Fence laws in Hammond, Indiana
What the Hammond municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Hammond sets no rule of its own, the Indiana rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Hammond, Indiana, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- All fencing and bases in Hammond have to be located between the building line and the property line, so the fence belongs in that band rather than anywhere on the lot, and the answer turns on whether a neighbor disputes the position.
- How tall
- Hammond moves its line twice down the lot, and the answer turns on how far back along the lot the fence runs. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in front of the building line.
- Permits
- No fence may be built in Hammond unless the owner or the contractor doing the work has first obtained a permit from the office of the Building Commissioner, and the fee is charged by length rather than as a flat sum: twenty dollars for the first two hundred linear feet and twenty cents for each foot beyond that, subject to any later ordinance amending the fees, and the answer turns on the length of the fence and where it stands. The figure is 200 feet, for length covered by the base fee.
- Pool barriers
- Indiana puts this on the store, not on the pool owner, which no other state in this record does. The figure is 48 inches, for wall height at which an above ground pool must be sold with a removable or locking ladder. It reaches the store selling an above ground pool for a home, not the owner of a pool already put up only.
- Spite fences
- Indiana has a spite fence law with a chapter to itself. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which a maliciously built fence is considered a nuisance.
- Measured from what
- Where a fence is built on top of a retaining wall or a deck, Hammond measures the height from the grade of the low side of the wall, and states that the total height of wall and fence, or deck and fence, has to conform to the ordinary limits, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits on a wall or a deck, or carries something on top.
- Corner lots
- A corner in Hammond is any intersection of two streets, a street and an alley, or two alleys, which reaches a great many lots in a city with alleys behind most blocks, and the answer turns on whether the lot is at an intersection of streets or alleys. The figure is 10 feet, for leg of the corner triangle for a fence.
- Retaining walls
- Hammond leaves retaining walls to the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, whose 2020 Indiana Residential Code at 675 IAC 14-4.4 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code by reference. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- Hammond defines a fence as a structure partially or completely surrounding part or all of a zoning lot, expressly not a hedge or other natural growth, and then numbers seven classes: ornamental iron, woven wire meaning chain link, wood picket at seventy-five percent or less obscure, solid at seventy-five percent or more obscure in wood, decorative wood, PVC or chain link, decorative block, brick or block, and split rail, and the answer turns on the class of fence and where on the lot it stands. The figure is 75 percent, for most a front yard fence may obscure.
- Livestock
- Indiana puts no number on a lawful fence at all.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Hammond?
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether a neighbor disputes the position.
All fencing and bases in Hammond have to be located between the building line and the property line, so the fence belongs in that band rather than anywhere on the lot. The ordinance then does something few codes do and writes a procedure for the argument. If a dispute arises between the owner building the fence and any adjacent owner about where the fence sits, the Building Commissioner requests a survey by a registered surveyor from the person building it, and if the Commissioner finds the fence improperly placed, requires it to be moved. The cost and the burden both fall on the builder rather than on the complainant. Orientation is settled in one clause: all fences are erected with the posts and framework on the side of the owner who put the fence up.
All fencing and bases shall be located between the building line and property line. If a dispute arises between the property owner erecting the fence and any adjacent property owner as to the location of the fence, the Building Commissioner shall request a survey by a registered surveyor from the property owner erecting the fence.
The answer turns on whether a neighbor disputes the position.
- where a fence may stand
- Between the building line and the property line.
- a dispute about the position
- A registered survey, paid for by the builder.
- the posts
- On the side of whoever erected the fence.
Also on fences on the property line in Hammond
- set in state lawIndiana splits a fence on the line by length, not in half. Each owner pays for the stretch of fence that runs along their own part of the line, and that holds whether the owner owns the land outright or holds it for life. Since 2003 the rule reaches only fences where at least one of the two properties is farm land. An owner who will not pay gets twenty days notice, and after that the township trustee can build it and charge for it. IC 32-26-9-3Indiana · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Hammond?
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far back along the lot the fence runs.
Hammond moves its line twice down the lot. In front of the building line a fence may not exceed four feet and has to be one of five named classes. Along the side yard behind the front building line the four foot limit still applies as far back as the rear of the dwelling. Only from the rear of the building to the rear lot line, and along the rear lot line itself, does six feet become available. So the six foot privacy fence starts later here than in most cities. A picket fence at the front has a floor as well, at a minimum of forty-two inches. Industrial areas take eight feet of any classification, and an open storage or repair area needs a solid fence, completely obscure, at eight feet. A pool of two feet six or deeper needs a six foot fence or a locking gate.
Fences erected in front of the building line shall be of Class 1,2,3,6 or 7 of the above classifications, and shall not exceed a height of four feet
22.20.1 and 22.20.2, with 22.21
The answer turns on how far back along the lot the fence runs.
- in front of the building line
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side yard as far back as the rear of the house
- Still four feet. 4 ft
- behind the rear of the building
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial area
- Eight feet of any class. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Hammond
- no rule, documents checkedIndiana sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The six foot figure in state law is what turns a spite fence into a nuisance case, not a cap on height. The fences article covers fencing groups, fences on the line and spite fences, and the statewide building code does not reach fences at all. Height comes from local zoning. IC 32-26Indiana · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Hammond?
