Fence laws in Charlotte, North Carolina
What the Charlotte municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Charlotte sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Charlotte, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The UDO says nothing at all about consent from the adjoining owner, a setback from the boundary, which way the posts face, or who pays for a shared fence, and the answer turns on whether the fence would impede stormwater or obstruct a street.
- How tall
- In the Neighborhood 1 and Neighborhood 2 districts and the manufactured housing park district, Charlotte raises the ceiling in three steps as the fence moves away from the street, and the answer turns on the zoning district and which setback the fence stands in. The figure is 5 feet, for fence in the front setback.
- Permits
- The approval the fence section actually names is for the right-of-way rather than for the lot.
- Pool barriers
- The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests.
- Spite fences
- Charlotte has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Charlotte settles the retaining wall question in one sentence and settles it against the builder: where a fence sits on top of a retaining wall, its height is measured on the fill side, which the ordinance names as the high side, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands on a wall and whether the part measured is a post capital. The figure is 2 feet, for post capital above the maximum height.
- Corner lots
- Charlotte keeps the sight triangle out of the fence section and states the obligation in one line: no fence or wall may obstruct sight distance triangles as defined in Section 31.3.D of the ordinance, and the answer turns on the triangle dimensions set in Section 31.3.D. The figure is 3 feet, for height above which openness is required.
- Retaining walls
- Charlotte leaves retaining walls to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
- Materials
- The UDO gives a list of permitted fence materials, treated wood or redwood, simulated wood, decorative brick, stone, simulated stone, finished masonry, wrought iron, aluminum or steel designed to simulate wrought iron, vinyl, and chain link, and then says the list does not limit fences in the Neighborhood 1 districts, which is where most of the single family housing in the city sits, and the answer turns on the district and whether the fence is meeting a screening requirement.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Charlotte?
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Charlotte answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence would impede stormwater or obstruct a street.
The UDO says nothing at all about consent from the adjoining owner, a setback from the boundary, which way the posts face, or who pays for a shared fence. What it does regulate near a line is the easement running along it. No fence or wall may be built within a storm drainage easement where it will block or materially impede the flow of stormwater runoff, which is a condition on the effect rather than a flat prohibition, so a fence in the easement that water passes through is not caught by it. Accessory structures generally have to sit on the same site as the principal structure they support, and none may be built that obstructs or interferes with the use of a public street, a network-required private street or pedestrian facilities.
No fence or wall shall be constructed within a storm drainage easement which will block or materially impede the flow of stormwater runoff.
The answer turns on whether the fence would impede stormwater or obstruct a street.
- a storm drainage easement
- Nothing that blocks or materially impedes the runoff.
- a street or pedestrian facility
- Nothing that obstructs or interferes with its use.
- consent, setbacks and cost
- The article says nothing about any of them.
Also on fences on the property line in Charlotte
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina had a boundary fence law and threw it out. Chapter 68 still prints the heading Article 2, Division Fences, and the only thing under it says sections 68-6 through 68-14 were repealed by Session Laws 1971, chapter 741. Article 1, Lawful Fences, went at the same time. Nothing took their place, so the state has no rule at all on splitting the cost of a fence on the line. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Charlotte?
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Charlotte answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning district and which setback the fence stands in.
In the Neighborhood 1 and Neighborhood 2 districts and the manufactured housing park district, Charlotte raises the ceiling in three steps as the fence moves away from the street. A fence or wall in the established front setback, or in a setback along a frontage, stops at five feet above grade. In the established side setback between the front and rear setbacks it may reach six feet. In the established rear setback it may reach eight. Sound barrier walls along the interstate are allowed to exceed all of it. Outside those districts the rule changes shape: a fence in a setback along any frontage may be eight feet, but the part above three feet has to be at least seventy-five percent open, and along a limited access frontage there is no height limit at all and the fence may be opaque. Where the landscape regulations of Article 20 set a different standard, Article 20 wins.
A fence or wall located in the established front setback or setback along a frontage shall be limited to a maximum height of five feet above grade.
The answer turns on the zoning district and which setback the fence stands in.
- a neighborhood district front setback
- Five feet. 5 ft
- a side setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a rear setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- another district, on a frontage
- Eight feet, three quarters open above three feet. 75%
Also on fence height in Charlotte
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter that once held fence standards was repealed, and what is left is about livestock. The building permit statute draws its line at a dollar amount and names no height at all. The city or county development rules set the limit. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Charlotte?
