Fence laws in Southfield, Michigan
What the Southfield municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Southfield sets no rule of its own, the Michigan rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Southfield, Michigan, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Southfield settles the good side question in one sentence: the finish side of the fence faces out towards adjacent residential lots and public rights-of-way.
- How tall
- Southfield writes its residential heights in inches rather than feet, and the front yard answer is not a number at all, and the answer turns on the yard, and whether the fence is decorative or living. The figure is 72 inches, for side or rear yard fence.
- Permits
- Southfield runs two tracks, and the answer turns on whether the lot is residential, and what the fence is for. The figure is 8 feet, for tallest the city planner may approve.
- Pool barriers
- Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute.
- Spite fences
- Southfield has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Southfield defines fence height in the definitions rather than burying it in a standard, and it handles a slope with two rounds of averaging, and the answer turns on whether the ground is level.
- Corner lots
- Southfield writes a hedge into the fence section by defining a living fence, and then attaches the corner rule to it, and the answer turns on whether the thing at the corner is planted or built.
- 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 Southfield list of permitted residential materials is wood, wrought iron, tubular aluminum, vinyl coated chain link, aluminum, quality vinyl and other approved quality materials, with wood required to be pressure treated, painted or stained and naturally water resistant woods such as teak, redwood and cedar allowed as they are, and the answer turns on the material, and whether the lot is a farm. The figure is 12 inches, for lattice added to the top of a fence.
- Livestock
- Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Southfield?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Southfield answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Southfield settles the good side question in one sentence: the finish side of the fence faces out towards adjacent residential lots and public rights-of-way. That means the posts and rails show on the owner side, and on a corner lot the rule reaches two directions at once, the neighbor and the street. The section says nothing at all about consent from the adjoining owner, nothing about a setback from the boundary, and nothing about who pays, so the only thing Southfield regulates about a shared line is which way the fence looks. The definitions support that reading by naming a board-on-board fence as one with alternating vertical boards over horizontal structures that give the fence a finished look on both sides, which satisfies the rule without choosing a side.
The finish side of the fence shall face out towards adjacent residential lots and public rights-of way.
Also on fences on the property line in Southfield
- 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 Southfield?
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Southfield answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and whether the fence is decorative or living.
Southfield writes its residential heights in inches rather than feet, and the front yard answer is not a number at all. A fence is not permitted in a front yard unless it meets the definition of a decorative fence or a living fence, and a decorative fence is defined as no more than thirty inches high and no more than sixteen feet long, not intended to stop people or animals passing through it except at gateways, and not made of chain link or any other woven material. So the front yard allowance is capped by length as well as height, which is rare. Side and rear yards both take seventy-two inches, with the side yard fence barred from running nearer the front of the lot than the front of the house. A corner lot carrying a double front setback gets a specific allowance: where it shares a rear yard relationship with a lot in the same block, a seventy-two inch fence may run along the common street line from the side of the house to the rear property line.
Front yard: Not permitted, unless it meets the definition of decorative fence or living fence.
5.37-1.C.1(a) through (d), with B.3
The answer turns on the yard, and whether the fence is decorative or living.
- a side or rear yard
- Seventy-two inches. 72 in
- a decorative fence in a front yard
- Thirty inches, and no more than sixteen feet long. 30 in
- a nonresidential or multi-family lot
- Six feet outside the front setback, eight with the city planner. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Southfield
- 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 Southfield?
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Southfield answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is residential, and what the fence is for.
Southfield runs two tracks. A residential fence is subject to an application to the building department, and the standards that follow are the conditions on that application. Decorative fencing under thirty inches and under sixteen feet, put in as part of landscaping, does not require a permit at all, which is the one carve out. Everything nonresidential, and every multi-family lot, needs a permit issued after administrative approval from the city planner, unless the fence was already approved as part of a site plan. The planner also holds the discretion on height, able to approve up to eight feet for a use that demonstrates a need for increased security, naming data centers, utilities, broadcasting facilities, schools and religious institutions as the kind of thing meant. Anything above six feet without that showing goes to the zoning board of appeals, and any eight foot fence along a right-of-way has to be ornamental.
A permit shall be required prior to the construction of any fence, after administrative approval is granted by the city planner. Administrative approval may not be required if the fence is approved as part of a site plan approval.
5.37-1.C.2(a) and (b), with C.1 and C.1(e)
The answer turns on whether the lot is residential, and what the fence is for.
- a residential fence
- An application to the building department.
- decorative fencing under thirty inches
- No permit.
