Fence laws in Yonkers, New York
What the Yonkers municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Yonkers sets no rule of its own, the New York rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Yonkers, New York, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Yonkers puts the whole fence inside the owner’s ground, appurtenances included, so nothing may sit on the boundary and be shared with the neighbor.
- How tall
- Four feet in a required Yonkers front yard setback, and in any other required setback that abuts a street, so a corner lot carries the low limit on both frontages, and the answer turns on whether the setback abuts a street, the district, and how open the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a setback abutting a street.
- 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
- Yonkers 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
- On a Yonkers corner lot in a residence district that has both a front yard and a side front yard, nothing may stand above four feet inside a triangle drawn by going seventy five feet out along each street center line from where those center lines cross and joining the two points. The figure is 75 feet, for distance out along each street center line to the corner triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Yonkers 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
- Yonkers bans electrically charged fences and barbed wire, and then adds a category rather than a list: any other fence constructed of sharp materials.
- 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 Yonkers?
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Yonkers answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Yonkers puts the whole fence inside the owner’s ground, appurtenances included, so nothing may sit on the boundary and be shared with the neighbor. Where new development leaves a steep slope, a retaining wall or a rock cut as a permanent feature, the approving agency may require two fences: one inside the development property line, and a second between the property line and the slope as an extra barrier and warning.
All fences or walls and their appurtenances shall be located inside all lot lines.
Also on fences on the property line in Yonkers
- 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 Yonkers?
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Yonkers answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the setback abuts a street, the district, and how open the fence is.
Four feet in a required Yonkers front yard setback, and in any other required setback that abuts a street, so a corner lot carries the low limit on both frontages. Six feet in every other required setback. Eight feet is available only in a nonresidential district and only for a fence of at least seventy five percent open construction. On top of that, where the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings judges it necessary for safety, a retaining wall may carry a vehicle bumper guard or a fence of at least seventy five percent open construction standing up to four feet above the limits above.
Such fences or walls shall not exceed four feet in height if located in a required front yard setback or in any other required yard setback abutting a street, and six feet in height within any other required yard setback, except that a fence of not less than 75% open construction may have a maximum height of eight feet where located in a nonresidential district
The answer turns on whether the setback abuts a street, the district, and how open the fence is.
- a required front yard setback, or any required setback abutting a street
- Four feet. 4 ft
- any other required yard setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a nonresidential district, at least seventy five percent open
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Yonkers
- 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 Yonkers?
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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.
This one is New York law, not Yonkers law. All New York findings
every local government shall administer and enforce the uniform fire prevention and building code
Pool fence requirements in Yonkers
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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 Yonkers 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 Yonkers
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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 Yonkers 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 Yonkers
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Yonkers 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 Yonkers 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 Yonkers
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Yonkers answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a Yonkers corner lot in a residence district that has both a front yard and a side front yard, nothing may stand above four feet inside a triangle drawn by going seventy five feet out along each street center line from where those center lines cross and joining the two points. Measuring from the center of the road rather than the property line, and at seventy five feet rather than the usual fifteen to thirty, makes this one of the deepest corner triangles on this site. A separate sentence bars any fence on a corner lot or at a driveway opening from blocking a driver’s view, with no dimension attached.
In all residence districts, on a corner lot for which a front yard and a side front yard are required, no fence or wall or other structure shall be erected to a height in excess of four feet, within the triangular area determined by the intersecting street lines and a diagonal connecting two points, one on each street center line, each of which points is 75 feet from the intersection of such street center lines.
75 ftdistance out along each street center line to the corner triangle
Also on corner visibility in Yonkers
- 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 Yonkers
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Yonkers 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 Yonkers 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 Yonkers
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Yonkers answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Yonkers bans electrically charged fences and barbed wire, and then adds a category rather than a list: any other fence constructed of sharp materials. That catches razor wire, spikes and broken glass without naming them, and leaves the judgment on what counts as sharp to whoever is enforcing it. No material is named as required or preferred anywhere in the section.
Electrically charged fences, barbed-wire fences and other fences constructed of sharp materials shall not be permitted.
Also on materials in Yonkers
- 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 Yonkers
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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 Yonkers 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 Yonkers
- 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 Yonkers itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New York State SenateNew York Town Law, Article 18, Fences and Fence Viewers
- City of YonkersZoning Ordinance, Chapter 43, Article VI, Section 43-41D, 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 Yonkers 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