Fence laws in New Rochelle, New York
What the New Rochelle municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where New Rochelle sets no rule of its own, the New York rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in New Rochelle, New York, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Every New Rochelle fence and wall stands inside the owner’s lot lines, so nothing is built on the boundary itself and no fence is shared.
- How tall
- Four feet in a required New Rochelle front yard and six in a side or rear yard, with three carve outs that move the line, and the answer turns on the yard, the district on the other side of the fence, and how open the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard or forward of the building line.
- Permits
- In the R1-HIST Residence District no fence or wall may be built at all until the Historic and Landmarks Review Board has approved it.
- 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 Rochelle 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 Rochelle leaves corner clearance to town boards under Article 16 of the Town Law, with parallel grants to villages and cities.
- Retaining walls
- New Rochelle does not cap a retaining wall and then allow a variance for a taller one. The figure is 4 feet, for tallest a retaining wall may be inside a required yard.
- Materials
- Electrically charged fences, barbed wire and anything else made of sharp material are out of every New Rochelle residential district.
- 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 Rochelle?
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New Rochelle answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every New Rochelle fence and wall stands inside the owner’s lot lines, so nothing is built on the boundary itself and no fence is shared. Where a fence inside a required yard has a finished or more attractive side, that side faces the neighboring property or the street rather than the owner.
All fences and walls must be inside all property lot lines.
Also on fences on the property line in New Rochelle
- 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 New Rochelle?
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New Rochelle answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the district on the other side of the fence, and how open the fence is.
Four feet in a required New Rochelle front yard and six in a side or rear yard, with three carve outs that move the line. In a residence district the four feet continues along the side lot line from the front property line back to the building line, so the six feet begins level with the house. A fence separating a residence district from a nonresidence district may reach seven feet. A public utility or government use gets six feet solid, or eight if at least three quarters open, and a tennis court enclosure may reach ten feet at three quarters open provided it stays out of required yards.
Fences and walls, not exceeding four feet in height, are permitted within required front yards and not exceeding six feet in height are permitted in side or rear yards
The answer turns on the yard, the district on the other side of the fence, and how open the fence is.
- a required front yard, and the side lot line up to the building line
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard behind the building line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- separating a residence district from a nonresidence district
- Seven feet. 7 ft
- a tennis court enclosure at three quarters open, outside required yards
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in New Rochelle
- 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 New Rochelle?
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New Rochelle answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In the R1-HIST Residence District no fence or wall may be built at all until the Historic and Landmarks Review Board has approved it. The requirement is a design approval rather than a height rule, and it sits on top of everything else in the section, so a fence that satisfies every dimension still cannot go up in that district without the board.
In the R1-HIST Residence District, no fence or wall shall be constructed without prior approval of the Historic and Landmarks Review Board.
Also on permits in New Rochelle
- 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 New Rochelle
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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 New Rochelle 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 New Rochelle
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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 New Rochelle 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 New Rochelle
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New Rochelle 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 New Rochelle 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 New Rochelle
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New Rochelle 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.
This one is New York law, not New Rochelle 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 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 Rochelle
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New Rochelle answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Rochelle does not cap a retaining wall and then allow a variance for a taller one. Inside a required yard a retaining wall over four feet is simply not permitted, stated as a prohibition rather than as a maximum. Outside a required yard the section says nothing, so the limit attaches to where the wall stands rather than to the wall itself.
Any retaining wall constructed in a required yard over four feet in height shall not be permitted.
4 fttallest a retaining wall may be inside a required yard
Also on retaining walls in New Rochelle
- left to the townNew 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. 19 NYCRR 1219.2(a)(8)New York · Building code
Fence materials allowed in New Rochelle
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New Rochelle answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Electrically charged fences, barbed wire and anything else made of sharp material are out of every New Rochelle residential district. Outside residential the test is not the district but the view: the same materials are barred wherever the wire would be visible from the street or from any residential zone. A commercial yard can therefore carry barbed wire on a rear boundary nobody can see and not on the frontage.
Electrically charged fences, barbed-wire fences and other fences constructed of sharp materials are not permitted in any residentially zoned district and in any district, other than residential, where installation of the barbed wire would be visible from the street or from any residential zone.
Also on materials in New Rochelle
- 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 New Rochelle
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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 New Rochelle 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 New Rochelle
- 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 New Rochelle itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New York State SenateNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences and Fence Viewers
- City of New RochelleZoning Ordinance, Chapter 331, Article IV, Section 331-16, Fences and walls
- 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 New Rochelle 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