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on the length of the fence and where it stands.
No fence may be built in Hammond unless the owner or the contractor doing the work has first obtained a permit from the office of the Building Commissioner, and the fee is charged by length rather than as a flat sum: twenty dollars for the first two hundred linear feet and twenty cents for each foot beyond that, subject to any later ordinance amending the fees. Administration is split between two offices, with the Building Commissioner running the section in consultation with the Zoning Administrator, fence permit revenue going to the former and improvement location permit revenue to the latter. Fencing in a locally designated historic district needs approval from the Hammond Historic Preservation Commission before it goes up, and a combination of fence classes needs the Zoning Administrator, with an appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The permit fee shall be $20.00 for the first 200 linear feet (60.96 m.), and $.20 (twenty cents) per linear foot for each foot exceeding 200 linear feet (60.96 m.); or as otherwise prescribed in any other ordinance amending the fees subsequent to the enactment of this ordinance.
The answer turns on the length of the fence and where it stands.
- any fence
- A permit from the Building Commissioner.
- the fee
- Twenty dollars to two hundred feet, then by the foot. 200 ft
- a locally designated historic district
- Historic Preservation Commission approval first.
Also on permits in Hammond
- set in state lawIndiana has one building and fire safety code for the whole state, written by the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission. The commission made the 2018 International Residential Code the Indiana Residential Code. Indiana cut out the part of that model code listing work that needs no permit and put a section on additions and repairs there instead, so the familiar fence exemption is not part of Indiana law. A fence permit is a city or county matter. IC 22-13-2-2Indiana · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Hammond
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Indiana answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Indiana puts this on the store, not on the pool owner, which no other state in this record does. A store selling an above ground pool with walls at least forty eight inches high has to sell it with a ladder or steps that either come off or lock. The pool wall is the barrier and the ladder is the gate. The rule covers the sale, so it says nothing about a pool already standing in a yard, and nothing else in Indiana law sets a fence height around one.
This one is Indiana law, not Hammond law. All Indiana findings
A pool retailer who sells an above ground swimming pool that has walls that are at least forty-eight (48) inches high shall ensure that the above ground swimming pool is sold with an access ladder or steps that may be: (1) removed; or (2) secured and locked; when the above ground swimming pool is not in use.
48 inwall height at which an above ground pool must be sold with a removable or locking ladder
Spite fence laws in Hammond
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Indiana answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Indiana has a spite fence law with a chapter to itself. A fence, or anything built like one, that goes over six feet for no reason and was put up or kept up to annoy a neighbor counts as a nuisance. The neighbor can sue for money, ask a court to have it taken down, and use the other remedies a court has for a nuisance.
This one is Indiana law, not Hammond law. All Indiana findings
A structure in the nature of a fence unnecessarily exceeding six (6) feet in height, maliciously: (1) erected; or (2) maintained; for the purpose of annoying the owners or occupants of adjoining property, is considered a nuisance.
6 ftheight above which a maliciously built fence is considered a nuisance
How fence height is measured in Hammond
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits on a wall or a deck, or carries something on top.
Where a fence is built on top of a retaining wall or a deck, Hammond measures the height from the grade of the low side of the wall, and states that the total height of wall and fence, or deck and fence, has to conform to the ordinary limits. So the wall or the deck is counted in the figure and reading from the raised side is ruled out. A separate paragraph closes the other way of gaining height: no trellis, curtain, barrier or obstruction of any type may be installed on top of a fence so as to exceed six feet from grade where six foot fences are permitted, or four feet where four foot fences are permitted, anywhere in a residential area. Between the two rules there is nothing left to stand on and nothing left to add.
In the case of a fence being erected on top of a retaining wall or a deck, height shall be measured from the grade of the low side of the wall.
The answer turns on whether the fence sits on a wall or a deck, or carries something on top.
- a fence on a wall or deck
- Measured from the low side, wall included.
- a trellis or screen on top
- It may not take the total past the limit.
- a retaining wall in a front yard
- Barred where the Building Commissioner finds it unsightly.
Also on how height is measured in Hammond
- left to the townIndiana never says where a fence height starts. The zoning law lets the local council set the place, height, area and size of a structure, and leaves the details to that council. State law does print fence heights: four feet for a picket fence on the line, four and a half feet for a straight rail fence, five feet for a worm rail fence, and anything over six feet for a spite fence. Not one of them says whether those feet are read from bare dirt or from a finished yard. IC 36-7-4-601Indiana · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Hammond
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is at an intersection of streets or alleys.
A corner in Hammond is any intersection of two streets, a street and an alley, or two alleys, which reaches a great many lots in a city with alleys behind most blocks. For fences a corner vision clearance triangle is drawn by connecting two points measured ten feet along each property line from the point of intersection. Ten feet is short, and the ordinance says plainly that all the other provisions of Section 18.20 Corner Vision Clearance still apply except for the size of the triangle, so the fence rule substitutes a smaller triangle for the general one rather than creating a separate regime. Fencing on a corner property has to comply with every other provision of the fence title as well.
