Fence laws in Charleston, South Carolina
What the Charleston municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Charleston sets no rule of its own, the South Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Charleston, South Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Charleston answers the boundary question by saying what a fence does not do. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line for a fence.
- How tall
- Charleston runs its fence height through a footnote to the dimensional table, and it produces an answer most cities reverse, and the answer turns on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review. The figure is 6 feet, for fence or freestanding wall outside the Board of Architectural Review.
- Permits
- The zoning chapter names no general fence permit, and the answer turns on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review.
- Pool barriers
- South Carolina fences every outdoor public swimming pool. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum fence height around an outdoor Type B, C, D or F public swimming pool.
- Spite fences
- Charleston has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Charleston leaves the measuring rule to the zoning ordinance of a municipality or county.
- Corner lots
- No fence, wall, shrubbery, sign, marquee or other obstruction to vision between three feet and fifteen feet is permitted within the vision clearance triangle, which is drawn by measuring back fifteen feet from where the rights-of-way of two streets meet, or two railroads, or a street and a railroad, and connecting the two points. The figure is 15 feet, for distance back from the intersection forming the vision clearance triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Charleston leaves retaining walls to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged. It reaches one and two family dwellings only.
- Materials
- Charleston restricts no fence material. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Livestock
- South Carolina puts the duty on the animal owner.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Charleston?
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Charleston answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Charleston answers the boundary question by saying what a fence does not do. In measuring the width and depth of the setbacks the chapter prescribes, a cornice or roof overhang projecting not more than twelve inches, or a fence or wall, is not held to reduce those required dimensions. So a fence standing inside a required setback does not make the setback smaller, which is the technical way of saying it may be there at all, and no distance from a property line is stated for it anywhere. The contrast is with an accessory building, which gets a specific allowance to encroach to within three feet of interior side and rear property lines under conditions, except where those lines abut marshes, rivers or lakes, in which case the principal building setbacks apply to everything.
In measuring the width and depth of the setbacks prescribed herein, a cornice or roof overhang, projecting not more than twelve inches, or a fence or wall, shall not be held to reduce such required dimensions.
0 ftsetback stated from a property line for a fence
Also on fences on the property line in Charleston
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina has no statewide law about a fence on the line. The Code of Laws never says how two neighbors split the cost of a fence on a shared line, and it sets no notice steps before one goes up. A phrase search of the whole Code of Laws returns nothing for partition fence, division fence, boundary fence, lawful fence, joint expense or fence viewers. Splitting that cost is left to a private agreement between the neighbors and to local rules. S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 7South Carolina · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Charleston?
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Charleston answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review.
Charleston runs its fence height through a footnote to the dimensional table, and it produces an answer most cities reverse. A fence or freestanding wall on residentially zoned property not under the jurisdiction of the Board of Architectural Review may not exceed six feet. Inside a residential district that is under the Board, the limit rises to seven feet, with a pier allowed to eight. So the historic districts get the taller fence, on the reasoning that the city’s masonry garden walls are part of what the Board exists to protect. The footnote then protects what is already there: nothing in it prevents the restoration of an existing fence or freestanding wall, or an addition to its length, at whatever height it stood at when the ordinance took effect. The dimensional table carries a column of its own for fence and wall height limits alongside the building height limits.
Fences and freestanding walls on residentially zoned properties, not under the jurisdiction of the Board of Architectural Review, shall not exceed a height of six (6) feet; within residential zoning districts under the jurisdiction of the Board of Architectural Review, fences and freestanding walls shall not exceed a height of seven (7) feet and a pier height of eight (8) feet
Article 3, height table footnote 16
The answer turns on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review.
- residential land outside the Board
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a district under the Board
- Seven feet. 7 ft
- a pier there
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- an existing fence
- Restored, and lengthened, at its current height.
Also on fence height in Charleston
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. Title 6, Chapter 9 hands the choice of a building code to the Building Codes Council and says nothing about the height of a yard fence, and Title 27 has no fence chapter at all. Cities and counties set the height. S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 9South Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Charleston?
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Charleston answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review.
