Fence laws in Albany, New York
What the Albany municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Albany sets no rule of its own, the New York rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Albany, New York, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Albany requires no gap at all between a fence and a lot line, so an owner may build right on the boundary unless some other part of the ordinance says otherwise.
- How tall
- Four feet in any Albany front yard, and the fence there may be no more than sixty percent opaque, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and whether the district is industrial. The figure is 4 feet, for wall or fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Albany leaves the fence permit rule to the International Building Code as adopted by the City, and the standards of whichever agency requires the fence.
- 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
- Albany 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
- Albany draws its sight triangle from the curb lines rather than the property lines, twenty feet along each, and clears the band between three and six feet above the driving surface of the road. The figure is 20 feet, for leg of the sight triangle along each curb line.
- Retaining walls
- Albany 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
- Albany bans barbed wire, broken glass, electrification and anything else meant to cause injury, and then adds rules most codes leave out. The figure is 12 months, for time to paint or stain a pressure-treated wood fence.
- 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 Albany?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Albany answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Albany requires no gap at all between a fence and a lot line, so an owner may build right on the boundary unless some other part of the ordinance says otherwise. Where a lot has no principal structure on it, the front and corner side yards are worked out from the wall planes of the buildings next door, so an empty lot inherits its neighbors’ geometry. An undeveloped lot has to be either landscaped and maintained or surrounded by a fence, wall or hedge meeting the same standards.
No minimum distance shall be required between a wall or fence and a lot line unless otherwise specified in this USDO.
Also on fences on the property line in Albany
- set in state lawNew 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. Town Law 300New York · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Albany?
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Albany answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in, and whether the district is industrial.
Four feet in any Albany front yard, and the fence there may be no more than sixty percent opaque. The front yard for this purpose stops at the front wall plane of the house, so on a corner lot the stretch behind that plane facing the secondary street is treated as a side yard and gets six feet. Six feet is the figure for any side or rear yard including a corner side yard. The two industrial districts get six feet in front and eight to the side and rear. A fence enclosing an outdoor recreation or entertainment use may exceed any of it provided it stays ten feet off every lot line.
Walls and fences located in any front yard, not including a yard area behind the front wall plane of the principal building and facing the secondary street on a corner lot, shall not exceed four feet in height and shall be a maximum 60% opaque, except in the I-1 and I-2 Districts, where they shall not exceed six feet in height.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and whether the district is industrial.
- a front yard
- Four feet, no more than sixty percent opaque. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard, including a corner side yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- the I-1 or I-2 industrial districts
- Six feet in front, eight to the side and rear. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Albany
- no rule, documents checkedNew 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. Town Law 300New York · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Albany?
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Albany does not set this. It leaves it to the International Building Code as adopted by the City, and the standards of whichever agency requires the fence.
Albany applies its fence standards to everything except two classes it hands elsewhere. A temporary fence or barricade around a construction site is governed by the International Building Code as the city has adopted it, not by the zoning ordinance. And a fence that a state, federal or other agency requires is governed by that agency’s standards instead. So the answer for a hoarding or a utility enclosure is not in the zoning chapter at all.
All walls and fences shall conform to the provisions of this § 375-406(7), except temporary fences and barricades around construction sites, which are governed by the International Building Code, as amended and adopted by the City, and fences required to be erected by any state, federal, or other agency, and that are governed by the standards of those agencies.
The code hands this to the International Building Code as adopted by the City, and the standards of whichever agency requires the fence, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on permits in Albany
- set in state lawNew 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. Exec. Law 381(2)New York · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Albany
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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.
This one is New York law, not Albany law. All New York findings
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 Albany
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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.
This one is New York law, not Albany law. All New York findings
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 Albany
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Albany 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.
This one is New York law, not Albany law. All New York findings
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 Albany
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Albany answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Albany draws its sight triangle from the curb lines rather than the property lines, twenty feet along each, and clears the band between three and six feet above the driving surface of the road. A berm and plant growth are caught on the same terms as a fence. Separately, a fence within ten feet of a driveway on the neighboring lot drops to three feet for the part inside ten feet of the right of way, and a three foot radius has to stay clear of trees and shrubs around every fire hydrant, valve vault, hose bib, manhole and fire department connection.
On any corner lot, no wall, fence, structure, sign, berm, or plant growth that obstructs sight lines at elevations between three and six feet above the driving surface of the adjacent roadway shall be permitted in the area formed by measuring 20 feet along both curblines where they intersect, and connecting the two points to form a sight triangle.
20 ftleg of the sight triangle along each curb line
Also on corner visibility in Albany
- left to the townNew 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. N.Y. Town Law 261New York · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Albany
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Albany 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.
This one is New York law, not Albany law. All New York findings
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 Albany
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Albany answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Albany bans barbed wire, broken glass, electrification and anything else meant to cause injury, and then adds rules most codes leave out. Scrap and waste material are out unless they have been recycled or reprocessed into building materials sold to the public. Canvas, cloth, wire mesh, chicken wire and snow fencing may not be a permanent fence. Chain link is barred from any front yard and any vacant lot outside the two industrial districts. Barbed wire comes back only in I-2, or where public safety requires it around a major utility. And a pressure-treated wood fence has to be painted or finished with a solid color or stain within one year of going up.
No wall or fence shall be constructed of scrap or waste materials unless those materials have been recycled or reprocessed into building materials for sale to the public.
12 monthstime to paint or stain a pressure-treated wood fence
Also on materials in Albany
- set in state lawNew 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. N.Y. Town Law 309New York · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Albany
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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.
This one is New York law, not Albany law. All New York findings
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 Albany
- 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
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Albany itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New York State SenateNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences and Fence Viewers
- City of AlbanyUnified Sustainable Development Ordinance, Chapter 375, Article IV Development Standards, Section 375-406
- 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
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 Albany publishes, plus the New York rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in New York 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