Fence laws in Allentown, Pennsylvania
What the Allentown municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Allentown sets no rule of its own, the Pennsylvania rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Allentown, Pennsylvania, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Allentown never states a distance between a fence and a property line, and the answer turns on whether the fence is inside the required front setback. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated between a fence and a property line.
- How tall
- In the neighborhood zones a fence or wall in a required front setback is held to four feet, and then the ordinance offers a trade most cities do not: a fence with a solid to open area ratio of one to one or less may go to six, and the code names a picket, a split rail and a wrought iron fence as the kind of thing it means, and the answer turns on the zone, the setback, and how open the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for solid fence or wall in a required front setback in a neighborhood zone.
- Permits
- A zoning permit is required from the zoning officer before the construction, expansion or placement of any structure or part of one, which catches a fence with no height threshold and no material threshold, and the answer turns on what is being built and whether it is temporary. The figure is 30 days, for time a temporary construction fence may stay after the work ends.
- Pool barriers
- Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own.
- Spite fences
- Allentown has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Allentown answers both halves of the measuring question in one paragraph.
- Corner lots
- Unobstructed visibility has to be kept between thirty inches and ten feet above curb level inside the sight triangles, and the ordinance defines an obstruction as any structure, fence, wall, hedge, shrub or other planting, and the answer turns on what kind of ways meet at the corner. The figure is 15 feet, for sight triangle along each street right-of-way at a street intersection.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no permit in Pennsylvania, so long as it carries no surcharge, which means no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it. The figure is 4 feet, for height at or below which a retaining wall needs no permit, measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall. It reaches residential buildings only.
- Materials
- Two rules cover material and both are written plainly, and the answer turns on the zone and what the fence is protecting.
- Livestock
- A fence made in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, counts as a legal fence under every Pennsylvania act about building and keeping up a fence on the line.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Allentown?
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Allentown answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is inside the required front setback.
Allentown never states a distance between a fence and a property line. Its whole scheme turns on the required front setback, treating a fence as being inside it or outside it and setting a different height for each, which means a fence may stand on any lot line at the height that applies where it stands. The distances that do appear in the sight triangle rules are measured along rights-of-way rather than from a lot line, and the exception for a rounded corner is drawn from where the lot lines would meet if extended. Other accessory structures are handled the other way around, with siting and setback tables for each building type in Article 4 and a general limit of fifteen feet in height, and a fence is exempted from the rule that stops an accessory structure going up before the principal building.
No accessory building or structure other than a fence or temporary construction office may be placed on a lot before construction of the principal building.
The answer turns on whether the fence is inside the required front setback.
- any lot line
- No distance stated. 0 ft
- the front setback
- It decides the height, not the position.
- a vacant lot
- A fence may go first.
- another accessory structure
- Article 4 tables set its setbacks.
Also on fences on the property line in Allentown
- no rule, documents checkedNo rule about a fence on the line appears in the published Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. The two chapters that were read set permit rules and adopt model codes, and neither one says who pays for a fence on a boundary. The Pennsylvania line fence rule is not part of the consolidated statutes. It sits in an act of 1905, which makes the owners of improved and occupied land each build and keep up an equal part of the fence on the line between them. 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Allentown?
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Allentown answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, the setback, and how open the fence is.
In the neighborhood zones a fence or wall in a required front setback is held to four feet, and then the ordinance offers a trade most cities do not: a fence with a solid to open area ratio of one to one or less may go to six, and the code names a picket, a split rail and a wrought iron fence as the kind of thing it means. So two extra feet are bought with visibility rather than with a variance. Outside the front setback the limit is six feet whatever the fence is made of. Every other zone is treated very differently. There a fence may be ten feet, in a front setback or out of it, while a wall is held to six in a front setback and eight outside one, so the ordinance separates the two words and gives the lighter structure the greater height. Jails, prisons, electrical substations and similar utility installations are outside the other zones rules entirely.
Fences and walls located in required front setbacks may not exceed 4 feet in height, except that fences and walls with a solid to open area ratio of 1:1 or less (such as a picket, split rail or wrought iron fence) may be up to 6 feet in height (maximum).
The answer turns on the zone, the setback, and how open the fence is.
- a solid front fence in a neighborhood zone
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a half open front fence
- Six feet. 6 ft
- outside the front setback
- Six feet.
- a fence in any other zone
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Allentown
- no rule, documents checkedPennsylvania sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The six foot figure in the Uniform Construction Code is the point where a permit starts being needed, not a ceiling, so a taller fence is allowed with a permit unless local zoning says otherwise. The code adoption section names no height at all. Municipal zoning sets the limit. 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Allentown?
