Fence laws in New York
What New York statutes and statewide codes say about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line.
Fence laws in New York, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- New York Town Law splits a fence on the line between the two neighbors in fair shares, unless they agree on something else.
- How tall
- New York sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- New York writes one code for the whole state and then hands the permit counter to local government.
- Pool barriers
- New York requires a barrier around a pool at a house, and the height is four feet. The figure is 4 feet, for permanent barrier around a residential swimming pool.
- Spite fences
- New York has a spite fence law with a ten foot trigger. The figure is 10 feet, for height above which a fence blocking light or air can be declared a private nuisance.
- Measured from what
- New York leaves the measuring rule to the town board, by local law or ordinance. It reaches the part of a town outside the limits of any incorporated village or city only.
- Corner lots
- New York leaves corner clearance to town boards under Article 16 of the Town Law, with parallel grants to villages and cities.
- Retaining walls
- New York leaves retaining walls to the Residential Code of New York State, published by the International Code Council and incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1220.
- Materials
- New York names barbed wire in its town fence law and allows it in a fence on the line as long as the fence is built a set way. The figure is 4 strands, for minimum number of wire strands in a barbed wire division fence. It reaches a fence on the line between two neighbors in a town only.
- Livestock
- New York prints one build in its fence article, and it is wire. The figure is 4 strands, for minimum number of wire strands in a division fence. It reaches a fence on the line between two neighbors only.
Who owns the fence between two properties in New York?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York Town Law splits a fence on the line between the two neighbors in fair shares, unless they agree on something else. The rule turns on animals. A neighbor who has kept no animals on the land in the five years before the fence was built or fixed owes nothing. A neighbor who does build or fix it can get back twenty percent of the other side's share for each year that land was used for animals. Where a stream forms the line, the fence viewers settle the split.
Each owner of two adjoining tracts of land, except when they otherwise agree, shall make and maintain a just and equitable portion of the division fence between such lands
How tall can a fence be in New York?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
New York law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
New York does not limit how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence article of the Town Law is about who pays for a shared fence and never caps the height. The only height anywhere in New York fence law is the ten feet in the spite fence section, and that is the point where a nuisance claim becomes possible, not a limit. Villages, towns and cities set the height rule.
Documents read before writing that:
- Town Law 300New York State Senate
- RPAPL 843New York State Senate
Do I need a permit for a fence in New York?
Compare permits across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York writes one code for the whole state and then hands the permit counter to local government. Executive Law section 381 puts running and enforcing the code on every local government, lets a town pass the job to its county, and lets the Secretary of State step in when local enforcement drops below the state minimum. So whether a fence needs a permit is answered by the local code office, not by one statewide line.
every local government shall administer and enforce the uniform fire prevention and building code
Pool fence requirements in New York
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York requires a barrier around a pool at a house, and the height is four feet. The state building standards office publishes the rules in a technical bulletin. The gap between the barrier and the ground stays under two inches, and the barrier cannot go where something next to it can be climbed to get over. While a pool is being built, a temporary barrier of at least 48 inches has to be up.
The top of the barrier must be at least 4 feet (48 inches) high.
4 ftpermanent barrier around a residential swimming pool
Spite fence laws in New York
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York has a spite fence law with a ten foot trigger. A fence, or anything built like a fence, that goes over ten feet and cuts off light or air from a building next door can be declared a private nuisance by the supreme court. The court can then order the owner to stop keeping it up. The section ends by protecting an owner who built in good faith.
Whenever the owner or lessees of land shall erect or shall have erected thereon any fence or structure in the nature of a fence which shall exceed ten feet in height, to exclude the owner or occupant of a structure on adjoining land from the enjoyment of light or air, the owner or occupant who shall thereby be deprived of light or air shall be entitled to maintain an action in the supreme court to have such fence or structure adjudged a private nuisance.
10 ftheight above which a fence blocking light or air can be declared a private nuisance
How fence height is measured in New York
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
New York does not set this. It leaves it to the town board, by local law or ordinance.
New York sets no fence height for a house, so it never says where a height starts. Town Law 261 lets a town board set the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures by local law, and that power covers the part of the town outside any village or city. Both the height limit for a fence and the point the height is counted from are written by the town board.
the town board is hereby empowered by local law or ordinance to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures
The code hands this to the town board, by local law or ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in New York
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
New York does not set this. It leaves it to town boards under Article 16 of the Town Law, with parallel grants to villages and cities.
