Fence laws in Jackson, Tennessee
What the Jackson municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Jackson sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Jackson, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The Jackson fence section opens by putting fences outside the rest of the ordinance: in any district, notwithstanding other provisions, fences, walls and hedges may be permitted in any required yard or along the edge of any yard, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits in a dedicated easement.
- How tall
- Jackson writes its only fence height as a vision rule, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence blocks the view. The figure is 30 inches, for fence that impedes vision in a front yard.
- Permits
- Jackson enforces its zoning ordinance through three instruments and the first one gates the second, and the answer turns on whether the work needs a building permit at all.
- Pool barriers
- Jackson sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Jackson has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Jackson never says what a fence height is measured from. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Corner lots
- On a corner lot in any residential district in Jackson nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as materially to impede vision between two and a half feet and ten feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets, in the area bounded by the street lines of the corner lot, and the answer turns on the grade of the streets and whether vision is materially impeded. The figure is 30 inches, for bottom of the protected band at a corner.
- Retaining walls
- Jackson 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
- The Jackson zoning ordinance names no fence material at all, and the answer turns on whether the use is nonconforming and how tall the fence is. The figure is 6 feet, for height the chain link fence has to reach.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Jackson?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Jackson answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits in a dedicated easement.
The Jackson fence section opens by putting fences outside the rest of the ordinance: in any district, notwithstanding other provisions, fences, walls and hedges may be permitted in any required yard or along the edge of any yard. Along the edge of any yard is the phrase that answers the boundary question, because the edge of a yard is the lot line. No setback applies and no consent from a neighbor is required. The one qualification is about easements, and it is blunt: fences, walls and hedges placed in dedicated easements can be removed at the expense of the owner where they are placed or built so as to damage, block access to, or otherwise impede the purpose of the easement. A separate rule in the projections section prohibits projections of any nature in all easements unless approved by the affected agency, naming Jackson Energy Authority and the city. Nothing says which side the finished face points toward or divides the cost of a shared fence.
In any district, notwithstanding other provisions of this ordinance, fences, walls, and hedges may be permitted in any required yard, or along the edge of any yard.
Article VI, Section 2, with Section 3(C)
The answer turns on whether the fence sits in a dedicated easement.
- any required yard
- A fence is permitted in it.
- the edge of a yard
- Permitted there too.
- a dedicated easement
- Removed at the owner expense if it impedes the easement.
- orientation and cost
- Neither is addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Jackson
- 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 Jackson?
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Jackson answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence blocks the view.
Jackson writes its only fence height as a vision rule. In a required front yard no fence or wall is permitted which materially impedes vision across the yard above two and a half feet, and no hedge or other vegetation is permitted which materially impedes vision between two and a half feet and ten feet. So a solid fence at the front stops at two and a half feet while an open one is not caught at all, and a hedge is measured in a band rather than from the ground, because a hedge trimmed clear underneath still blocks a driver at eye level. Outside the front yard the ordinance states no height. It says only that fences, walls and hedges may be permitted in any required yard or along the edge of any yard, notwithstanding the other provisions of the ordinance, so a back yard fence has no stated maximum anywhere in the zoning code.
in any required front yard, no fence or wall shall be permitted which materially impedes vision across such yard above the height of two and one-half (21/2) feet, and no hedge or other vegetation shall be permitted which materially impedes vision across such yard between the height of two and one-half (21/2) feet and ten (10) feet.
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence blocks the view.
- a solid front yard fence
- Two and a half feet. 30 in
- a hedge at the front
- Measured from two and a half feet up to ten. 10 ft
- an open fence
- Not caught by the rule.
- a side or rear yard
- No height stated at all.
Also on fence height in Jackson
- 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 Jackson?
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Jackson answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work needs a building permit at all.
Jackson enforces its zoning ordinance through three instruments and the first one gates the second. No building permit may be issued by any officer, department or employee of the city unless the application has been examined by the Zoning Administrator and carries a Certificate of Zoning Compliance certifying that the proposed use, building, structure or alteration complies with the ordinance, and a building permit issued in conflict with the ordinance is null and void. Each application for a certificate has to be accompanied by plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the shape and dimensions of the lot, the size and location of existing buildings, and the location and dimensions of the proposed work. Whether a fence reaches that process depends on whether it needs a building permit, which the ordinance leaves to the building code, and the fence section itself names no separate approval.