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Allentown answers this, but the answer changes depending on what is being built and whether it is temporary.
A zoning permit is required from the zoning officer before the construction, expansion or placement of any structure or part of one, which catches a fence with no height threshold and no material threshold. A site plan drawn to scale has to accompany the application in seven listed situations, none of which is an ordinary house fence, and the zoning officer may waive the plan where it is not needed to judge compliance. Two exemptions belong to fences specifically. A retaining wall up to eight feet holding back a slope or a building wall is outside the fence regulations. So is a temporary fence around an active construction site, provided it comes down within thirty days after the work finishes or the permit expires, whichever comes first. And a fence is one of only two things, the other being a temporary construction office, that may be placed on a lot before the principal building is built.
A zoning permit is required from the zoning officer before any of the following:
The answer turns on what is being built and whether it is temporary.
- any structure
- A zoning permit first.
- a construction site fence
- Exempt, then down in thirty days. 30 days
- a retaining wall to eight feet
- Outside the fence rules.
- a vacant lot
- A fence may go up before the house.
Also on permits in Allentown
- set in state lawA fence six feet tall or less needs no building permit anywhere in Pennsylvania. The state writes that exemption into its own regulation instead of leaving it inside the model code, and it holds as long as the work breaks no other law or ordinance. The same list exempts a retaining wall under four feet with no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it, and a factory built pool less than 24 inches deep. 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)(1)Pennsylvania · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Allentown
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own. The Uniform Construction Code takes in a list of model codes by reference, and one of them is the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021, which holds the barrier height and the gate rules for a pool at a house. The same section takes in the International Residential Code of 2021. So the number sits in that model code rather than in the Pennsylvania regulation.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Allentown law. All Pennsylvania findings
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021
Spite fence laws in Allentown
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Allentown law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Pennsylvania has no spite fence law. The Uniform Construction Code chapters that reach a fence treat it as construction work and draw a permit line by height, with nothing about why the fence was built. A Pennsylvania claim over a fence put up to annoy a neighbor runs on a nuisance case in court and on local zoning.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Allentown law. All Pennsylvania findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin
- 34 Pa. Code 403.21Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin
How fence height is measured in Allentown
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Allentown answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Allentown answers both halves of the measuring question in one paragraph. Height is taken from grade level to the top of the main segment of the fence, read on the exterior side, the side facing a street, an alley or another property. Reading it from outside means the neighbor’s view governs rather than the owner’s, which is the strict choice where two yards sit at different levels, and the phrase main segment keeps a decorative post cap from setting the number. Where a fence is mounted directly on top of a wall, the wall still has to satisfy the wall rules on its own and the whole assembly is then measured against the fence and wall height limits, so stacking does not buy extra height. The exemption that follows is generous by comparison: a retaining wall up to eight feet needed to hold back a slope or a building wall is outside this section altogether.
Fence and wall heights are measured from grade level to the top of the main segment of the fence on the exterior side of the fence or wall that faces a street, alley or other property.
Also on how height is measured in Allentown
- left to the townPennsylvania has no state fence height and no state rule for how one is measured. Every local zoning power in the state comes from the Municipalities Planning Code, and section 603 lets a local ordinance control the size, height, bulk and location of structures. A fence is a structure rather than a building, so that clause reaches it. The borough, township or city ordinance is the only document that says what six feet is counted from. MPC Section 603(b)(2), 53 P.S. 10603(b)(2)Pennsylvania · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Allentown
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Allentown answers this, but the answer changes depending on what kind of ways meet at the corner.
Unobstructed visibility has to be kept between thirty inches and ten feet above curb level inside the sight triangles, and the ordinance defines an obstruction as any structure, fence, wall, hedge, shrub or other planting. The triangles scale with the road. Fifteen feet along each street right-of-way where two streets meet. Fifteen along the street and ten along the alley where an alley comes out. Five feet along each alley where two alleys meet, which is the smallest triangle in this project and reflects that an alley carries slow traffic. Ten and ten where a driveway meets a street. On a rounded corner the two short sides are drawn from the intersection of the lot lines extended. Four things are excused: a utility or sign pole up to twenty inches across, the trunk of an existing tree if the branches are trimmed, a structural support column at minimum size, and any parcel in an MX-D or GX-D zone.
Unobstructed visibility must be maintained between 30 inches above curb level and 10 feet above curb level within the sight triangle areas defined in this section, 660-70.
The answer turns on what kind of ways meet at the corner.
- two streets
- Fifteen feet each way. 15 ft
- an alley meeting a street
- Fifteen along the street, ten along the alley.
- two alleys
- Five feet each way. 5 ft
- an MX-D or GX-D parcel
- Excepted entirely.