The zoning chapter names no general fence permit. What it does instead is split the city in two by reference to a body: property under the jurisdiction of the Board of Architectural Review is treated differently from property outside it, and the difference in the ordinance is the extra foot of height. In practice the Board is also the approval that matters for a fence in those districts, because it reviews what is built there. Outside the Board, a fence within the six foot limit has nothing in the zoning chapter to apply for. Two decisions elsewhere touch a fence indirectly: removing a protected tree that creates unsafe vision on a public street under Section 54-351 goes to the Zoning Administrator, and an accessory building using the three foot encroachment has its own list of conditions.
within residential zoning districts under the jurisdiction of the Board of Architectural Review, fences and freestanding walls shall not exceed a height of seven (7) feet and a pier height of eight (8) feet
Article 3, height table footnote 16
The answer turns on whether the property is under the Board of Architectural Review.
- a fence outside the historic districts
- No zoning permit named.
- a fence inside them
- The Board reviews it.
- restoring an old fence
- Its existing height is protected.
- a tree blocking the corner
- The Zoning Administrator may allow removal.
Also on permits in Charleston
- set in state lawSouth Carolina writes no building code of its own. Section 6-9-50 directs the South Carolina Building Codes Council to adopt the latest International Code Council codes by reference, the residential code among them, and section 6-9-10 makes every city and county in the state enforce them. So the fence permit exemption sits inside that adopted residential code. The code is sold by the International Code Council and is not posted on a South Carolina state site, so the exemption wording is not quoted here. S.C. Code 6-9-50(A)South Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Charleston
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South Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
South Carolina fences every outdoor public swimming pool. A Type A or Type E pool takes a chain link fence or equal barrier at least six feet tall. A Type B, C, D or F pool takes a fence at least four feet tall, measured from the outside of the pool area. Gates latch on their own and can be locked, and no gap in the fence may let a four inch ball through. The rule is health regulation R.61-51 and it covers public pools.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
All outdoor Type "B", "C", "D" and "F" public swimming pools (including the deck area) shall be enclosed by a minimum four foot fence as measured from the exterior of the pool area.
4 ftminimum fence height around an outdoor Type B, C, D or F public swimming pool
Spite fence laws in Charleston
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Charleston law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
South Carolina has no spite fence law. The word spite does not appear anywhere in the Code of Laws, and no section limits a fence built to annoy a neighbor or sets a height that triggers one. A claim of that kind would rest on court rulings or a city ordinance.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- S.C. Code Title 27South Carolina General Assembly
- S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 1South Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Charleston
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Charleston does not set this. It leaves it to the zoning ordinance of a municipality or county.
South Carolina sets one fence height in state law and never says six feet from what. The solar energy facility standards in the planning chapter require a perimeter fence of at least six feet, with no measuring point attached to it. For every other kind of property the answer is local. Section 6-29-720 lets a city or county zoning ordinance control the size, location, height, bulk and orientation of buildings and other structures, and that ordinance is where the measuring point is written.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
the size, location, height, bulk, orientation, number of stories, erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition, or removal in whole or in part of buildings and other structures, including signage
The code hands this to the zoning ordinance of a municipality or county, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Charleston
- no rule, documents checkedThe vision clearance rule states a band between three and fifteen feet and never says what those heights are read from, and the fence footnote states six feet, seven feet and eight feet without a datum either. No grade is named, no curb, no crown. A berm is not addressed. A fence standing on a retaining wall is not addressed, which matters on a peninsula where made ground and raised yards are common. A fence running down a slope is not addressed, and nothing says whose side of a boundary the height is read from. The chapter is precise about horizontal measurement by comparison, fixing the vision triangle by measuring back fifteen feet from the intersection of the rights-of-way, and excluding a twelve inch cornice or roof overhang from the setback calculation. Article 3, height table footnote 16Charleston · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Charleston
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Charleston answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No fence, wall, shrubbery, sign, marquee or other obstruction to vision between three feet and fifteen feet is permitted within the vision clearance triangle, which is drawn by measuring back fifteen feet from where the rights-of-way of two streets meet, or two railroads, or a street and a railroad, and connecting the two points. Fifteen feet is one of the shortest legs in this project, which suits a city of narrow peninsular streets where a longer triangle would swallow whole corner lots. The band it protects runs to fifteen feet, which is one of the tallest, so a sign face or a low tree canopy is caught as readily as a fence. Necessary traffic and directional signs are excluded from the requirement. The same sentence is repeated in the front setback exception in Article 5, so a building taking advantage of that exception still has to keep the corner clear.
no fence, wall, shrubbery, sign, marquee, or other obstruction to vision between the heights of three (3) feet and fifteen (15) feet shall be permitted within the vision clearance triangle which shall be determined by measuring back fifteen (15) feet from the intersection of the rights-of-way of two streets or railroads or of a street intersection with a railroad right-of-way line and connecting the two points.
