Fence laws in Maryland

Who owns the fence between two properties in Maryland?

StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.

Maryland has no state rule splitting the cost of a boundary fence. It hands the whole subject to the counties instead. A county may regulate how fences are built and kept up, may set a procedure for enforcing the rights of the parties to a fence, and may allow a lien for repairs made by an owner who is not the one in default. Neither the Real Property Article nor the Agriculture Article mentions fences at all.

A county may: (1) regulate the construction and maintenance of fences; (2) provide for a procedure to enforce the rights of parties with reference to a fence; and (3) provide for a lien for repairs to a fence made by an owner who is not in default.

Md. Code, Local Gov’t § 10-318Maryland General Assembly · Read 13 September 2026

How tall can a fence be in Maryland?

SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.

Maryland sets no statewide limit on residential fence height, and its statutes assume the opposite. The Land Use Article lets a municipality pass a local law allowing a fence taller than the height restrictions otherwise required by State, regional or county zoning, which only makes sense because the limits come from those local rules. The Local Government Article separately gives counties power over fence construction. Height in Maryland is county and municipal zoning.

Documents read before writing that:

• Md. Code, Land Use § 25-303Maryland General Assembly
• Md. Code, Local Gov’t § 10-318Maryland General Assembly

Do I need a permit for a fence in Maryland?

StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.

The Maryland Building Performance Standards adopt the 2021 International Building Code, the 2021 International Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code as the statewide code. Maryland did not amend the permit exemption list in those codes, so the model code list applies unchanged. That list is ICC text and is not reproduced on a Maryland state site, so no fence height figure is quoted here.

(1) 2021 International Building Code (International Code Council); (2) 2021 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (International Code Council); and (3) 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (International Code Council).

COMAR 09.12.51.04Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry · Read 13 September 2026

Pool fence requirements in Maryland

StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.

Maryland adopted statewide swimming pool and spa standards that incorporate the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The standards apply to pools whose building permit application reached a local jurisdiction on or after December 31, 2023. Maryland wrote its own barrier heights only for public pool classes and sent non-public pools to the unamended ISPSC barrier sections, so the residential height lives in the ICC code rather than in Maryland text.

The 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC), International Code Council, is incorporated by reference.

COMAR 09.12.56.03Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry · Read 13 September 2026

Spite fence laws in Maryland

SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.

Maryland has no spite fence statute. A search of the Real Property, Agriculture, Local Government and Land Use Articles turns up no provision about a fence raised out of malice and no height trigger. The only fence powers in Maryland statute are the delegations to counties and municipalities, so any restriction on a spite fence in Maryland is a local ordinance.

Documents read before writing that:

• Md. Code, Local Gov’t § 10-318Maryland General Assembly
• Md. Code, Land Use § 25-303Maryland General Assembly