Also on corner visibility in Allentown
- set in state lawPennsylvania uses the words corner sight distance, and they sit in the traffic rules rather than in a zoning ordinance. Section 212.6 lets the Department order a property owner to cut back or take out a tree, plant, shrub or other thing that is a traffic hazard on a state highway, and lets a local authority do the same on any highway inside its own lines. The section gives one example of a hazard, something that drops the corner sight distance below the minimum for a driver pulling out of a side road or a driveway. It draws no triangle and leaves the minimum to the standards. 67 Pa. Code 212.6Pennsylvania · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Allentown
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no permit in Pennsylvania, so long as it carries no surcharge, which means no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it. Pennsylvania prints that exemption in its own regulation rather than leaving it inside the model code, and it counts the four feet from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall. The model code counts from the bottom of the footing instead, so a wall with a deep footing gets more room here. The exemption only holds if the work breaks no other law or ordinance.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Allentown law. All Pennsylvania findings
Retaining walls that are not over 4 feet in height measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall unless the wall supports a surcharge.
4 ftheight at or below which a retaining wall needs no permit, measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall
Fence materials allowed in Allentown
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Allentown answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and what the fence is protecting.
Two rules cover material and both are written plainly. No fence or wall anywhere in the city may be built from scrap sheet metal or similar junk, which is the word the ordinance uses. And no fence in a neighborhood zone may be built of barbed wire or be electrically charged, unless the applicant proves to the zoning officer that barbed wire is needed to protect people from an unusual hazard, with an electric transformer given as the example. That is a narrow door and it is about protecting the public from the thing inside the fence, not about protecting the property from the public. A wall in a neighborhood zone has its own material rule: brick or other masonry with a finished appearance. Everything else has to be durably constructed and meet the building code. Screening walls elsewhere in the ordinance bar chain link without slats.
No fence or wall may be constructed from scrap sheet metal or similar
The answer turns on the zone and what the fence is protecting.
- scrap sheet metal
- Barred everywhere.
- barbed or electric in a neighborhood zone
- Only against an unusual hazard.
- a wall in a neighborhood zone
- Brick or masonry, finished.
- any fence
- Durable, and to the building code.
Also on materials in Allentown
- set in state lawA wire fence is lawful in Pennsylvania, with or without barbs, and an act of 1899 says so in two short sections. The first makes it lawful for any land owner in the state to build and keep a wire fence along any highway, then hands the limits to each town by making that right subject to whatever the local authorities restrict or ban. The second makes a wire fence a lawful fence on the line under every other fence act in the state, so long as it reaches the height those acts call for. 1899 Act 111, Section 1Pennsylvania · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Allentown
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence made in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, counts as a legal fence under every Pennsylvania act about building and keeping up a fence on the line. The act sets no wire count, no post spacing and no height of its own. It sends the height back to whatever the line fence act calls for.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Allentown law. All Pennsylvania findings
A fence, in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, is hereby declared to be a legal and lawful fence, within the meaning and provisions of any act of the Legislature of this State relative to the building, constructing and maintaining of line fences, provided that such wire fence shall be of the height required by such act or acts.
1899 Act 111, Section 2 (29 P.S. 32)
Also on agricultural fencing in Allentown
- left to the townPennsylvania never prints a fence specification. The line fence act makes the owners of improved and occupied land each build and keep up an equal part of the fence on the line between them. When one of them says the other's half is not good enough, a person decides it rather than a table of numbers. The county surveyor acts as fence viewer, looks at the fence, and reports whether it is good enough. If it is, the one who complained pays the surveyor. If it is not, the matter goes to a justice of the peace, who gives the other owner forty days to build or repair. 1905 Act 118, Section 1 (29 P.S. 41)Pennsylvania · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Allentown itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin34 Pa. Code Chapter 403, Administration, Permit requirements and exemptions
- Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin34 Pa. Code Chapter 403, Administration, Uniform Construction Code
- City of AllentownCity of Allentown Zoning Ordinance, Ordinance No. 16166, effective 1 January 2026
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July 31, 1968, P.L.805, No.247
- Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Code, Title 67, Transportation, Chapter 212, Official Traffic Control Devices
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyMaking Wire Fences Legal, Act of May 2, 1899, P.L. 163, No. 111
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyAct No. 111 of 1899, Making Wire Fences Legal, enacted May 2, 1899, Section 2 as amended April 7, 1976, P.L.807, No.31
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyAct No. 118 of 1905, Regulating Line Fences, enacted April 14, 1905
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 Allentown publishes, plus the Pennsylvania rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Pennsylvania 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