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Charlotte answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The approval the fence section actually names is for the right-of-way rather than for the lot. A fence or wall placed within the boundaries of a public right-of-way needs certification or an encroachment agreement, from the Charlotte Department of Transportation where the right-of-way is city maintained and from the North Carolina Department of Transportation where it is state maintained. The requirement is stated twice in the section, once for the neighborhood districts and once for everything else, which suggests it is the provision most often reached for. Which agency signs depends on who maintains the road rather than on where the property is, so two neighbors on the same street can face different offices.
A fence or wall placed within the boundaries of the public right-of-way, shall require certification or an encroachment agreement from the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) for a city-maintained public right-of-way or the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for a state-maintained right-of-way.
17.2.D.2.e, repeated at 17.2.D.3.b
Also on permits in Charlotte
- set in state lawNorth Carolina decides its home permit rule by price, not by height. Work on a single family home that costs forty thousand dollars or less and is done to the current State Building Code needs no permit. A short list of exceptions is left out of that, such as work on load bearing structures or changes to plumbing, heating or electrical systems. An ordinary yard fence costs far less than forty thousand dollars and hits none of those exceptions. N.C.G.S. 160D-1110(c)North Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Charlotte
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests. It goes further than most states. The pool stays outside the statute even when guests book it through a rental app or pay a fee. One condition comes with that. Where money changes hands for access, the pool has to be kept in good and safe working order. The fence rule for a pool at a house comes from the North Carolina State Building Code instead.
This one is North Carolina law, not Charlotte law. All North Carolina findings
A private pool serving a single family dwelling and used only by the residents of the dwelling and their guests, regardless of whether their guests gain use of the private pool through a sharing economy platform or pay a fee for its use.
Spite fence laws in Charlotte
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Charlotte law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina has no spite fence law. What is left of the fence chapter covers livestock running loose, penning up stray animals, and the ponies on the Outer Banks. It names no height and says nothing about why a fence went up. The building permit statute does not cover it either. A claim about a fence built to annoy a neighbor rests on nuisance law made by judges, and on city and county zoning.
This one is North Carolina law, not Charlotte law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Charlotte
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Charlotte answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands on a wall and whether the part measured is a post capital.
Charlotte settles the retaining wall question in one sentence and settles it against the builder: where a fence sits on top of a retaining wall, its height is measured on the fill side, which the ordinance names as the high side. So the wall gives no height back, and a six foot fence on a four foot wall is a six foot fence read from the raised ground rather than a ten foot structure read from the bottom. Every height in the section is otherwise stated above grade. One thing is allowed to break the line: the capital of a fence post or column may extend up to two feet above the maximum height limit, so a decorative cap or finial is free within that allowance while the panel itself is not.
When located on top of a retaining wall, fence height is measured on the fill (high) side.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands on a wall and whether the part measured is a post capital.
- a fence on a retaining wall
- Measured from the high side.
- a post capital or column cap
- Two feet above the limit. 2 ft
- everything else
- Above grade.
Also on how height is measured in Charlotte
- left to the townNorth Carolina never says where a fence height is measured from. What is left of Chapter 68 is about stock law fences and penned animals, and it carries no measuring rule. G.S. 160D-702 lets a local government set the height of buildings and other structures. The same section blocks a local government from controlling some design details of a house, and then puts height back outside that block, so height stays a local power. The point the measuring starts from goes with it. G.S. 160D-702(a)North Carolina · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Charlotte
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Charlotte answers this, but the answer changes depending on the triangle dimensions set in Section 31.3.D.
Charlotte keeps the sight triangle out of the fence section and states the obligation in one line: no fence or wall may obstruct sight distance triangles as defined in Section 31.3.D of the ordinance. The dimensions therefore live in the measurements article rather than here, and the fence rule imports whatever they are at the time. That structure matters because it means a fence at a corner has two separate tests to pass, the height figure for the setback it stands in and the triangle definition elsewhere, and clearing the first proves nothing about the second. The frontage rule in the non-neighborhood districts pulls the same way, requiring anything above three feet on a frontage to be at least seventy-five percent open.
No fence or wall shall obstruct sight distance triangles as defined in Section 31.3.D.
