Fence laws in Rochester Hills, Michigan
What the Rochester Hills municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Rochester Hills sets no rule of its own, the Michigan rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Rochester Hills, Michigan, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The first sentence of the residential subsection settles the boundary question in one line and asks for nothing from the neighbor.
- How tall
- Rochester Hills splits a residential lot at the front of the house, and the answer turns on the district, and whether the fence is in front of the house. The figure is 6 feet, for residential side or rear fence.
- Permits
- Electrically charged fences are prohibited in Rochester Hills, with one route around it that runs through the building department and is written for animals rather than for people, and the answer turns on whether the fence is electrified and what district it stands in.
- Pool barriers
- Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute.
- Spite fences
- Rochester Hills has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Rochester Hills leaves the measuring rule to the local unit of government that adopts the zoning ordinance.
- Corner lots
- Rochester Hills keeps the corner rule out of the fence section and refers to it twice from inside, and the answer turns on the clearance standards in the two sections the fence rule points at.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall in Michigan needs no building permit if it is four feet tall or less, measured from the bottom of the footing up to the top of the wall. The figure is 4 feet, for height at or below which a retaining wall needs no building permit. It reaches one and two family homes and townhouses under the Michigan residential code only.
- Materials
- The residential materials sentence gives a short list of what is allowed and then rules out wire in one word, and the answer turns on the district, and whether the fence can be seen from a road.
- Livestock
- Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Rochester Hills?
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Rochester Hills answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The first sentence of the residential subsection settles the boundary question in one line and asks for nothing from the neighbor. A residential fence may be located along a property line if the other provisions of the section are met, so there is no consent requirement, no notarized signature, no setback from the line and no rule about which side the posts face. That is unusually plain for Michigan, where several nearby cities make the shared line the hardest part of the job. The trade is that everything else in the section still applies to a fence on the line, including the six foot ceiling, the wire prohibition and the front yard cut off. Non-residential lots get the opposite treatment: fencing is not permitted within the required front yard at all, only within the non-required front yard, and it may go in the required side and rear yard setbacks.
Residential fences may be located along a property line if the other provisions of this section are met.
Also on fences on the property line in Rochester Hills
- set in state lawIn Michigan the owner who builds a fence on the line pays for it and for keeping it up, and the neighbor owes nothing. Most states split that cost. The neighbor starts owing a share of what the fence is worth now only when that neighbor or their renter begins using it to hold animals, and even then the neighbor can build a separate fence instead. The whole act covers only fences that hold animals, because section 43.51 defines a fence that way. MCL 43.53(1)Michigan · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Rochester Hills?
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Rochester Hills answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, and whether the fence is in front of the house.
Rochester Hills splits a residential lot at the front of the house. Along the side and rear lot lines a fence may reach six feet, but it may not come closer to the front lot line than the front of the dwelling or the minimum front setback, whichever of those two is nearer the street. Forward of that point the allowance drops to three feet, available in a required front yard setback or a side street yard setback, and the section says separately that no obscuring fence over three feet may stand between the front of a residence and the minimum front setback line. So the three foot figure is the ceiling at the front whether the fence is solid or open, and the extra sentence makes the point twice for anything that blocks the view. Outside a residential district the ceiling is eight feet, with a security fence of anodized aluminum or another approved ornamental material allowed to ten at the discretion of the Planning Commission.
Fences that are located along the side and rear lot lines shall be a maximum of six feet in height and may not extend closer to the front lot line than the front of the dwelling of the minimum front setback, whichever is less, unless otherwise provided for in this ordinance.
138-10.107.C.2 and C.3, with D.2
The answer turns on the district, and whether the fence is in front of the house.
- a side or rear lot line in a residential district
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a front yard or side street yard setback
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a non-residential district
- Eight feet, or ten for an approved ornamental security fence. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Rochester Hills
- no rule, documents checkedMichigan sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence act defines a fence by what it holds in, not by height, and names no number. The seven feet in the residential code rules is the point where a permit starts being needed, not a cap. The city, village or township sets the limit. MCL 43.51Michigan · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Rochester Hills?
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Rochester Hills answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is electrified and what district it stands in.
Electrically charged fences are prohibited in Rochester Hills, with one route around it that runs through the building department and is written for animals rather than for people. The department may approve an electric fence for the purpose of retaining animals on three conditions: sufficient proof has been presented that the fence will not be hazardous to persons or animals, the power source is obtained from a listed electric fence controller, and signs are conspicuously located on the fence warning that it is electrified. Those warning signs are the single exception to a flat prohibition elsewhere in the section on painting or affixing any signs, words, letters, images or illustrations to a fence. On the non-residential side every fence, wall or other protective barrier has to be approved by the Building Official for conformity with both the district and this section, and fencing is only permitted in connection with a use the district actually allows.
