Fence laws in Camden, New Jersey
What the Camden municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Camden sets no rule of its own, the New Jersey rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Camden, New Jersey, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Every Camden fence has to be erected within the property line, and the framework has to face the interior of the lot with the finished side out, whether the fence is wood, open metal mesh on pipe or wood posts, or masonry with a finished surface on the exterior side, and the answer turns on whether the fence stays on private land. The figure is 4 feet, for permitted encroachment into the city right-of-way.
- How tall
- Camden runs the limit off the front building line rather than off a yard name, and the answer turns on where the fence sits relative to the front building line. The figure is 6 feet, for fence along the rear and side lines behind the building line.
- Permits
- A permit from the Zoning Officer is required to erect, alter or reconstruct any Camden fence, temporary ones included, and the answer turns on whether the work is new or a repair.
- Pool barriers
- Camden sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Camden has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Camden measures a fence from the average elevation of the finished grade along its base to its highest point. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall height that requires a fence on top.
- Corner lots
- Where two or more Camden streets meet, no hedge, fence or wall higher than three feet above curb level may stand inside the triangle formed by the intersecting street lines and a line joining points thirty feet from where they meet, and the answer turns on which of the two rules reaches the fence. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the corner triangle.
- Retaining walls
- New Jersey writes its own rule for a wall that holds back earth instead of leaving it to the national code. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall height at or above which a construction permit is required.
- Materials
- Camden strictly prohibits seven things: barbed wire or wire strung with barbs or points except in an industrial zone, concertina and razor wire, canvas or cloth fences, electrically charged fences, poultry netting and snow fences, expandable and collapsible fences except as temporary ones, and glass embedded in any fence, and the answer turns on the material and the zone. The figure is 45 degrees, for angle barbed wire leans into the lot.
- Livestock
- New Jersey sets one height for a lawful fence and one job for it to do. The figure is 50 inches, for minimum height of a lawful fence, which the statute states as four feet and two inches.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Camden?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Camden answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stays on private land.
Every Camden fence has to be erected within the property line, and the framework has to face the interior of the lot with the finished side out, whether the fence is wood, open metal mesh on pipe or wood posts, or masonry with a finished surface on the exterior side. Then comes the part almost no other city writes: a fence may be permitted to encroach on the City right-of-way by no more than four feet, or as far as the sidewalk, whichever is less, provided proof of liability insurance is filed with the Zoning Officer. So the city sells a few feet of public land for a fence in exchange for the owner carrying the risk. Two fences placed back to back along a common property line are discouraged, hedges are subject to the same rules as fencing and may not stand nearer than four feet to a sidewalk or a prospective one, and plant screens are encouraged along property lines instead of fences.
A fence as so herein provided may be permitted to encroach on the City right-of-way no more than four feet or to the sidewalk, whichever is less, provided that proof on insurance liability is submitted to the Zoning Officer/Administrative Officer.
Section 870-197(E), (U) and (Y)
The answer turns on whether the fence stays on private land.
- the property line
- The fence stays inside it.
- the right-of-way
- Four feet, with insurance. 4 ft
- the framework
- Faces the interior of the lot.
- a hedge
- Four feet off a sidewalk.
Also on fences on the property line in Camden
- set in state lawNew Jersey only splits a fence on the line when at least one of the two neighbors is pasturing or keeping animals. Each neighbor who uses the land that way builds and keeps up a fair share. A neighbor who leaves the land empty and open, or who keeps no animals, owes nothing toward it. That is narrower than most states, where both sides share the cost whatever the land is used for. N.J.S.A. 4:20-7New Jersey · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Camden?
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Camden answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence sits relative to the front building line.
Camden runs the limit off the front building line rather than off a yard name. A fence of up to six feet is permitted along the rear lot line and along the side lot line as far forward as the front building line. From that line forward, along the rest of the side lot line and along the front lot line, the limit drops to four feet. On top of that a flat cap applies: no fence erected, altered or reconstructed may exceed six feet above ground level, except where a taller fence is required by the junkyard, open lot or storage yard chapters. A solid fence may not be erected from the front of the house or the building line forward at all, which includes along a public right-of-way and across a front yard, so the four foot fence at the front also has to be something a person can see through.
