Fence laws in Hendersonville, Tennessee
What the Hendersonville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Hendersonville sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Hendersonville, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- In a rear yard or an interior side yard a Hendersonville fence may be erected as close to the property line as the owner wishes, and the ordinance adds a note putting the risk of a fence crossing onto the neighbor on the owner and the contractor, and the answer turns on the yard and how the fence is built. The figure is 0 feet, for setback on a rear or interior side line.
- How tall
- On a Hendersonville lot under an acre a fence may reach four feet in a front yard, eight feet in an interior side yard or a rear yard, and four feet in a corner side yard or on a double frontage lot rising to eight where the fence is set back half the required street side depth, and the answer turns on the size of the lot and which yard the fence stands in. The figure is 48 inches, for front yard fence on a lot under an acre.
- Permits
- In any residential zoned area a zoning permit is required before a fence is erected or replaced in a front yard or a corner side yard, and the table repeats it, marking the front yard, the corner side yard and the double frontage lot as needing a permit and the interior side yard and rear yard as not, and the answer turns on which yard the fence stands in.
- Pool barriers
- Hendersonville sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Hendersonville has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Hendersonville states the measuring rule in the first line of its fence chapter, before any height: the height of all fences is measured from existing grade, unless otherwise specified.
- Corner lots
- Hendersonville handles the corner with a proportional setback rather than a triangle, and the answer turns on the required depth of the street side setback. The figure is 50 percent, for share of the street side setback required.
- Retaining walls
- Hendersonville leaves retaining walls to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- A fence that wants to come forward of the house in Hendersonville has to be built of one of seven things: finished wrought iron, aluminum tubing, wood picket, split rail, brick, stone, or a similar decorative material and design approved by the Planning Department or the Planning Commission, with a catch-all for anything equivalent or compatible with the design, architecture and building materials of the neighborhood, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands forward of the house. The figure is 4 inches, for maximum width of a picket rail.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Hendersonville?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Hendersonville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and how the fence is built.
In a rear yard or an interior side yard a Hendersonville fence may be erected as close to the property line as the owner wishes, and the ordinance adds a note putting the risk of a fence crossing onto the neighbor on the owner and the contractor. At the front the default is the opposite: a fence may not be closer to the lot line than the house, unless it is no more than forty-eight inches and built of one of the named decorative materials, in which case the setback drops to zero. Two hard clearances apply whatever the yard. A fence may not encroach on a road right-of-way, including future or planned right-of-way shown on the Hendersonville Transportation Plan, and may never stand closer than twelve feet to the edge of the pavement. On a double frontage or alley lot the rear line clearance is ten feet from the edge of the pavement and five feet from an alley.
Fences may be erected as close to the rear and interior side property lines as desired by the owners.
The answer turns on the yard and how the fence is built.
- a rear or interior side line
- As close as desired. 0 ft
- a front yard
- No closer than the house, unless low and decorative.
- the street pavement
- Twelve feet, always. 12 ft
- an alley
- Five feet. 5 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Hendersonville
- set in state lawIn Tennessee a neighbor can get out of paying for a shared fence when one side is a farm and the other is not. The owner of the side that is not farmland can say in writing that the fence is not theirs to build or keep up. The notice goes by registered mail with a return receipt, or any other way that gives written proof it arrived, and it counts from the day the farm owner gets it. Once it is delivered, the farm owner cannot be sued over the fence being missing or in bad shape. Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, adding a section to T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8, Part 2Tennessee · Statute
- set in state lawThat way out lasts only while the land stays out of farming. The law counts land as non-farm when it is not farmland, has a house on it, and keeps no livestock. The day the land stops fitting that description, the notice stops working. If the farm owner built a fence while it was working, the other owner then pays a fair share of what the fence cost. A fight over the amount goes to the process in section 44-8-204. Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, subsection (d)Tennessee · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Hendersonville?
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Hendersonville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the size of the lot and which yard the fence stands in.
On a Hendersonville lot under an acre a fence may reach four feet in a front yard, eight feet in an interior side yard or a rear yard, and four feet in a corner side yard or on a double frontage lot rising to eight where the fence is set back half the required street side depth. On a lot over an acre the front yard figure rises to sixty inches and ranch style fencing becomes available alongside the decorative styles, which is a rule written for the larger properties on the edge of the city. The eight foot rear yard limit is a foot taller than most of Tennessee allows. The whole table is organized around lot size first and yard second, which is unusual: nearly every other city in this set sorts by yard and then by district, and Hendersonville sorts by how much land there is before it asks anything else.
The fence may not exceed eight feet in height.
The answer turns on the size of the lot and which yard the fence stands in.