No building permit shall be issued by any officer, department or employee of the City of Jackson unless the application for such permit has been examined by the office of the Zoning Administrator and has affixed to it a Certificate of Zoning Compliance issued by the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission or Board of Zoning Appeals certifying that the proposed use, building, structure or alteration complies with all provisions of this Ordinance.
The answer turns on whether the work needs a building permit at all.
- work needing a building permit
- A Certificate of Zoning Compliance first.
- the application
- Scaled plans in duplicate.
- a permit issued in conflict
- Null and void.
- the fence section itself
- Names no separate approval.
Also on permits in Jackson
- 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 Jackson
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Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson
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Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson
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Jackson law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee 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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Jackson law. All Tennessee findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Rule 0780-02-02-.01Tennessee Secretary of State
Also on how height is measured in Jackson
- no rule, documents checkedThe corner lot rule is careful about where its measurement starts, fixing the band between two and a half and ten feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets. The fence section a page later uses the same two figures without repeating the datum, saying only that a fence may not impede vision across the yard above two and a half feet, so on a front yard that sits above or below the street it is unsettled whether the measurement runs from the ground at the fence or from the road. Nothing addresses a berm, a fence on top of a retaining wall, or ground raised before the posts go in, and no allowance is given for a post cap. Because the ordinance sets no height at all outside the front yard, the gap is narrower than it looks: the only place the answer matters is the strip between the house and the street. Article VI, Sections 1 and 2Jackson · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Jackson
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Jackson answers this, but the answer changes depending on the grade of the streets and whether vision is materially impeded.
On a corner lot in any residential district in Jackson nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as materially to impede vision between two and a half feet and ten feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets, in the area bounded by the street lines of the corner lot. Two things separate this from an ordinary triangle. The protected area is the whole corner of the lot as bounded by the street lines rather than a triangle with stated legs, so there is no leg length to measure. And the reference is the center line grade of the streets rather than the ground at the fence, which on a lot sitting above the road means less is caught and on one sitting below it means more. The ordinance then adds design guidance for new intersections, requiring corner sight distance measured from a point on the minor road center line at least fifteen feet from the edge of the major road pavement, from an eye height of three and a half feet to an object height of four and a quarter feet.
On a corner lot in any residential district, nothing shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner as materially to impede vision between a height of two and one-half (2 1/2) and ten (10) feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets in the area bounded by the street lines of such corner lots.
The answer turns on the grade of the streets and whether vision is materially impeded.
- the protected band
- Two and a half feet to ten. 30 in
- the datum
- The center line grades of the streets.
- the area covered
- Bounded by the street lines, with no stated triangle.
- a new intersection
- Corner sight distance measured from fifteen feet back. 15 ft
Also on corner visibility in Jackson
- 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 Jackson
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Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson
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Jackson answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the use is nonconforming and how tall the fence is.
The Jackson zoning ordinance names no fence material at all. The one material rule in the city code sits in the municipal offenses title and is written about barbed wire on nonconforming uses: barbed wire may be installed on chain link fences in those cases where the chain link fence is at least six feet above the sidewalk. So the wire is allowed only on top of a fence that is already tall enough to put it out of reach, and only where the use itself is nonconforming, which is a narrower exception than the industrial district carve-outs most cities write. Nothing in the zoning ordinance lists permitted materials, bans sheet metal, plywood or salvage, regulates color, sets a chain link gauge, or requires a finished side to face out. A fence in Jackson is regulated almost entirely by what a driver can see past it.
barbed wire may be installed to chain link fences in those cases where such chain link fence is at least six feet (6') above sidewalk
The answer turns on whether the use is nonconforming and how tall the fence is.
- barbed wire on a nonconforming use
- On chain link at least six feet up. 6 ft
- any other material
- The zoning ordinance names none.
- orientation and color
- Not addressed.
Also on materials in Jackson
- 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 Jackson
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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 Jackson 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
7 documents, of which 2 were published by Jackson 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 JacksonCity of Jackson Zoning Ordinance, Article VI, Regulations Applying to a Specific, to Several, or to All Districts, Section 2, Fences, Walls and Hedges
- 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
- City of JacksonJackson Code of Ordinances, Title 11, Municipal Offenses, Section 11-806, Barbed wire fences
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 Jackson 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