A fence not more than six feet in height is permitted along the rear lot line and along the side lot line to the front building line. A fence not more than four feet tall is permitted along the side lot line from the front building line to the front lot line and along the front lot line.
The answer turns on where the fence sits relative to the front building line.
- behind the building line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- in front of it
- Four feet. 4 ft
- anywhere at all
- Six feet is the ceiling.
- a junkyard or storage yard
- A taller fence may be required.
Also on fence height in Camden
- no rule, documents checkedNew Jersey does not limit how tall a fence at a house can be. State law gives that job to the towns, which may set the size, height and shape of fences between neighboring lots. Height is a town rule in every New Jersey town. R.S. 40:48-1(29)New Jersey · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Camden?
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Camden answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work is new or a repair.
A permit from the Zoning Officer is required to erect, alter or reconstruct any Camden fence, temporary ones included. The fee for a new fence is forty dollars and there is no fee at all for altering or reconstructing an existing one, which is an unusually clear split between new work and repair. The application goes in duplicate on city forms with a sketch showing the proposed location, the dimensions and the materials. Where a development already requires site plan review no separate fence permit is needed, but every requirement of the fence section still applies through that review. A temporary fence is permitted for the duration of the construction or event and the permit has to state that length of time. After a permit issues the Zoning Officer inspects the premises to see whether the fence meets the ordinance.
A permit shall be obtained from the Zoning Officer/Administrative Officer for the erection, alteration or reconstruction of any fence, including temporary fences, as defined in this article. No separate permit shall be required for new fences as a part of development where site plan review is required.
The answer turns on whether the work is new or a repair.
- a new fence
- A permit, and a forty dollar fee.
- altering or rebuilding one
- A permit, but no fee.
- part of a site plan
- No separate permit.
- after it is issued
- The Zoning Officer inspects.
Also on permits in Camden
- set in state lawNew Jersey runs one construction code for the whole state. The Commissioner of Community Affairs adopts it after a public hearing, and it covers building work everywhere in the state. The list of work that needs a permit, and the list of work that does not, sit inside that code at N.J.A.C. 5:23 and not in the statute. N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123New Jersey · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Camden
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Camden law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
New Jersey does have a pool barrier rule. It sits in the state construction code at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21, which takes in the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and then changes parts of it. The Department of Community Affairs publishes that rule only as a PDF and its text could not be read, so no height is claimed here. The numbers live in the national code rather than in New Jersey text.
This one is New Jersey law, not Camden law. All New Jersey findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
- N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123New Jersey Legislature
Spite fence laws in Camden
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Camden law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
New Jersey has no statewide spite fence law. A spite fence is one built to bother a neighbor rather than to do a job. Title 4, Chapter 20 covers fences on the line and says nothing about spite. State law instead lets each town set the size and height of fences between neighbors, so the answer is a town rule.
This one is New Jersey law, not Camden law. All New Jersey findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.J.S.A. 4:20-7New Jersey Legislature
- R.S. 40:48-1(29)New Jersey Legislature
How fence height is measured in Camden
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Camden answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Camden measures a fence from the average elevation of the finished grade along its base to its highest point. Averaging is a real choice and it cuts both ways: on a slope a fence may stand taller than the limit at the low end so long as the average works out, and it may not simply be built to the limit at the high end. Naming the base of the fence rather than a grade fixed elsewhere keeps the reference under the structure itself. The section then deals with the retaining wall case directly, and in the opposite direction from most codes: a retaining wall four feet or taller has to have a four foot fence installed on top for safety, or an equally acceptable design approved by the Planning Board, and the Board reviews every plan for a retaining wall of that height. A wall built purely to retain earth is exempt from the fence rules so long as it does not rise above the highest adjacent grade.
The height of walls and fences shall be measured from the average elevation of the finished grade along the base of the wall or fence to its highest point.