Electrically charged fences are prohibited, except that the building department may approve electric fences for the purpose of retaining animals under the following circumstances:
138-10.107.C.5, with B.2 and D.1
The answer turns on whether the fence is electrified and what district it stands in.
- an electric fence for animals
- Building department approval, a listed controller and warning signs.
- a sign or lettering on any other fence
- Not permitted.
- a non-residential fence
- Approved by the Building Official.
Also on permits in Rochester Hills
- set in state lawA fence in Michigan seven feet tall or shorter needs no building permit. The state writes that number into its own rule rather than taking the model code as it comes. Rule 505 replaces section R105.2 of the residential code. The same no permit list also covers a separate shed up to 200 square feet, a retaining wall under four feet with no extra weight on the soil behind it, and a store bought pool less than 24 inches deep. Skipping the permit does not make legal any work that breaks the code or a city rule. R 408.30505Michigan · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Rochester Hills
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute. The state construction code act builds the Michigan code out of the national model codes, including the International Residential Code, plus whatever changes the director makes. So the fence rule for a pool at a house comes from that model code. The same act says a Michigan version of a code has to be free to the public before anyone can enforce it.
This one is Michigan law, not Rochester Hills law. All Michigan findings
The code shall consist of the international residential code, the international building code, the international mechanical code, the international plumbing code, the international existing building code, and the international energy conservation code published by the international code council and the national electrical code published by the national fire prevention association, with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate.
Spite fence laws in Rochester Hills
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Rochester Hills law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Michigan has no spite fence law. The state fence act covers who pays, who the fence viewer is, and what a fence viewer can decide, and section 43.55 says plainly that a fence viewer does not settle boundary arguments. Nothing in the act turns on why a fence went up or how tall it is. A claim about a fence built to annoy rests on ordinary nuisance law made by judges, and on city zoning.
This one is Michigan law, not Rochester Hills law. All Michigan findings
Documents read before writing that:
How fence height is measured in Rochester Hills
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Rochester Hills does not set this. It leaves it to the local unit of government that adopts the zoning ordinance.
Michigan never says where a fence height is measured from. Section 125.3201 of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act lets a local government limit the height of buildings and other structures, and stops there. The state fence law says even less. Section 43.51 calls a fence anything good enough to hold an animal, with no number and no starting point. So the county, township or city writes both the limit and the way it is measured.
This one is Michigan law, not Rochester Hills law. All Michigan findings
A local unit of government may adopt land development regulations under the zoning ordinance designating or limiting the location, height, bulk, number of stories, uses, and size of dwellings, buildings, and structures that may be erected or altered, including tents and recreational vehicles.
The code hands this to the local unit of government that adopts the zoning ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Rochester Hills
- no rule, documents checkedSection 138-10.107 states a six foot figure, a three foot figure, an eight foot figure and a ten foot figure, and never says what any of them is measured from. There is no grade definition inside the section, no instruction about a fence on a slope, no rule about a fence standing on top of a retaining wall or a berm, and no statement about whose side of a sloping line the reading is taken on. The applicability subsection at the top and the general subsection that follows it deal with which fences the section covers and with maintenance and signage, not with measurement. What the section does close is the exemption question: a fence installed under an approved site plan, and a swimming pool enclosure meeting the state construction code, are outside these standards, with the pool enclosure still held to the maintenance requirement and the materials list. 138-10.107.A, ApplicabilityRochester Hills · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Rochester Hills
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Rochester Hills answers this, but the answer changes depending on the clearance standards in the two sections the fence rule points at.
Rochester Hills keeps the corner rule out of the fence section and refers to it twice from inside. A fence on a corner lot has to meet the standards for corner lots provided in Section 138-10.103, and the three foot front yard allowance is granted only provided that corner clearance as provided in Section 138-5.204 has been met. Two separate sections, one about corner lots generally and one about clearance, and the fence section restates neither of them. The practical effect is that the three foot figure is a ceiling rather than a guarantee, because a fence at the corner can be inside it and still fail the clearance test that section 138-5.204 sets.
Fences not to exceed three feet in height shall be permitted within a required front yard setback or a side street yard setback; provided, however, that corner clearance as provided in Section 138-5.204 has been met.
The answer turns on the clearance standards in the two sections the fence rule points at.
- a fence on a corner lot
- The corner lot standards in Section 138-10.103 apply.
- a three foot front yard fence
- Conditional on the corner clearance in Section 138-5.204.
