Fence laws in Perth Amboy, New Jersey
What the Perth Amboy municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Perth Amboy sets no rule of its own, the New Jersey rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- All fences, walls and hedges in Perth Amboy have to be erected within the property lines, and none may be erected so as to encroach on a public right-of-way, and the answer turns on what the fence runs alongside. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a property line.
- How tall
- Perth Amboy allows a fence in any yard provided it does not exceed four feet at any point within the front yard, and the answer turns on the yard, the zone and where the house sits. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- New Jersey runs one construction code for the whole state.
- Pool barriers
- Perth Amboy sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Perth Amboy has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Perth Amboy writes the plainest measuring rule in this set. The figure is 6 feet, for side or rear yard height measured from the ground under the fence.
- Corner lots
- The Perth Amboy fence subsection opens by saying fences and walls may not be located in any required sight triangle, and closes by saying nothing in it supersedes the mandatory sight triangle requirements found elsewhere in the chapter, and the answer turns on whether the fence blocks a driver or a pedestrian view.
- 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
- No fence in Perth Amboy may be constructed of any material, or in any manner, that may be dangerous to persons or animals, and the answer turns on the material and which way the fence faces.
- 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 Perth Amboy?
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Perth Amboy answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence runs alongside.
All fences, walls and hedges in Perth Amboy have to be erected within the property lines, and none may be erected so as to encroach on a public right-of-way. No setback from a neighbor is stated, so a fence may sit on the boundary. Where the code does write a distance it is for a situation few other cities address: on property bordering a crosswalk that bisects two residential properties, a fence may not exceed six feet on the side adjoining the crosswalk and has to be set back at least two feet from it. That protects the mid-block walkways that run between houses in an older street grid. Fences and walls may not be located in any required sight triangle, and the section says nothing in it supersedes the sight triangle requirements found elsewhere in the chapter.
Fences on property bordering crosswalks that bisect two (2) residential properties shall not exceed six (6) feet in height on the side of the property adjoining the crosswalk. Fences must be set back at least two (2) feet from the crosswalk.
Section 430-60(F)(5) and (F)(7)
The answer turns on what the fence runs alongside.
- a lot line
- Inside it, with no setback stated. 0 ft
- a mid-block crosswalk
- Two feet back, six feet tall. 2 ft
- the right-of-way
- No encroachment.
- a required sight triangle
- No fence or wall in it.
Also on fences on the property line in Perth Amboy
- 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 Perth Amboy?
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Perth Amboy answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the zone and where the house sits.
Perth Amboy allows a fence in any yard provided it does not exceed four feet at any point within the front yard. Fences and hedges running parallel to a side or rear lot line may reach six feet, but only to the rear of the rear building line of a dwelling in a residential zone, so the six feet starts behind the house rather than at the front of the side yard. A hedge running parallel to the front line is held to four feet above ground level. On a corner lot in the R-25 zone the largest rectangle that can be enclosed from the principal building back to the rear lines may carry a six foot fence, provided it is set back parallel to the street at or behind the building setback line. An industrial zone allows eight feet in the side and rear yards behind the principal building, and a public park, playground or school may have an open wire fence of eight feet anywhere on it.
Fences and hedges running parallel to side or rear yard lines may be erected, altered or reconstructed to a height not to exceed six (6) feet when located in said side or rear yards of any dwelling in a residential zone at any point to the rear of the rear building line.
Section 430-60(F)(2) and (F)(3)
The answer turns on the yard, the zone and where the house sits.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- behind the rear building line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial zone
- Eight feet behind the building. 8 ft
- a park or school
- Eight feet of open wire.
Also on fence height in Perth Amboy
- 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 Perth Amboy?
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New Jersey answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New 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.
This one is New Jersey law, not Perth Amboy law. All New Jersey findings
The commissioner shall after public hearing pursuant to section 4 of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-4) adopt a State Uniform Construction Code for the purpose of regulating the structural design, construction, maintenance, and use of buildings or structures to be erected
Also on permits in Perth Amboy
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence subsection never requires a permit. It is written as a performance standard, a list of things a fence has to satisfy, and it applies on its face to any fence erected, altered or reconstructed rather than to an application. No fee is named, no officer is named as the one who issues anything, and no exemption is written for a short fence or a repair, which is the mirror image of a code that grants exemptions. What the chapter does state is that these rules run alongside all its other provisions, so a fence that forms part of a development going to the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment is reviewed there. The height limits are lifted in one place only, within ten feet of the periphery of a private wading or swimming pool. Section 430-60(F)Perth Amboy · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Perth Amboy
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Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy
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Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy
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Perth Amboy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Perth Amboy writes the plainest measuring rule in this set. The height of a fence is measured from a point on the ground directly under the fence to the highest point on the fence above that ground reference. Naming the ground directly under the fence settles the sloping boundary case in the simplest way available, since the reference moves along with the fence rather than being fixed at one end, and it leaves no room for a grade taken from somewhere else on the lot. Two limits sit around it. The rule says nothing about ground raised deliberately before the posts go in, because finished and natural grade are not distinguished. And it says nothing about a fence built on top of a retaining wall, where the ground directly under the fence is the top of the wall.
The height of the fence shall be measured from a point on the ground directly under the fence to the highest point on the fence above the ground reference.
6 ftside or rear yard height measured from the ground under the fence
Also on how height is measured in Perth Amboy
- 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 Perth Amboy
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Perth Amboy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence blocks a driver or a pedestrian view.
The Perth Amboy fence subsection opens by saying fences and walls may not be located in any required sight triangle, and closes by saying nothing in it supersedes the mandatory sight triangle requirements found elsewhere in the chapter. Between those two it adds a test that does not depend on a drawn triangle at all: no fence may be situated in such a manner as would obstruct the view of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at any intersection or crosswalk. Naming the crosswalk alongside the intersection matters in a city with mid-block walkways between houses, and the same subsection separately holds a fence beside such a crosswalk to six feet and two feet of setback. The triangle itself is not dimensioned here, so its size comes from the chapter rather than from the fence rules.
No fence shall be situated in such a manner that would obstruct the view of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at any intersection or crosswalk.
Section 430-60(F)(11), with (F) and (F)(12)
The answer turns on whether the fence blocks a driver or a pedestrian view.
- a required sight triangle
- No fence or wall in it.
- any intersection
- Nothing that blocks the view.
- a crosswalk
- Caught by the same sentence.
- the size of the triangle
- Set elsewhere in the chapter.
Also on corner visibility in Perth Amboy
- 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 Perth Amboy
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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 Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy
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Perth Amboy answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and which way the fence faces.
No fence in Perth Amboy may be constructed of any material, or in any manner, that may be dangerous to persons or animals. Barbed wire and razor ribbon are prohibited, and the section closes a gap most codes leave by naming open barbs on chain link fences alongside them, so the barbed selvage at the top of a chain link run is caught as well as a strand of barbed wire. The published text reads constine wire where concertina is meant. Beyond the ban the rules are about appearance and upkeep: all fences, walls and hedges have to be maintained in a safe, sound and upright condition and present a uniform appearance, and where a fence has a finished side and an unfinished one, the finished or public side has to face outward.
No fence shall be constructed of any material or in any manner which may be dangerous to persons or animals. Barbed wire, constine wire and/or razor ribbon including open barbs on chain link fences are prohibited.
Section 430-60(F)(13), with (F)(6) and (F)(10)
The answer turns on the material and which way the fence faces.
- barbed or razor wire
- Prohibited.
- chain link with open barbs
- Named and prohibited too.
- the finished side
- Faces outward.
- upkeep
- Safe, sound, upright and uniform.
Also on materials in Perth Amboy
- 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 Perth Amboy
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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 Perth Amboy 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 Perth Amboy
- 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
12 documents, of which 1 was published by Perth Amboy 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 Perth AmboyCode of the City of Perth Amboy, Chapter 430, Zoning and Land Development, Article IX, Performance Standards, Section 430-60(F), Fences, walls, hedges
- 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
- 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 Perth Amboy 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