- a nonresidential fence above six feet
- The city planner on a security showing, otherwise the zoning board of appeals. 8 ft
Also on permits in Southfield
- 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 Southfield
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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 Southfield 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 Southfield
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Southfield 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 Southfield law. All Michigan findings
Documents read before writing that:
How fence height is measured in Southfield
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Southfield answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the ground is level.
Southfield defines fence height in the definitions rather than burying it in a standard, and it handles a slope with two rounds of averaging. Height is measured at the grade. Where the ground is not entirely level, the grade is found by computing the average elevation of the ground for each linear section of fence and then taking the average of those totals. That is a different answer from the common one of reading each panel against the ground under it, because a single figure then governs the whole run and a fence crossing a dip is not measured from the bottom of the dip. The section pairs that with a construction requirement that keeps the fence honest to the ground: every fence has to be supported by its own frame of posts and rails, not attached to other fencing or trees, and installed plumb, straight and true, and stepped or tapered or cut to follow the contour of the land.
The height of the fence will be measured at the grade. If the ground is not entirely level, then the grade shall be determined by computing the average elevation of the ground for each linear section of fence and taking the average of said total averages.
The answer turns on whether the ground is level.
- level ground
- Measured at the grade.
- uneven ground
- An average elevation per section, then an average of those.
- the contour of the land
- The fence is stepped, tapered or cut to follow it.
Also on how height is measured in Southfield
- left to the townMichigan 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. MCL 125.3201(4)Michigan · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Southfield
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Southfield answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the thing at the corner is planted or built.
Southfield writes a hedge into the fence section by defining a living fence, and then attaches the corner rule to it. A living or landscape fence is a row of shrubs, hedgerows, landscape berms or similar for enclosure, screening or restricting the passage of air, noise or light, and the definition itself says it may not impede the surrounding line of sight or corner clearance, which the section calls clear vision zones. A separate requirement repeats it in the standards list, and the double frontage allowance on a corner lot carries the same condition along with a reference to adjacent driveways. So a hedge is the thing Southfield worries about at a corner rather than a built fence, which follows from the only fence allowed in a front yard being thirty inches tall.
Living fence or landscape fence: A living fence or landscape fence includes a row of shrubs, hedgerows, landscape berms or similar for the purpose of enclosure, screening, or restricting the passage of air, noise or light; but shall not impede surrounding line of sight or corner clearance (clear vision zones).
5.37-1.B.7, with C.1(d) and (f)
The answer turns on whether the thing at the corner is planted or built.
- a living fence anywhere
- It may not impede the line of sight or the clear vision zone.
- a double frontage corner lot
- Clear vision zones kept for the corner and for adjacent driveways.
Also on corner visibility in Southfield
- 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 Southfield
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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 Southfield 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 Southfield
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Southfield answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and whether the lot is a farm.
The Southfield list of permitted residential materials is wood, wrought iron, tubular aluminum, vinyl coated chain link, aluminum, quality vinyl and other approved quality materials, with wood required to be pressure treated, painted or stained and naturally water resistant woods such as teak, redwood and cedar allowed as they are. A board-on-board, shadow-box or semi-privacy fence may carry a lattice top of one foot, and lattice is separately defined as no more than a foot high and no more than fifty percent coverage of open viewing. The prohibitions are stockade, uncoated chain link, and slats of vinyl or aluminum pushed through a chain link or cyclone fence, along with barb wire, razor wire and any electric current or charge. A farm in one of the single-family districts is the only exception, and it takes approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Chain link itself is defined by wire thickness: a minimum of eleven and a half gauge on a residential lot, and nine gauge in a nonresidential district, where a lower gauge number means thicker wire.
Prohibited fences: Stockade, uncoated chain link and slats (i.e. vinyl, aluminum, etc.) inserted into chain link or cyclone fences. Fences shall not contain barb wire, razor wire, electric current or charge of electricity.
5.37-1.C.1(g) and (i), with B.2 and B.6
The answer turns on the material, and whether the lot is a farm.
- a residential lot
- No stockade, no bare chain link, no slats, no wire with points, no current.
- a lattice top
- One foot, at most half of it solid. 12 in
- a farm in a single-family district
- The prohibited types after Zoning Board of Appeals approval.
Also on materials in Southfield
- 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 Southfield
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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 Southfield 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 Southfield
- 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 Southfield itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- City of SouthfieldSouthfield Code of Ordinances, Title V, Chapter 45, Zoning, Article 4, Section 5.37-1, Fence regulations
- 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 Southfield 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