Fence laws in Troy, Michigan
What the Troy municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Troy sets no rule of its own, the Michigan rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Troy, Michigan, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Troy writes the boundary into the definition rather than into a standard, and the answer turns on whether the neighbor land is zoned residential. The figure is 6 feet, for shortest a required screening wall may be.
- How tall
- Troy states both residential figures in one sentence and anchors both to the same datum, and the answer turns on whether the fence is in front of the building setback line. The figure is 6 feet, for residential fence behind the setback line.
- Permits
- No fence may be built in Troy until a permit has been obtained from the Building Department, with no height threshold and no exemption, and the application has to carry whatever information is needed to show the fence meets both this chapter and the Zoning Ordinance, and the answer turns on whether the grading is approved and whether an easement is involved.
- Pool barriers
- Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute.
- Spite fences
- Troy has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Troy leaves the measuring rule to the local unit of government that adopts the zoning ordinance.
- Corner lots
- The Troy corner allowance is narrow and carries two conditions at once, and the answer turns on whether the lot has a double front setback and a shared rear yard relationship. The figure is 48 inches, for fence along the common street line.
- 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
- An electrically charged fence is not permitted anywhere in Troy, in any area of the city, with no exception, and the answer turns on the zoning and what the fence is protecting. The figure is 6 feet, for lowest barbed wire on residential land.
- Livestock
- Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Troy?
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the neighbor land is zoned residential.
Troy writes the boundary into the definition rather than into a standard. A fence, for the purpose of the chapter, is a structure erected upon or near the dividing line between adjoining properties to separate, screen and protect the lands, so a fence sitting on the line is the normal case the chapter is written around and no consent from the neighbor appears anywhere in it. The owner of any lot may build and maintain fences between their own lot and the next adjoining lots, or along street or alley lines, and every owner is made responsible for the rebuilding, care and upkeep of all fences as the chapter defines them. Where a nonresidential property abuts land zoned residential, the position and the facing are both fixed: a decorative masonry obscuring wall has to be provided on those sides, its decorative side facing the residential land, at no less than six feet and sometimes eight depending on the land use.
For the purpose of this Ordinance a fence shall be construed as a structure erected upon or near the dividing line between adjoining properties for the purpose of separating, screening and protecting the lands.
The answer turns on whether the neighbor land is zoned residential.
- two houses
- On or near the line, with no consent required.
- upkeep
- Every owner is responsible for the fences on their lot.
- a business backing onto houses
- A masonry wall, decorative side facing the homes. 6 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Troy
- 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 Troy?
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is in front of the building setback line.
Troy states both residential figures in one sentence and anchors both to the same datum. Nothing may be built more than six feet above the existing grade of the land, and nothing more than thirty inches above that grade in the part of the property in front of the front building setback line. Thirty inches is low for a front yard, and there is no allowance to buy height by making the fence see through. Both numbers may be waived, but only with the approval of the Building Board of Appeals, which is the body Troy uses for this rather than a zoning board. A fence enclosing school grounds, a playground, tennis courts, a public swimming pool or another public area may exceed six feet with the same board approving. On nonresidential land no fence at all is permitted in the yards between the building and any frontage street unless it is required to enclose a utility.
In residential areas no fence shall be constructed to a height more than six (6') feet above the existing grade of the land, and no fence shall be constructed to a height of more than thirty (30") inches above the existing grade of the land in that portion of the property in front of the front building setback line.
The answer turns on whether the fence is in front of the building setback line.
- behind the front building setback line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- in front of it
- Thirty inches. 30 in
- a school, playground or public pool
- Over six feet with the Building Board of Appeals.
Also on fence height in Troy
- 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 Troy?
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the grading is approved and whether an easement is involved.