15 ftdistance back from the intersection forming the vision clearance triangle
Also on corner visibility in Charleston
- left to the townSouth Carolina draws no corner triangle of its own. Chapter 6-29 writes the zoning grant broadly and lets each city and county fill it in. The grant covers the size, location and height of structures and signs, the size of yards and open spaces, and site plan items such as landscaping and curb cuts. A corner triangle fits inside that list. S.C. Code 6-29-720South Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Charleston
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Charleston does not set this. It leaves it to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged.
South Carolina writes no retaining wall rule of its own. The Building Codes Council adopts the 2021 International Residential Code and lists every change it made to that code, section by section, in Regulation Chapter 8. That list of changes was read end to end. It covers wind design, seismic design, fire separation, definitions and other items, and it never touches Section R105.2, the list of work that needs no permit, or Section R404, which covers foundation and retaining walls. So the rule that applies here is the model code text, which is sold by the International Code Council and is not printed on a South Carolina state site.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
This code is identical to the 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code except for the following modifications:
The code hands this to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Charleston
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Charleston law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
South Carolina never says what a fence may be built from. There is no fence chapter and no definition of a lawful fence. The two chapters closest to the question were read end to end. The stray and trespassing livestock chapter deals with catching, holding and selling loose animals and with who pays for the damage they do, and it never says what a fence is made of. The general agriculture chapter is a list of offenses and has nothing on fences. Neither one mentions barbed wire, razor wire or an electric fence.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- S.C. Code 47-7-10 to 47-7-170South Carolina Legislature
- S.C. Code 46-1-10 to 46-1-160South Carolina Legislature
Also on materials in Charleston
- no rule, documents checkedThe zoning chapter names no permitted fence material and prohibits none. Barbed wire does not appear. Razor wire does not appear. An electric fence does not appear. Wood, vinyl and chain link are not mentioned. The one construction feature the chapter does name is a pier, which is given its own height of eight feet in the districts under the Board of Architectural Review and implies the masonry garden wall the historic districts are known for, without requiring it. Everything else about what a fence is made of in those districts is handled by the Board rather than by the ordinance, through its review of what is built. Outside them the chapter regulates height and position and leaves the material alone. Article 3, height table footnote 16Charleston · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Charleston
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South Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
South Carolina puts the duty on the animal owner. An owner or manager may not let a domestic animal of any kind get past the edge of the land they own, lease, occupy or control, whether on purpose or through carelessness. Each offense carries a fine of up to twenty five dollars or up to twenty five days in jail.
This one is South Carolina law, not Charleston law. All South Carolina findings
It shall be unlawful for the owner or manager of any domestic animal of any description wilfully or negligently to permit any such animal to run at large beyond the limits of his own land or the lands leased, occupied or controlled by him.
Also on agricultural fencing in Charleston
- set in state lawA damages claim in South Carolina does not depend on a fence. When a domestic animal is found on land belonging to somebody else, the owner of that animal owes all the damage plus the cost of catching and keeping it, and the animal itself stands as security for that debt ahead of other claims. The landowner or tenant may seize a trespassing animal and hold it. S.C. Code 47-7-130South Carolina · Statute
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina never describes a lawful fence. Title 47 has no fence chapter, and its livestock chapter runs from stray animals through trespassing stock to impounding without setting a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Title 46, the agriculture title, has no fence chapter either. The gap leaves no hole, because damages for a trespassing animal in South Carolina never turned on an enclosure, so there was nothing for a fence standard to measure. S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 7South Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
11 documents, of which 2 were published by Charleston itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 47, Chapter 7, Estrays; Livestock Trespassing or Running at Large
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 46, Chapter 1, General Provisions; Offenses
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 27, Property and Conveyances, chapter list
- City of CharlestonCharleston Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 54, Article 5, Exceptions and Modifications
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 6, Chapter 9, Building Codes
- City of CharlestonCharleston Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 54, Article 3, Site Regulations
- South Carolina Department of Environmental ServicesSouth Carolina Code of Regulations, R.61-51, Public Swimming Pools
- South Carolina LegislatureSouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 6, Chapter 29, South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994
- South Carolina Building Codes CouncilSouth Carolina Code of Regulations, Chapter 8, International Residential Code
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 47, Animals, Livestock and Poultry, chapter list
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 46, Agriculture, chapter list
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 Charleston publishes, plus the South Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in South 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