New York leaves the corner to the town, village or city. Town Law section 261 lets a town board set the height of structures and the size of yards and open spaces by local law. The highway title was read as well. Highway Law section 319 treats a fence as an obstruction when it stands inside the bounds of the highway, which turns on where the right of way line falls and not on the view across a corner.
the town board is hereby empowered by local law or ordinance to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, the density of population, and the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence or other purposes
The code hands this to town boards under Article 16 of the Town Law, with parallel grants to villages and cities, which is not published in the code itself.
Retaining wall rules in New York
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
New York does not set this. It leaves it to the Residential Code of New York State, published by the International Code Council and incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1220.
New York runs one code statewide and it prints no rule for a wall that holds back earth. For houses the rule is the Residential Code of New York State, a book published by the International Code Council and taken into Part 1220 by reference. The section listing the changes New York makes to that book was read in full, and it covers snow load, insulation, oil tanks, sewer depth and repair work, never that kind of wall.
2020 RCNYS. The publication entitled 2020 Residential Code of New York State (publication date: November 2019), published by the International Code Council, Inc. The 2020 RCNYS is incorporated by reference in Part 1220 of this Title.
The code hands this to the Residential Code of New York State, published by the International Code Council and incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1220, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in New York
Compare materials across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York names barbed wire in its town fence law and allows it in a fence on the line as long as the fence is built a set way. It carries at least four strands, the posts stand no more than fourteen feet apart, and the town fence viewers set the spacing of the posts and supports. The owner has to fix the fence as soon as it becomes unsafe. The section does not let railroad companies string barbed wire along their lines where the railroad law bars it.
Barbed or other wire may be used in the construction of any division fence, provided, that such fence, be built in the following manner: The fence shall be of at least four strands of wire with the posts and supports of such fence, at such distances apart, as the fence viewers of the town may prescribe, but the posts thereof shall be no further apart than fourteen feet
4 strandsminimum number of wire strands in a barbed wire division fence
Livestock and boundary fence law in New York
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
New York answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New York prints one build in its fence article, and it is wire. A fence on the line made of barbed or other wire carries at least four strands. The town fence viewers set how far apart the posts and supports go, and the posts may never stand more than fourteen feet apart. Past that, the fence has to be built solidly and hold the kind of animals usually pastured on either side. A town cannot ban a wire fence that meets this section.
The fence shall be of at least four strands of wire with the posts and supports of such fence, at such distances apart, as the fence viewers of the town may prescribe, but the posts thereof shall be no further apart than fourteen feet
4 strandsminimum number of wire strands in a division fence
Also on agricultural fencing in New York
- left to the townNew York sets no statewide standard for what makes a shared fence good enough. The voters of each town make that rule for their own town. Once a town has one, a neighbor whose fence falls short loses the right to collect for damage done by an animal that was lawfully kept next door and came through the bad fence. Where nobody raises the question, a fence is taken as good enough until someone proves otherwise. Town Law 307New York · Statute
- set in state lawNew York lets two neighbors turn the fence rule off between them. Each one normally builds and keeps up a fair share of the fence on the line, but both may agree to let the land lie open instead. While that agreement holds, neither can sue the other for damage done by animals that were lawfully on the other's land. Either one can end it with written notice, and then both go back to building their shares. Town Law 301New York · Statute
Cities in New York
13 cities with their own fence rules read from the city’s own code. Where a city says nothing on a topic, the state answer above is what applies.
Documents behind this page
9 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- New York State SenateNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences and Fence Viewers
- New York State SenateNew York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, Article 8
- New York State SenateNew York Executive Law, Article 18
- New York State Department of State, Division of Building Standards and CodesTechnical Bulletin, Uniform Code Swimming Pool and Spa Requirements Summary
- New York State SenateNew York Consolidated Laws, Town Law, Article 16, Zoning and Planning
- New York State Department of StateOfficial Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, Title 19, Chapter XXXIII, Subchapter A, Part 1219, Section 1219.2 Definitions
- New York State LegislatureLaws of New York, Town Law, Article 18, Fences, Strays and Pounds, Section 309, Use of barbed or other wire for division fence
- New York State LegislatureNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences, Strays and Pounds, Section 307, Damages for insufficient fence
- New York State LegislatureNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences, Strays and Pounds, Section 301, Lands lying open
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean