Fence laws in Vineland, New Jersey
What the Vineland municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Vineland sets no rule of its own, the New Jersey rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Vineland, New Jersey, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Every Vineland fence has to be erected within the owner property lines, and no fence may encroach on a public right-of-way or an easement, and the answer turns on what lies under and beyond the line. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a property line.
- How tall
- In a Vineland residential zone a fence may be six feet from the building line back and four feet from the property line to the building line, and the answer turns on the zone and where the fence sits relative to the building line. The figure is 6 feet, for fence behind the building line in a residential zone.
- Permits
- The Vineland fence section never requires a permit, and the answer turns on whether the fence is new work or an existing one in poor condition. The figure is 30 days, for time to act on a written order about a fence.
- Pool barriers
- Vineland sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Vineland has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Vineland leaves the measuring rule to a municipal zoning ordinance adopted under the Municipal Land Use Law.
- Corner lots
- Vineland leaves corner clearance to the latest edition of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets.
- 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
- Vineland defines a fence as an artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen land, and then regulates how much of it a person can see through rather than what it is made of, and the answer turns on the yard and how tall the fence is. The figure is 70 percent, for openness required on a front yard fence.
- 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 Vineland?
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Vineland answers this, but the answer changes depending on what lies under and beyond the line.
Every Vineland fence has to be erected within the owner property lines, and no fence may encroach on a public right-of-way or an easement. Naming easements alongside the right-of-way is the part that catches people, because a drainage or utility easement usually runs through the back of a lot where a fence would naturally go, and the code offers no permission to put one there. No setback is stated, so a fence may sit on the line itself so long as nothing crosses it. In a business or industrial zone the fence has to stand at least ten feet back from the front property line, and that strip is the required front yard buffer rather than empty ground. A wall built to retain earth is lifted out of the section, and so is a public utility installation.
All fences shall be erected within the owner's property lines. No fence shall encroach on a public right-of-way or easement.
Section 425-77(C)(1) and (C)(2), with (G)
The answer turns on what lies under and beyond the line.
- a lot line
- The fence stays inside it. 0 ft
- an easement
- No encroachment at all.
- a business front line
- Ten feet back, as a buffer. 10 ft
- a retaining wall
- Outside the section.
Also on fences on the property line in Vineland
- 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 Vineland?
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Vineland answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and where the fence sits relative to the building line.
In a Vineland residential zone a fence may be six feet from the building line back and four feet from the property line to the building line. Two uses get their own numbers in the same subsection: a tennis court fence has a minimum of ten feet and has to be open wire type, and an in-ground swimming pool needs a fence of at least four feet. A business or industrial zone takes eight feet including any barbed wire, placed no closer than ten feet to the front property line, and that ten feet is the required front yard buffer. Three districts go the other way entirely. In the LC, LMS and EG zones fences are prohibited, except around trash receptacles and building mechanical equipment such as air conditioning units, or where the Main Street District outdoor dining standards allow one. A fence around a public playground, park or school may be ten feet.
Height: six feet maximum from a building line back; four feet maximum from property line to building line.
The answer turns on the zone and where the fence sits relative to the building line.
- behind the building line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- in front of it
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a business or industrial zone
- Eight feet, ten feet back from the front line. 8 ft
- the LC, LMS and EG zones
- Fences prohibited, with two exceptions.
Also on fence height in Vineland
- 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 Vineland?
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Vineland answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is new work or an existing one in poor condition.
The Vineland fence section never requires a permit. What it writes instead is a maintenance duty and an enforcement route. Every fence has to be owner maintained in safe, sound and upright condition on secure foundations, and reconstruction, relocation or alteration of an existing fence has to conform to the standards of the section. Where the Zoning Officer finds on report and inspection that a fence is not being maintained as specified, the officer notifies the owner in writing, states the findings and the reasons for them, and orders the fence repaired or removed within thirty days. Failing to act on that notice puts the owner into the violations and penalties article. The same chapter shows what a permit requirement looks like when the city wants one, since a sign needs a sign zoning permit from the Zoning Officer by name.