No fence may be built in Troy until a permit has been obtained from the Building Department, with no height threshold and no exemption, and the application has to carry whatever information is needed to show the fence meets both this chapter and the Zoning Ordinance. Two conditions then sit on top of the permit and both are about the ground rather than the fence. No permit issues for any lot until the final lot grading for that lot has been approved, which matters because every height in the chapter is read from the existing grade of the land and a lot still being graded has no settled grade to read from. And no permit issues for any fence inside an easement without the approval of the Director of Public Works or an authorized representative. The fee follows the schedule in Section 60.03 of Chapter 60 of the city code rather than being set in the fence chapter.
No permit shall be issued for any fence construction within any easement without the approval of the Director of Public Works, or his authorized representative.
The answer turns on whether the grading is approved and whether an easement is involved.
- any fence
- A permit from the Building Department first.
- a lot whose grading is not yet approved
- No permit until it is.
- a fence inside an easement
- The Director of Public Works has to approve it.
Also on permits in Troy
- 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
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Troy 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 Troy law. All Michigan findings
Documents read before writing that:
How fence height is measured in Troy
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Troy 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 Troy 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 Troy
- no rule, documents checkedChapter 83 repeats the phrase existing grade of the land three times and never says what it means. The definitions section defines only two terms, a fence and a front building line, so there is no definition of grade, no instruction for a fence crossing a slope, no rule about a fence built on top of a berm or a retaining wall, and nothing saying which of two neighboring lots at different levels the reading is taken from. Below ground the chapter is silent as well: no post depth, no footing, no spacing and no frost line. What Troy does instead is procedural, refusing a permit until the final lot grading for the lot has been approved, which settles the grade administratively before the fence exists rather than defining it in the text. 1, DefinitionsTroy · Building code
Fence rules for corner lots in Troy
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot has a double front setback and a shared rear yard relationship.
The Troy corner allowance is narrow and carries two conditions at once. It is available only on a corner lot where a double front setback is required and where the lot shares a common rear yard relationship with another lot in the same block. Where it applies, a fence of up to forty-eight inches above the existing grade may run along the common street line from the front building setback line back to the rear property line, and it has to be non-obscuring, so the extra eighteen inches over the ordinary front yard figure is bought with transparency rather than granted outright. Outside that case a corner lot is held to the same thirty inch limit as any other front yard. The chapter states no sight triangle, no distance from the intersection and no rule about hedges or trees at a corner.
On corner lots where a double front setback is required, and where there is a common rear yard relationship with a lot in the same block, a non-obscuring fence no greater than forty-eight (48") inches in height above the existing grade of the land may be installed along the common street line from the front building setback line to the rear property line.
The answer turns on whether the lot has a double front setback and a shared rear yard relationship.
- a qualifying corner lot
- Forty-eight inches, see through. 48 in
- any other corner lot front yard
- Thirty inches, the same as anywhere else.
Also on corner visibility in Troy
- 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning and what the fence is protecting.
An electrically charged fence is not permitted anywhere in Troy, in any area of the city, with no exception. Barbed wire is barred from residentially zoned land and then allowed back for a single stated purpose, avoiding access to an attractive nuisance, and even then the wire has to sit at least six feet above ground. In nonresidential areas barbed wire or other sharp pointed material may be used above five feet. Where it is used at all, the chapter says any projections at the top should be installed over the fence owner own property rather than leaning across the line. On the ordinary residential fence the standard is appearance and newness: fences separating properties have to be of an ornamental type, may be metal, wood or masonry, and only new material may be used, or material the Chief Building Inspector finds structurally acceptable.
No electrically charged fence shall be permitted in any areas of the City, nor shall barbed wire material be used in the construction of a fence in any residentially zoned area of the City; provided that barbed wire may be used in residential areas for the purpose of avoiding access to attractive nuisances.
The answer turns on the zoning and what the fence is protecting.
- an electric fence
- Not permitted anywhere in the city.
- barbed wire round an attractive nuisance
- Six feet above ground. 6 ft
- sharp material on nonresidential land
- Over five feet above the ground. 5 ft
Also on materials in Troy
- 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
- 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 Troy itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- City of TroyCity of Troy Ordinance Code, Chapter 83, 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 Troy 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