property it stands on. A fence along a rear lot line next to an existing or proposed road right of way, other than on a corner lot, has to include a gate so the adjoining owner can get in to maintain that right of way, and every fence has to be placed so access to the fence owner property, to adjacent parkways and alleys, and to utility boxes, sewer catch basins and water valves is still possible. No gate or fence may cross a driveway in a front yard or a street side yard in a residential district.
No more than one fence shall be permitted along the lot line of a parcel.
22-337, 22-339, 22-342 and 22-343
12 inclosest a fence may sit to a public sidewalk
Also on fences on the property line in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton?
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Wheaton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the street the lot faces, and what the lot backs onto.
Wheaton starts at six feet above grade, open or solid, and then cuts it back at the front and raises it at the edges. A front yard fence stops at three feet and has to be decorative. A side yard abutting a street stops at four feet and has to be open, unless the street is one of roughly thirty named roads carrying three thousand vehicles a day or more, where six feet is allowed and still has to be open. Eight feet is permitted in three places: along a railroad right of way, along the lot line where R1 to R5 residential property meets business, multi family or industrial zoning, and along the lot line of a utility substation. A double frontage lot takes six feet on the rear facing street, Prairie Path or pedestrian way. A dog run stops at six feet, may cover no more than twenty percent of the rear yard, and sits five feet off every line.
No fence may be erected to a height of more than six feet above grade except as permitted under subsection (f) of this section. Such fence may be either an open type or solid type fence.
The answer turns on the yard, the street the lot faces, and what the lot backs onto.
- a front yard
- Three feet, decorative only. 3 ft
- a side yard abutting an ordinary street
- Four feet, open type only. 4 ft
- a side yard abutting one of the named high volume streets
- Six feet, open type only. 6 ft
- a railroad boundary, a utility substation, or a residential line against business or industry
- Eight feet, open or solid. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton?
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Wheaton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A permit from the director of building and code enforcement is needed before any fence is erected, enlarged or structurally altered in Wheaton, and proceeding without one is unlawful. Three documents go in with the application: plans to scale, a plat of survey, and specifications showing the work to be done and where the fence will sit on the premises. The same director carries a standing duty to supervise every fence in the city and to inspect whenever it appears one has been put up in violation, has become unsafe, unstable or insecure, or has become a menace to public safety or health, and to serve written notice on the owner with a reasonable time to comply. A school, church, governmental entity or utility may petition the city council for a protective fence that does not conform, and the council may approve it only on four findings together.
Before the erection or enlargement of any fence, or the structural alteration of a fence, a permit shall be obtained by the owner, or his agent, from the director of building and code enforcement; and it shall be unlawful to proceed with any such work unless such permit shall first have been obtained.
22-333 through 22-335 and 22-344(c)
Also on permits in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton
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Wheaton 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 Wheaton 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 Wheaton
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Wheaton 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 Wheaton 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 Wheaton
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Wheaton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every Wheaton height is stated as so many feet above grade, and two adjustments sit on top of that. Structural elements of the fence may exceed the maximum by no more than six inches, which covers a post or a cap without reopening the height. And on a double frontage lot where the street, the Prairie Path or the pedestrian way is higher than the abutting property, measured from the center line of that way to the property line, the fence may rise half a foot for every half foot of grade difference, up to a ceiling of eight feet. So a slope that would otherwise expose the yard is answered by allowing a taller fence rather than by ignoring the difference.
Structural elements of the fence may exceed the maximum height restrictions by no more than six inches.
6 inhow far a structural element may rise above the limit
Also on how height is measured in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton
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Wheaton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wheaton draws the largest corner area of any city on this site outside the arterial rules, measuring thirty feet from the intersection of the lot lines, and caps anything inside it at three feet above grade. The rule reaches three kinds of junction, a street meeting another street, a street meeting an alley, and two alleys meeting, so an alley corner is protected exactly as a street corner is. Inside that area the fence also has to be decorative, which the ordinance defines as an open fence of wrought iron or similar material, split rails or pickets, and expressly not a shadow box or board on board fence. So both the height and the type are controlled, and the lowest allowed fence and the most open allowed style apply together.
No fence may be erected to a height of more than three feet above grade within 30 feet of the intersection of the lot lines at the intersection of any street with any other street or alley or of the intersection of alleys. Such fence shall only be a decorative fence.
22-338(b), with the definition at 22-331
30 ftdistance from the corner the three foot limit reaches
Also on corner visibility in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton
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Wheaton 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 Wheaton 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 Wheaton
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Wheaton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the district, and the condition the fence is in.
Wheaton writes an unusual maintenance rule that ends as a materials rule. Every strip or slat between the links of a chain link fence has to be kept in good repair, and once more than five percent of them need repair at any given time, all of them have to be removed and none may be replaced, so a tired slatted fence becomes a plain chain link fence permanently. New chain link with slats is prohibited outright, as is chain link in any front yard or, on a double frontage lot, along the line adjacent to an arterial or collector street. Chain link twists have to point to the ground and the top has to be a knuckle edge. Electrically charged fences are prohibited. Barbed wire is prohibited except in the industrial district at seven feet or higher, or elsewhere by special permit from the city council where it finds the barrier needed for public health, safety and welfare. An open fence means at least forty percent apertures, which is a lower bar than most of this state sets.
Should more than five percent (5%) of the strips or slats at any given time need repair, all of the strips or slats shall be removed from the links of a chain link fence and not replaced.
22-331, 22-332(3), 22-337(c), 22-340, 22-341 and 22-344
The answer turns on the material, the district, and the condition the fence is in.
- an open fence
- At least forty percent of the surface in apertures. 40%
- chain link in a front yard or along an arterial
- Prohibited, and slats are prohibited anywhere.
- barbed wire in the industrial district
- Allowed at seven feet or higher. 7 ft
- an electrically charged fence
- Prohibited.
Also on materials in Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton
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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 Wheaton 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 Wheaton
- 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 Wheaton itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of WheatonOrdinance F-0640, amending City Code Chapter 22, Article X, Fences and Flagpoles
- 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 Wheaton 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