Fence laws in Hempstead, New York
What the Hempstead municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Hempstead sets no rule of its own, the New York rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Hempstead, 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
- Four feet in a Hempstead front yard and four feet in a side yard, with one way up: a side yard fence may reach six feet once it is forty or more feet back from the front property line, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and how far back from the front property line it stands. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard or the near part of a side yard.
- Permits
- Hempstead requires a permit before any fence or similar structure goes up.
- 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
- For fences alone, Hempstead reads a corner lot as having two front yard lines and two side yard lines.
- Corner lots
- On a Hempstead corner lot in a residence district, nothing over four feet may be built or planted nearer the corner than a line joining points fifteen feet along each street. The figure is 15 feet, for distance along each street to the corner cutoff line.
- Retaining walls
- Hempstead 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
- Hempstead requires chain link in a commercial district rather than merely allowing it, and where commercial land meets a residence district a six foot chain link fence has to go up along the boundary with inserts that stop vehicle headlights shining into the houses. The figure is 3 strands, for most barbed wire allowed on top of a nonresidential 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 Hempstead?
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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.
This one is New York law, not Hempstead law. All New York findings
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 Hempstead?
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Hempstead answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in, and how far back from the front property line it stands.
Four feet in a Hempstead front yard and four feet in a side yard, with one way up: a side yard fence may reach six feet once it is forty or more feet back from the front property line. Rear yards get six feet. Where a side yard line is the boundary between a residence district and a commercial district, a six foot fence may run along that line from the rear yard line to the front yard building setback line of the commercial side. A fence in a commercial district stops at six feet.
No fence or similar structure higher than four feet shall be erected in any side yard, except that a fence six feet in height may be erected in any side yard if such fence is 40 or more feet distant from the front property line.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and how far back from the front property line it stands.
- a front yard, or a side yard within forty feet of the front property line
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side yard forty or more feet back from the front property line
- Six feet. 40 ft
- a rear yard, or a commercial district
- Six feet. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Hempstead
- 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 Hempstead?
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Hempstead answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Hempstead requires a permit before any fence or similar structure goes up. The requirement is one sentence long, with no height floor, no repair exception and no district carve out.
A permit shall be obtained prior to the erection of any fence or similar structure.
Also on permits in Hempstead
- 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 Hempstead
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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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead
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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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead
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Hempstead answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
For fences alone, Hempstead reads a corner lot as having two front yard lines and two side yard lines. That doubles the four foot frontage rule on a corner and removes the argument about which street the house faces, because both count.
For purposes of the erection of fences or similar structures, corner lots shall be interpreted as having two front yard lines and two side yard lines.
Also on how height is measured in Hempstead
- left to the townNew 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. N.Y. Town Law 261New York · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Hempstead
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Hempstead answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a Hempstead corner lot in a residence district, nothing over four feet may be built or planted nearer the corner than a line joining points fifteen feet along each street. A hedge, a tree and any other growth are caught on the same terms as a wall or fence, and altering an existing structure counts as erecting one.
No wall, fence or structure over four feet in height shall be erected or altered and no hedge, tree or other growth over four feet in height shall be planted or maintained on a corner lot in a residence district nearer the corner than a line connecting points on each street 15 feet from the corner.
15 ftdistance along each street to the corner cutoff line
Also on corner visibility in Hempstead
- 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 Hempstead
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Hempstead 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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead
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Hempstead answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Hempstead requires chain link in a commercial district rather than merely allowing it, and where commercial land meets a residence district a six foot chain link fence has to go up along the boundary with inserts that stop vehicle headlights shining into the houses. Barbed wire is prohibited in every residence district. Outside them it may sit on top of a chain link fence on three conditions at once: the lowest strand at least six feet four inches above grade, no more than three strands, and nothing reaching more than one foot up and one foot out beyond the fence.
In nonresidence districts, barbed wire may be used on top of chain link fences, provided that the lowest strand on such barbed wire is at least six feet four inches above grade, no more than three strands of barbed wire are utilized and such strands of barbed wire do not extend more than one vertical foot and one horizontal foot above and beyond the fence.
3 strandsmost barbed wire allowed on top of a nonresidential fence
Also on materials in Hempstead
- 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 Hempstead
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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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead
- 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 Hempstead itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- 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
- Village of HempsteadVillage Code, Chapter 139 Zoning, Article III, Section 139-33, Fences
- 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 Hempstead 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