If the Zoning Officer, upon report and inspection, finds that any fence or portion thereof is not maintained as specified herein, the Officer shall notify the owner in writing, state his findings and the reasons for said findings, and he shall order such fence or portion repaired or removed within 30 days of the notice.
The answer turns on whether the fence is new work or an existing one in poor condition.
- a new fence
- No permit named in the section.
- rebuilding or moving one
- It has to meet the current standards.
- a fence in poor condition
- Thirty days to repair or remove. 30 days
- ignoring the notice
- Violations and penalties.
Also on permits in Vineland
- 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 Vineland
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Vineland 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 Vineland 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 Vineland
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Vineland 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 Vineland 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 Vineland
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Vineland does not set this. It leaves it to a municipal zoning ordinance adopted under the Municipal Land Use Law.
New 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.
This one is New Jersey law, not Vineland law. All New Jersey findings
Regulate the bulk, height, number of stories, orientation, and size of buildings and the other structures; the percentage of lot or development area that may be occupied by structures; lot sizes and dimensions
The code hands this to a municipal zoning ordinance adopted under the Municipal Land Use Law, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Vineland
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence section states six feet, four feet, eight feet, ten feet and thirty inches and never says what any of them is measured from. No grade is named, a berm is not addressed, and no allowance is made for a post cap. A wall built to retain earth is lifted out of the section by name, so a fence on top of a retaining wall is not answered either. What the section does measure carefully is horizontal and proportional rather than vertical: the line between four feet and six feet is the building line, the business zone fence has to stand ten feet back from the front property line, and the openness test is written as a percentage of the vertical faces rather than as a gap between slats. The requirement that a fence sit on secure foundations is the closest the section comes to describing where it meets the ground. Section 425-77(D)Vineland · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Vineland
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Vineland does not set this. It leaves it to the latest edition of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets.
Vineland never draws its sight triangle. The fence section says only that no fence may obstruct visibility or create a potential hazard, and the definitions article then sends the question out of the code entirely: a sight triangle is established at a street or driveway intersection in which nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as to obstruct a driver view, and it is to be worked out in accordance with the latest edition of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. The city adds one local change to the method, requiring every maneuver, whether a left turn, a right turn or a crossing, to be calculated using the left turn from stop criteria, which is the longest of the three. For multiple lanes, wide shoulders, grades over three percent or more heavy vehicles, the time gap has to be lengthened.
Sight triangles shall be in accordance with the latest edition of AASHTO's "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets" with the exception that all maneuvers (left turns, right turns, crossing) from a "stop" shall be calculated using "left turn from stop" criteria.
The code hands this to the latest edition of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Vineland
- 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 Vineland
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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 Vineland 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 Vineland
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Vineland answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and how tall the fence is.
Vineland defines a fence as an artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen land, and then regulates how much of it a person can see through rather than what it is made of. A fence in a front yard that exceeds thirty inches in height has to be at least seventy percent open on its vertical faces, which is the highest openness figure in this set and rules out most picket designs as well as every solid one. A fence around a tennis court has to be open wire type. Barbed wire is not banned in a business or industrial zone, but it counts toward the eight foot limit rather than sitting above it. Nothing in the section prohibits a named material anywhere, so behind the front yard the choice is open.
Openness, for fences located in front yards which exceed 30 inches in height: at least 70% open on the vertical faces.
Section 425-77(D)(2), with (A) and (E)
The answer turns on the yard and how tall the fence is.
- a front yard fence over thirty inches
- Seventy percent open. 70%
- under thirty inches
- No openness rule. 30 in
- a tennis court
- Open wire type, ten feet.
- barbed wire in a business zone
- Counted inside the eight feet.
Also on materials in Vineland
- 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 Vineland
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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 Vineland 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 Vineland
- 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 Vineland 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 VinelandCode of the City of Vineland, Chapter 425, Land Use, Article VII, Design Standards, Section 425-77, Fences
- 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 VinelandCode of the City of Vineland, Chapter 425, Land Use, Article I, General Provisions, Terminology
- 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 Vineland 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