- a front yard under an acre
- Four feet. 48 in
- a front yard over an acre
- Sixty inches, and ranch style allowed. 60 in
- an interior side or rear yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a corner side yard
- Four feet, or eight if set half the street side back.
Also on fence height in Hendersonville
- no rule, documents checkedTennessee sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state residential code has no fence rule in it, and the state fence law in Title 44 is about livestock and fences on a property line rather than height. Cities and counties set the limit, and some places have opted out of the state code entirely. Code Adoption HistoryTennessee · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Hendersonville?
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Hendersonville answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence stands in.
In any residential zoned area a zoning permit is required before a fence is erected or replaced in a front yard or a corner side yard, and the table repeats it, marking the front yard, the corner side yard and the double frontage lot as needing a permit and the interior side yard and rear yard as not. So the permit follows the street rather than the fence: what the public sees is reviewed and what only the neighbors see is not. Replacement is named alongside erection, so swapping a failing fence for the same thing in the same place still needs the permit where it faces a street. In a townhome, condominium or apartment development the fence standards are the residential ones, except that a developer may propose and the Planning Commission may approve standards tailored to the architecture and design of that development, provided they are consistent and equivalent to the ordinance standards.
Within any residential zoned area, a Zoning Permit is required prior to erection or replacement of any fence within any front or corner side yard.
The answer turns on which yard the fence stands in.
- a front or corner side yard
- A zoning permit.
- an interior side or rear yard
- No permit.
- replacing an existing fence
- Treated the same as building one.
- a townhome or apartment development
- Tailored standards by Planning Commission approval.
Also on permits in Hendersonville
- set in state lawTennessee has no fence permit rule of its own. It uses the 2018 International Residential Code, with state changes, as the code for one and two family homes across the state, and the Fire Marshal lists that code as taking effect on July 16, 2020. The state changes leave alone the list of work that needs no permit, so that list is model code text and not Tennessee text. Counties and cities can opt out of the state code altogether. Code Adoption History, residential codesTennessee · Agency guidance
Pool fence requirements in Hendersonville
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Hendersonville law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee sets no statewide fence rule for a pool at a house. The state took up the 2018 International Residential Code along with Appendix Q and nothing else. In that edition the pool fence rules sit in Appendix G, which Tennessee left out, so no state height reaches a pool at a home. Cities and counties can still set one.
This one is Tennessee law, not Hendersonville law. All Tennessee findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Code Adoption HistoryTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
- Codes EnforcementTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
Spite fence laws in Hendersonville
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Hendersonville law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee has no spite fence law. The state fence law in Title 44, Chapter 8 covers fencing that holds livestock and fences on a property line. It names no height and says nothing about a fence built to bother a neighbor. A fence like that is a nuisance case in court, not a matter of state law.
This one is Tennessee law, not Hendersonville law. All Tennessee findings
Documents read before writing that:
- T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8Tennessee General Assembly
- Code Adoption HistoryTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
How fence height is measured in Hendersonville
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Hendersonville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Hendersonville states the measuring rule in the first line of its fence chapter, before any height: the height of all fences is measured from existing grade, unless otherwise specified. Choosing existing grade rather than finished grade is the important word, because existing grade is the ground as it was before any work, so building the ground up and then setting posts on top gains nothing. It also means a fence on a berm is measured from the foot of the berm, and a fence on top of a retaining wall from the bottom of the wall, without the code needing separate sentences for either. The closing words leave room for the rest of the chapter to say something different where it needs to, and the corner side yard and right-of-way rules use distance from the edge of pavement rather than height. Post caps and finials are not mentioned, so no allowance is stated for one.
Height of all fences shall be measured from existing grade, unless otherwise specified.
Also on how height is measured in Hendersonville
- no rule, documents checkedTennessee never says where a fence height is measured from. The state adopts its building and fire codes in one rule of the Division of Fire Prevention, and that rule does name starting points, for buildings. It takes the height of a roof from the lowest fire truck road surface next to the building up to the eave or parapet, and it counts stories from the grade plane, which is the average ground level around the building. Both rules are about buildings. The word fence is nowhere in the chapter, so the state names no starting point for a fence. The city or county ordinance decides. Rule 0780-02-02-.01Tennessee · Building code
Fence rules for corner lots in Hendersonville
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Hendersonville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the required depth of the street side setback.
Hendersonville handles the corner with a proportional setback rather than a triangle. A fence in a corner side yard has to be set back a minimum of fifty percent of the required depth of the street side, and the ordinance works the example in the text: a side street setback of twenty feet gives a minimum fence setback of twelve. Set back that far the fence may reach eight feet; set at the line it is held to four. A fence of forty-eight inches or less built of the named decorative materials gets a zero foot setback, so a low open fence may come to the line. Underneath all of it sits the flat rule that no fence may stand closer than twelve feet to the edge of the pavement, and that no fence may encroach on right-of-way including future or planned right-of-way shown on the Transportation Plan. No sight triangle with stated legs appears anywhere in the chapter.