Section 870-197(R), with (S) and (X)(2)
4 ftretaining wall height that requires a fence on top
Also on how height is measured in Camden
- left to the townNew Jersey states a fence number and never says where to measure it from. The state construction code says no permit is needed for a fence six feet or less in height, and it never says six feet above what. The Municipal Land Use Law fills the gap by handing the bulk, height, number of stories, direction and size of buildings and other structures to a town zoning rule. The town decides where the measuring starts. N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65 bNew Jersey · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Camden
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Camden answers this, but the answer changes depending on which of the two rules reaches the fence.
Where two or more Camden streets meet, no hedge, fence or wall higher than three feet above curb level may stand inside the triangle formed by the intersecting street lines and a line joining points thirty feet from where they meet. A post or tree of no more than one square foot in cross section is the only obstruction allowed through that height. Thirty feet is a large triangle and the datum is the curb rather than the ground at the fence. The fence section adds a second, looser rule of its own: no fence, hedge or wall of any type may be erected or maintained if it is deemed a safety hazard in obstructing the view of motorists, and sight triangle areas are required at intersections and at driveways entering streets, in which nothing may rise more than thirty inches above the street center line except a utility pole, street sign, fire hydrant or light standard.
At the intersection or interception of two or more streets, no hedge, fence or wall higher than three feet above curb level nor any obstruction to vision other than a post or tree not exceeding one square foot in cross section shall be permitted within the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines and a straight line joining points located on said street lines 30 feet distant from their point of intersection.
Section 870-29, with Section 870-197(T)
The answer turns on which of the two rules reaches the fence.
- the triangle
- Thirty feet along each street line. 30 ft
- inside it
- Three feet above curb level. 3 ft
- a driveway
- Thirty inches above the street center line. 30 in
- a post or tree
- Allowed if it is thin enough.
Also on corner visibility in Camden
- set in state lawNew Jersey protects the driver view in its highways title, and only for signs that need a state permit. Section 27:5-9 sets the conditions on that permit, and one of them is that the sign may not block a clear view of the road ahead or of official signs and signals. Nothing there reaches a fence at a house. A town gets the power to draw a corner sight triangle, the clear space kept open where two streets meet, from the Municipal Land Use Law. N.J.S.A. 27:5-9New Jersey · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Camden
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New Jersey answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Jersey writes its own rule for a wall that holds back earth instead of leaving it to the national code. A construction permit is needed to build, enlarge, change, rebuild or tear down such a wall four feet or taller, and also a shorter one that hurts a foundation. The four feet counts every wall on the same slope added together, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. Walls the town already reviewed in subdivision and site plan work, and walls a county engineer or the state transportation department reviews, are left out.
This one is New Jersey law, not Camden law. All New Jersey findings
No person shall construct, enlarge, alter, reconstruct, or demolish a retaining wall or series of retaining walls having a total height four feet or greater, or a retaining wall less than four feet having a negative impact on a foundation, without first obtaining a construction permit.
4 ftretaining wall height at or above which a construction permit is required
Fence materials allowed in Camden
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Camden answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zone.
Camden strictly prohibits seven things: barbed wire or wire strung with barbs or points except in an industrial zone, concertina and razor wire, canvas or cloth fences, electrically charged fences, poultry netting and snow fences, expandable and collapsible fences except as temporary ones, and glass embedded in any fence. In an industrial zone barbed wire may be attached only to the top of the fence and has to be angled inward at no less than forty-five degrees, and that course of wire may sit above the permitted fence height rather than counting toward it. Fences and walls have to be built of durable high quality material with a high level of quality in finish and detail, and have to complement the structural style, color and design of the principal building. A painted fence may be painted in only one color, and once painted has to be maintained that way.
Barbed wire or wire on which barbs or points are strung or fastened, except in an industrial zone. Barbed wire shall be permitted in industrial zones but may be attached only to the top of the fence and shall be angled inward no less than 45°.
Section 870-197(V), with (C) and (M)
The answer turns on the material and the zone.