Also on corner visibility in Rochester Hills
- set in state lawMichigan has a 1925 law about fences that sit in the road. Act 368 of 1925, in Chapter 247 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, lets the commissioner in charge of a road order an owner to pull back any fence, building or other thing that crosses into a public highway, and gives the owner thirty days. The order has to state how wide the road is and where the fence sits compared to the center line. An owner who ignores it owes a dollar a day. The law covers the road itself and nothing else. A clear view triangle at a corner comes from a city rule written under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. MCL 247.171Michigan · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Rochester Hills
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall in Michigan needs no building permit if it is four feet tall or less, measured from the bottom of the footing up to the top of the wall. The footing sits below the ground, so the four feet starts lower than the yard does. Michigan writes this itself. Rule 505 replaces section R105.2 of the residential code. A wall holding up a surcharge needs a permit at any height. A surcharge means extra weight pressing on the soil behind the wall, such as a driveway or a building. Skipping the permit does not make legal any work that breaks the code or a city rule.
This one is Michigan law, not Rochester Hills law. All Michigan findings
A retaining wall that is not more than 4 feet (1 219 mm) in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge.
4 ftheight at or below which a retaining wall needs no building permit
Fence materials allowed in Rochester Hills
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Rochester Hills answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, and whether the fence can be seen from a road.
The residential materials sentence gives a short list of what is allowed and then rules out wire in one word. Wood, metal, bricks, masonry or another solid natural or synthetic material qualifies, so long as it is all-weather resistant and designed for permanent and stationary fencing or screening. Fabric-type materials are not permitted. Then: wire fences, barbed or razor wire, spikes, nails or any other sharp pointed instruments of any kind are prohibited. Wire fences sits at the front of that list on its own, which reaches ordinary chain link and not only the wire with points on it. In a non-residential district the same instinct shows up softer. Standard chain link is prohibited except where the planning department, or the Planning Commission where that is the right body, finds the fence will not be visible from an abutting roadway, highway or expressway, and even then it has to be vinyl coated or similar.
Materials used shall be wood, metal, bricks, masonry or other solid natural or synthetic material that is all-weather resistant and designed for permanent and stationary fencing or screening. Fabric-type materials are not permitted. Wire fences, barbed or razor wire, spikes, nails or any other sharp pointed instruments of any kind are prohibited.
The answer turns on the district, and whether the fence can be seen from a road.
- a residential district
- No wire fencing of any kind, and nothing fabric.
- chain link on a non-residential lot
- Only where it is not visible from a road, and vinyl coated.
- slats threaded through chain link
- Not permitted on a non-residential lot.
Also on materials in Rochester Hills
- set in state lawMichigan says in its construction code act what a low voltage electric fence is. It counts as one only if it stands on land zoned for something other than homes and runs off a battery of 12 volts or less. It also has to sit inside a fence or wall that carries no current and stands at least 5 feet tall. It stops at 10 feet and carries shock warning signs no more than 60 feet apart, written in English and Spanish. A fence that meets the whole list needs no permit when a registered alarm company installs it. MCL 125.1528aMichigan · Building code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Rochester Hills
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence. The fence viewers act defines a fence by what it does rather than what it is made of, so anything that holds an animal counts, and so does a natural barrier such as a river or a thick hedge. The animals it has to hold are the ones named in the running at large act: cattle, horses, sheep, swine, mules, burros or goats.
This one is Michigan law, not Rochester Hills law. All Michigan findings
means a structure or natural barrier which is sufficient to confine an animal as defined in section 1 of Act No. 328 of the Public Acts of 1976
Also on agricultural fencing in Rochester Hills
- set in state lawMichigan puts the duty on the animal owner across the whole state. An animal may not run loose anywhere in Michigan. The owner may not let it happen, and neither may anybody else who knows what they are doing. Running at large means the animal is off the owner's land and out of the owner's control. A person whose property gets damaged can ask the owner to pay, and nothing in the act asks that person to have built a fence first. MCL 433.12Michigan · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Rochester Hills itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- City of Rochester HillsRochester Hills Code of Ordinances, Chapter 138, Zoning, Article 10, Section 138-10.107, Fences
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction CodesMichigan Administrative Code, Construction Code, Part 5, Residential Code, R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, Act 230 of 1972
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, Section 125.3201
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Act 368 of 1925, Highway Obstructions and Encroachments, Section 247.171, Encroachments; removal order, service; temporary permit
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, Act 230 of 1972, Section 28a
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Animals Running at Large, Act 328 of 1976
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 Rochester Hills publishes, plus the Michigan rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Michigan 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