The answer turns on the triangle dimensions set in Section 31.3.D.
- any fence or wall
- It may not obstruct a sight distance triangle.
- a frontage outside the neighborhood districts
- Three quarters open above three feet. 3 ft
Also on corner visibility in Charlotte
- left to the townNorth Carolina has no clear view triangle in state law. Chapter 160D gathers local development power in one place and lets a local government set the height of structures and the size of yards and open spaces, so a corner rule comes from there. Chapter 136, the highways chapter, covers something else. It talks about seeing past a sign only for political signs put in the right of way, and it sets sight distance standards for driveway permits. Neither one is a rule about a fence on private land. G.S. 160D-702North Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Charlotte
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Charlotte does not set this. It leaves it to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
North Carolina prints no retaining wall rule in its General Statutes. The Building Code Council and the Residential Code Council write and adopt the North Carolina State Building Code, and one of its volumes is the North Carolina Residential Code. Whether a wall that holds back earth needs a permit, and how it has to be built, both sit in that volume and not in the statute.
This one is North Carolina law, not Charlotte law. All North Carolina findings
The Building Code Council and Residential Code Council may prepare and adopt, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, a North Carolina State Building Code.
The code hands this to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Charlotte
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Charlotte answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and whether the fence is meeting a screening requirement.
The UDO gives a list of permitted fence materials, treated wood or redwood, simulated wood, decorative brick, stone, simulated stone, finished masonry, wrought iron, aluminum or steel designed to simulate wrought iron, vinyl, and chain link, and then says the list does not limit fences in the Neighborhood 1 districts, which is where most of the single family housing in the city sits. So the materials rule bites hardest outside residential neighborhoods. Chain link is permitted but slats in it are prohibited, and a chain link fence with metal, plastic or wooden slats, or with fabric, may not be used to satisfy any screening the ordinance requires. The Zoning Administrator may approve alternative materials judged similar to those on the list. A fence wrap carrying signage on perimeter fencing at a construction site is exempt from zoning regulation altogether under state law.
A chain link fence with metal, plastic, or wooden slats, or with fabric, shall not be used to meet any screening required by this Ordinance.
The answer turns on the district and whether the fence is meeting a screening requirement.
- a Neighborhood 1 district
- The permitted materials list does not limit the fence.
- chain link anywhere
- Allowed, but slats are prohibited.
- a material not on the list
- The Zoning Administrator may approve something similar.
Also on materials in Charlotte
- set in state lawNorth Carolina sets one standard for a battery charged security fence and takes the question away from cities. The fence ties into a monitored alarm, sits on land not set aside for homes, and runs off a battery of no more than 12 volts. Its charger has to meet the International Electrotechnical Commission standard. It stands inside a fence or wall that carries no current and is at least 5 feet tall, reaches 10 feet, and carries WARNING-ELECTRIC FENCE signs no more than 30 feet apart. A city may not ban one on land that is not zoned for homes only. N.C.G.S. 160A-194.1North Carolina · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Charlotte
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state. Letting livestock run loose is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Livestock here means horses and other animals like them, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas and swine. Anyone may catch and pen an animal found running loose and get back the cost of keeping it plus any damage, and none of that depends on whether the land was fenced.
This one is North Carolina law, not Charlotte law. All North Carolina findings
If any person shall allow his livestock to run at large, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Also on agricultural fencing in Charlotte
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina no longer says what a lawful fence is anywhere in state law. Chapter 68 is called Fences and Stock Law, and sections 68-1 through 68-14, where the old fence specification sat, were repealed in 1969 and 1971. What is left is the livestock law, the process for penning and selling a stray animal, and the Outer Banks sections. None of them set a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Money owed under the chapter does not depend on the land being fenced, so there is nothing left for a fence standard to hang on. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Charlotte itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Article 11, Building Permits
- City of CharlotteCharlotte Unified Development Ordinance, Article 17, Accessory Structures, Section 17.2.D, Fences and Walls
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 130A, Article 8, Part 10, Public Swimming Pools
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Local Planning and Development Regulation
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 143, Article 9, Section 143-138, North Carolina State Building Code
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Section 160A-194.1, Regulation of battery-charged security fences
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law, Article 3, Livestock Law
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 Charlotte publishes, plus the North Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in North Carolina 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