Fence laws in Troy, New York
What the Troy municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Troy sets no rule of its own, the New York rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Troy, New York, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Troy fence, hedge or wall and all its supporting structure sits entirely on the land of whoever puts it up, and may not cross into a public right of way or the property next door. The figure is 5 feet, for setback from the front lot line or driveway on a lot with a driveway.
- How tall
- Four feet in a Troy front yard, rising to six in the BD and IND use districts, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in and which use district the lot is in. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in a front yard.
- Permits
- Troy requires a permit from the Code Enforcement Office before anyone erects a fence or wall, and before anyone substantially alters one.
- 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
- Troy measures from the finished grade to the top of the feature, and applies the same rule to a hedge as to a fence or a wall, so a planted boundary is measured and limited exactly like a built one.
- Corner lots
- Troy states no corner triangle.
- Retaining walls
- A Troy retaining wall of four feet or more, measured from the finished grade on the lower side, needs stamped plans and specifications from a licensed engineer or landscape architect. The figure is 4 feet, for height at which a retaining wall needs engineered plans.
- Materials
- Troy names six things that may not form any part of a fence visible from the public right of way: barbed wire, electric fence, chicken wire, pallets, tires and plywood.
- 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 Troy?
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Troy fence, hedge or wall and all its supporting structure sits entirely on the land of whoever puts it up, and may not cross into a public right of way or the property next door. On a lot with a driveway it also stands at least five feet back from the front lot line or the driveway, and the ordinance gives the reason: to improve visibility when a car is pulling out.
shall be set back a minimum of five feet from the front lot line or driveway to improve visibility during egress.
5 ftsetback from the front lot line or driveway on a lot with a driveway
Also on fences on the property line in Troy
- 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 Troy?
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Troy answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in and which use district the lot is in.
Four feet in a Troy front yard, rising to six in the BD and IND use districts. Six feet in a side or rear yard, rising to eight in DMU, CC, BD and IND. A fence around a private or public tennis, basketball or sports court in a side or rear yard may reach ten feet on two conditions: it has to be semi-transparent and it has to stand at least ten feet back from the property line. The height limits do not reach a dumpster enclosure, which has its own section.
Within the front yard, a fence or wall shall not exceed four feet in height except in the BD and IND Use Districts where a fence in the front yard shall not exceed six feet.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in and which use district the lot is in.
- a front yard
- Four feet, or six in the BD and IND districts. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet, or eight in DMU, CC, BD and IND. 6 ft
- a semi-transparent sports court enclosure set ten feet off the line
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Troy
- 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 Troy?
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Troy requires a permit from the Code Enforcement Office before anyone erects a fence or wall, and before anyone substantially alters one. There is no height floor and no exemption for a small job, though the word substantially leaves ordinary repair outside it without saying where the line falls.
No person shall erect or substantially alter a fence or wall in the City of Troy without first obtaining a permit from the Code Enforcement Office.
Also on permits in Troy
- 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Troy measures from the finished grade to the top of the feature, and applies the same rule to a hedge as to a fence or a wall, so a planted boundary is measured and limited exactly like a built one. Finished grade rather than natural grade means the level after the work, which matters on a lot that has been regraded.
The height of all fences, walls and hedges shall be measured from the finished grade to the top of the feature.
Also on how height is measured in Troy
- 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 Troy
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Troy states no corner triangle. The 2023 ordinance says only that a fence, wall or hedge on a corner lot gets reviewed for traffic safety and visibility at the intersection, and it gives no distance back from the corner, no height band and no diagram. So the answer for a particular corner comes out of the review rather than out of the text, and the five foot driveway setback is the only measured visibility rule in the section.
On corner lots, fences, walls, and hedges shall be reviewed to address traffic safety with regard to visibility at intersections.
Also on corner visibility in Troy
- 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 Troy
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Troy retaining wall of four feet or more, measured from the finished grade on the lower side, needs stamped plans and specifications from a licensed engineer or landscape architect. Separately, a retaining wall visible from the street should be faced with masonry or other decorative screening, texture, design or landscaping so that it does not read as a blank slab.
All retaining walls four feet in height or greater measured from finished grade of the lowest side of the wall, shall require stamped plans and specifications by a licensed engineer or landscape architect as required by the Uniform Building Code.
4 ftheight at which a retaining wall needs engineered plans
Also on retaining walls in Troy
- 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 Troy
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Troy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Troy names six things that may not form any part of a fence visible from the public right of way: barbed wire, electric fence, chicken wire, pallets, tires and plywood. Tires and pallets are named in very few codes. Construction fencing is allowed only while a building permit is open on the project. Every fence turns its finished side to the adjoining lot and to public and shared private rights of way, with the bracing inside.
Barbed wire, electric fence, chicken wire, pallets, tires, and plywood shall not be used as a fencing material or as any part of a fence visible from the public right-of-way.
Also on materials in Troy
- 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 Troy
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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 Troy 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 Troy
- 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 Troy itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New York State SenateNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences and Fence Viewers
- City of TroyChapter 285, Zoning, Land Use and Development Ordinance, Section 285-65, Fences, hedges, and walls, enacted April 2023
- 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 Troy 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