The corner vision clearance triangle shall be determined by a diagonal line connecting two points measured ten feet (3.05 m) along each property line from the corner or point of intersection.
The answer turns on whether the lot is at an intersection of streets or alleys.
- a corner lot
- A ten foot triangle for fences. 10 ft
- two alleys meeting
- Counted as a corner.
- everything else about the corner
- Section 18.20 still applies.
Also on corner visibility in Hammond
- set in state lawIndiana really does set a corner visibility rule in state law, and it sits in the property title rather than a zoning one. A hedge or live fence along a highway has to be cut to five feet once a year. Where one meets a highway crossing, a bend where the view may be blocked, or railroad land, it has to be held at five feet all year. That reaches one hundred feet from the crossing, or fifty feet for other growth. The chapter skips crossings inside a city or town, skips a solid building on a corner, and for hedges reaches only where a state highway crosses another state, county or township road. IC 32-26-4-1Indiana · Statute
Retaining wall rules in Hammond
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Hammond does not set this. It leaves it to the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, whose 2020 Indiana Residential Code at 675 IAC 14-4.4 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code by reference.
Indiana law prints no rule about a wall that holds back dirt. It tells the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission to write one building and fire safety code for the whole state instead, and the commission did. The 2020 Indiana Residential Code adopts the 2018 International Residential Code, so the rules for such a wall come from that model code.
This one is Indiana law, not Hammond law. All Indiana findings
Except as provided in section 3.5 of this chapter, the commission shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to adopt a statewide code of fire safety laws and building laws.
The code hands this to the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, whose 2020 Indiana Residential Code at 675 IAC 14-4.4 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code by reference, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Hammond
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Hammond answers this, but the answer changes depending on the class of fence and where on the lot it stands.
Hammond defines a fence as a structure partially or completely surrounding part or all of a zoning lot, expressly not a hedge or other natural growth, and then numbers seven classes: ornamental iron, woven wire meaning chain link, wood picket at seventy-five percent or less obscure, solid at seventy-five percent or more obscure in wood, decorative wood, PVC or chain link, decorative block, brick or block, and split rail. Only classes one, two, three, six and seven may go in front of the building line, which keeps solid and decorative block out of a front yard, and a front yard fence may not be more than seventy-five percent obscure. Farm like and poultry fencing are not permitted. Combinations of classes may be approved by the Zoning Administrator, with an appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals. In the I-2 district new sheet metal fencing is allowed except within a hundred feet of a more restrictive district, a residential area or a public right-of-way.
A fence shall be defined as a structure partially or completely surrounding a part of or the whole of a zoning lot, but not a hedge or other natural growth and shall be of the following classifications:
22.10, with 22.20.1 and 22.21.2
The answer turns on the class of fence and where on the lot it stands.
- a front yard
- Five of the seven classes, and no more than three quarters obscure. 75%
- farm or poultry fencing
- Not permitted.
- sheet metal in the I-2 district
- Allowed, but not within a hundred feet of housing. 100 ft
Also on materials in Hammond
- set in state lawIndiana describes a lawful fence on the line by type instead of banning any material. It has to be tight and strong enough to hold cattle, hogs, horses, mules and sheep. The list that follows is board and wire, plain wire, board, picket, rail and worm rail fences, each at its own height. IC 32-26-9-3Indiana · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Hammond
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Indiana answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Indiana puts no number on a lawful fence at all. No height, no wire count, no post spacing. The statute says a lawful fence is whatever farmers normally use to close in land, and it names a cattle guard, a hedge and a ditch as examples. It also counts anything else that people who know fences will testify is enough. With no number written down, a court decides it case by case.
This one is Indiana law, not Hammond law. All Indiana findings
As used in this chapter, "lawful fence" means any structure typically used by husbandmen for the enclosure of property.
Also on agricultural fencing in Hammond
- depends, see the pageIndiana lets each county flip the rule township by township. Where the county commissioners have passed an order letting animals roam loose in unfenced public areas, the landowner has to have had a lawful fence to collect for damage. Where there is no such order, the landowner collects without proving any fence. Section 32-26-2-14 cuts the other way: if a court finds the broken fence was not a lawful fence, the animal goes back to its owner and the landowner pays that owner costs and damages. IC 32-26-2-2Indiana · Statute
Documents behind this page
6 documents, of which 1 was published by Hammond itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Indiana General AssemblyIndiana Code, Title 32, Article 26, Chapter 9, Partition Fences, Section 3
- City of HammondHammond Zoning Ordinance 8514, Title XXII, Fences and Landscaping
- Indiana General AssemblyIndiana Code, Title 22, Article 13, Chapter 2, Section 2
- Indiana General AssemblyIndiana Code, Title 22, Article 12, Chapter 10, Above Ground Swimming Pools at Class 2 Structures
- Indiana General AssemblyIndiana Code, Title 36, Article 7, Chapter 4, Section 601, Zoning ordinance; powers and duties of legislative body
- Indiana General AssemblyIndiana Code 2025, Title 32, Article 26, Chapter 9, Partition Fences
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 Hammond publishes, plus the Indiana rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Indiana 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