Fences must be set back a minimum of 50% of the required depth of the street side.
The answer turns on the required depth of the street side setback.
- a corner side yard fence
- Half the street side setback. 50%
- set back that far
- Eight feet of height.
- a low decorative fence
- Zero setback, four feet.
- the pavement
- Twelve feet, whatever else applies. 12 ft
Also on corner visibility in Hendersonville
- set in state lawTennessee has one rule about seeing down the road, and it covers a new driveway onto a state highway. The Department of Transportation rule at 1680-10-01 takes up the driveway manual, and section 5.2 of that manual says a driveway goes where a driver can see far enough in both directions. Where the view is short, the turns the driveway allows get cut back. The manual prints a triangle showing it. The same rule says plainly that it sits on top of county and city land rules, and that is where a corner triangle for a fence comes from. Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1680-10-01-.03, Manual section 5.2Tennessee · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Hendersonville
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Hendersonville does not set this. It leaves it to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404.
Tennessee has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It uses the 2018 International Residential Code, with state changes, as the code for one and two family homes, and it names no height at which such a wall needs a permit. So the rule that applies is the model code text, which the International Code Council sells and which no Tennessee state site prints. Counties and cities can opt out of the state code, which is what makes the answer local in some places.
This one is Tennessee law, not Hendersonville law. All Tennessee findings
International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 edition, published by the ICC, with amendments;
Currently Adopted Codes, residential code
The code hands this to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Hendersonville
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Hendersonville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands forward of the house.
A fence that wants to come forward of the house in Hendersonville has to be built of one of seven things: finished wrought iron, aluminum tubing, wood picket, split rail, brick, stone, or a similar decorative material and design approved by the Planning Department or the Planning Commission, with a catch-all for anything equivalent or compatible with the design, architecture and building materials of the neighborhood. The ordinance then prints a figure showing examples of each. The detail that separates it from every other materials list in this set is the picket rule: a picket rail may not be larger than four inches, and the space between pickets may not be smaller than the width of the rail used. That makes a picket fence at least half open by arithmetic, without the code ever using the word opacity. On a lot over an acre ranch style fencing joins the list. Behind the house the ordinance names no material at all.
Picket rails shall not be larger than four inches and the space between pickets shall be no smaller than the width of the picket rail utilized.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands forward of the house.
- a fence forward of the house
- One of seven named decorative styles.
- a picket fence
- Rails under four inches, gaps at least as wide. 4 in
- a lot over an acre
- Ranch style is added to the list.
- behind the house
- No material named.
Also on materials in Hendersonville
- set in state lawTennessee keeps a list of fences that count as good enough to hold farm animals, and the legislature has only made that list longer. An act of 1999 added two things to it. One is a fence made of man made materials sold for fencing, put up the usual way. The other is any system or device built on technology that is accepted for holding farm animals, which is where an electric fence fits. The same act lets the commissioner of agriculture add detail by rule, and says the law still works where no such rule exists. Tenn. Code Ann. 44-8-102(b)Tennessee · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Hendersonville
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence. A fence made of man made materials sold for fencing counts, as long as it is put up the usual way and holds farm animals. So does any system or device built on technology that is accepted for holding farm animals, which is where an electric or wireless fence fits. An act of 1999 added both. The commissioner of agriculture can write rules adding detail, and the law still works where no such rule exists.
This one is Tennessee law, not Hendersonville law. All Tennessee findings
In addition to subsection (a), sufficient fencing shall include: (1) fence constructed from synthetic materials commonly sold for fencing, if such materials are installed pursuant to generally acceptable standards, to confine or restrict the movement of farm animals
T.C.A. § 44-8-102(b), as added by Public Chapter 266 of 1999
Documents behind this page
6 documents, of which 1 was published by Hendersonville itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Tennessee General AssemblyPublic Chapter No. 266, Senate Bill No. 658 (1999), an act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 44, Chapter 8, relative to fencing and grazing
- City of HendersonvilleHendersonville Zoning Ordinance 2025-19, Chapter 10.4.11, Fences, adopted 28 October 2025
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's OfficeCodes Enforcement, Code Adoption History
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's OfficeCodes Enforcement
- Tennessee Secretary of StateRules of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Fire Prevention, Chapter 0780-02-02, Codes and Standards
- Tennessee Department of TransportationManual for Constructing Driveway Entrances on State Highways, 2015 Edition, adopted by Rule 1680-10-01-.03
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 Hendersonville publishes, plus the Tennessee rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Tennessee 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