- barbed wire
- Industrial zones, angled inward. 45 degrees
- razor wire, canvas or netting
- Strictly prohibited.
- paint
- One color, and kept up.
- any fence
- It has to complement the building.
Also on materials in Camden
- set in state lawNew Jersey calls an electric security fence a perimeter fence intrusion protection system, and it sets nine things such a fence has to do. It ties into an alarm somebody watches. It cannot go on land a town has set aside for homes only. It runs off a storage battery of no more than 12 volts and meets the international standard for the charger. It stands behind a fence or wall with no current in it at least five feet tall, stops at ten feet, carries warning signs no more than 40 feet apart, and is put in by somebody trained or certified to install it. N.J.S.A. 45:5A-54New Jersey · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Camden
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New Jersey answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Jersey sets one height for a lawful fence and one job for it to do. It stands four feet and two inches from the surface of the ground, and it has to be close, strong and tight enough that horses and cattle cannot get through or under. Where the fence sits on the line and either neighbor works the land, it also has to be tight enough to stop sheep. Low meadow along a stream or river that floods is left out of that last part.
This one is New Jersey law, not Camden law. All New Jersey findings
if four feet and two inches high measuring from the level or surface of the earth, and close, strong and sufficient to prevent horses and cattle from going through or under it.
50 inminimum height of a lawful fence, which the statute states as four feet and two inches
Also on agricultural fencing in Camden
- set in state lawNew Jersey ties the damage claim to the fence. When horses, cattle or sheep get over, push through or break down a fence the chapter calls lawful, the owner of the animals pays the hurt neighbor for all of it. Two neutral people from the neighborhood set the amount, one picked by each side, and each has to own the same sort of property that was damaged. If the animal owner will not pick, the hurt neighbor picks both. If the two cannot agree, they bring in a third. N.J.S.A. 4:20-22New Jersey · Statute
- set in state lawNew Jersey bans barbed wire between neighbors unless the neighbor agrees to it. A fence on the line made of barbed wire, or of wire with barbs or points strung on it, is not a lawful fence without the next door owner's consent, and the statute forbids it outright without that consent. Most farm states treat barbed wire as the normal build. New Jersey does the opposite. N.J.S.A. 4:20-3New Jersey · Statute
Documents behind this page
13 documents, of which 2 were published by Camden itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes (Unannotated), Title 4, Section 4:20-7, Duty to make and maintain portion of partition fence
- City of CamdenCode of the City of Camden, Chapter 870, Zoning and Land Use, Article XXVIII, Section 870-197, Fences and walls
- New Jersey LegislatureAssembly Bill A697 (2022 session), reproducing R.S.40:48-1 paragraph 29, Fences
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes (Unannotated), Title 52, Section 52:27D-123, State Uniform Construction Code; adoption
- New Jersey Department of Community AffairsN.J.A.C. 5:23-3, Uniform Construction Code subcodes (PDF, could not be read)
- New Jersey Business Action Center, Department of StateMunicipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes, Title 27, Highways, Chapter 5, Roadside Sign Control and Outdoor Advertising
- City of CamdenCode of the City of Camden, Chapter 870, Zoning and Land Use, Article III, Section 870-29, Sight triangles at intersections
- New Jersey Department of Community AffairsNew Jersey Administrative Code, Title 5, Chapter 23, Uniform Construction Code, Subchapter 2, Administration and Enforcement
- New Jersey LegislatureP.L.2021, Chapter 2, An Act concerning perimeter fence intrusion protection systems and other alarm systems
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes (Unannotated), Title 4, Agriculture and Domestic Animals, Section 4:20-1, Sufficiency of fences in general
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes (Unannotated), Title 4, Agriculture and Domestic Animals, Section 4:20-22, Damages by animals breaking through lawful fences
- New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey Statutes (Unannotated), Title 4, Agriculture and Domestic Animals, Section 4:20-3, Partition fences of barbed wire
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 Camden publishes, plus the New Jersey rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in New Jersey 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