Fence laws in Knoxville, Tennessee
What the Knoxville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Knoxville sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Knoxville, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Knoxville states the boundary rule in one line: fences may be constructed at the boundaries of a lot without setback, with the exception of the required visibility triangle, and the answer turns on whether the fence reaches a visibility triangle. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a lot line.
- How tall
- Knoxville limits fence height in exactly two places and nowhere else, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is a privacy fence or an open one. The figure is 42 inches, for privacy fence forward of the front building line.
- Permits
- The Knoxville zoning code requires no permit for a fence, which is consistent with a code that sets almost no height limit either, and the answer turns on whether the fence is electrified.
- Pool barriers
- Knoxville sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Knoxville has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Knoxville 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
- Knoxville defines the sight triangle, also called the visibility triangle, as the area at the intersection of two streets, public or private, or of a street and a private driveway, through which an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary for motorists, and the answer turns on whether an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary there.
- Retaining walls
- Knoxville 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
- It is unlawful in Knoxville to erect a barbed wire fence, or any fence containing spikes, along or adjacent to a sidewalk unless the barbed wire or the spikes sit seven feet or more above the ground, and the answer turns on the material and what the fence encloses. The figure is 7 feet, for height barbed wire or spikes have to start at.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Knoxville?
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Knoxville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence reaches a visibility triangle.
Knoxville states the boundary rule in one line: fences may be constructed at the boundaries of a lot without setback, with the exception of the required visibility triangle. So a fence may sit on the line anywhere except a corner, and the triangle is the only thing that pulls it back. Nothing in the section asks for the consent of an adjoining owner, requires a survey, says which side the finished face or the posts point toward, or divides the cost of a fence built on a shared line. The contrast with the accessory structures around it is sharp: a flagpole has to stand at least five feet from any lot line, a freestanding gazebo five feet from any side or rear line, and ground-mounted mechanical equipment is confined to the interior side or rear yard. The fence is the one accessory structure in the list allowed to touch the boundary.
Fences may be constructed at the boundaries of a lot without setback with the exception of the required visibility triangle.
The answer turns on whether the fence reaches a visibility triangle.
- any lot line
- On the boundary, no setback. 0 ft
- a visibility triangle
- The exception.
- a flagpole or gazebo
- Five feet off the line. 5 ft
- orientation and cost
- Neither is addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Knoxville
- 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 Knoxville?
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Knoxville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence is a privacy fence or an open one.
Knoxville limits fence height in exactly two places and nowhere else. From five feet behind the front building line forward to the front lot line, and in the corner side yard, privacy fences and walls are limited to forty-two inches, and open fences have no limit even there. On a through lot rear a fence is limited to forty-two inches when it is closer than the front setback for the district, or the average of the block face for existing principal buildings addressed on the parallel street, whichever is greater. Everywhere else the code says plainly that there is no limit on the height of privacy fences, walls or open fences. Starting the front restriction five feet behind the building line rather than at the line itself is unusual and it gives an owner a short run of full height fence beside the house before the limit takes effect.
There is no limit on the height of privacy fences, walls, or open fences in other yards.
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is a privacy fence or an open one.
- a side or rear yard
- No height limit.
- a privacy fence at the front or corner side
- Forty-two inches. 42 in
- an open fence at the front
- No limit either.
- a through lot rear
- Forty-two inches inside the front setback or the block face average.
Also on fence height in Knoxville
- 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 Knoxville?
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Knoxville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is electrified.
The Knoxville zoning code requires no permit for a fence, which is consistent with a code that sets almost no height limit either. The one permit it names is for an electric fence around an outdoor storage area, issued and regulated by plans review and building inspections, and the conditions attached are the most detailed in this set. The fence has to carry an approved manual disconnect at an accessible location, locked with a device keyed to the city fire department and installed to fire department standards, indicating the power status. A sign reading Fence Power Emergency Bypass in red letters at least an inch high on a white background has to sit at the disconnect. The fence has to have an alarm system meeting the false alarm ordinance, stand ten feet high, comply with International Electrotechnical Commission Standard 60335-2-76, and run off a twelve volt storage battery charged primarily by a solar panel.
Electric fences shall require a permit which shall be issued, governed and regulated in accordance with regulations to be established by the plans review and building inspections.
The answer turns on whether the fence is electrified.
- an ordinary fence
- No permit in the zoning code.
- an electric security fence
- A permit, plus a fire department keyed disconnect.
- the power supply
- Twelve volts, solar charged.
- the standard
- IEC 60335-2-76.
Also on permits in Knoxville
- 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 Knoxville
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Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville
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Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville
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Knoxville 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 Knoxville law. All Tennessee findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Rule 0780-02-02-.01Tennessee Secretary of State
Also on how height is measured in Knoxville
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence rules state forty-two inches twice and say there is no limit anywhere else, and they never say what the forty-two inches is measured from. Sloping ground is not addressed, a berm is not addressed, a fence on a retaining wall is not addressed, and no allowance is given for a post cap. The silence costs less here than it would in most cities, because the limit applies only across the front and in the corner side yard where the ground is usually close to street level, and because everywhere else there is no number to measure against. Where the code does fix a vertical reference it does so for other things: a flagpole is capped at the district maximum or thirty-five feet, a high tunnel has to be at least seventy-two inches, and the barbed wire rule in the offenses chapter measures the height of the wire itself. 10.3(L)Knoxville · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Knoxville
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Knoxville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary there.
Knoxville defines the sight triangle, also called the visibility triangle, as the area at the intersection of two streets, public or private, or of a street and a private driveway, through which an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary for motorists. That is a definition by purpose rather than by measurement, and no leg length, height band or diagram appears with it. The fence rules rely on it twice, once to say a fence may sit on a lot boundary except in the triangle, and the temporary use rules again to keep a tent out of it on a corner lot. Because the code sets no fence height limit in a side or rear yard, the triangle is doing more work in Knoxville than in most cities: it is the only provision keeping a fence of any height away from an intersection or a driveway. What counts as necessary for motorists is left to whoever reviews the fence.
Sight Triangle (or Visibility Triangle). The area located at the intersection of two streets, whether public or private, or a street and private driveway through which an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary for motorists.
The answer turns on whether an unobstructed view of approaching traffic is necessary there.
- two streets meeting
- A triangle applies.
- a street and a private driveway
- It applies there too.
- the size of the triangle
- Not stated anywhere in the code.
- a fence inside it
- The one place a boundary fence is pulled back.
Also on corner visibility in Knoxville
- 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 Knoxville
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Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville
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Knoxville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and what the fence encloses.
It is unlawful in Knoxville to erect a barbed wire fence, or any fence containing spikes, along or adjacent to a sidewalk unless the barbed wire or the spikes sit seven feet or more above the ground. The rule is written about the sidewalk rather than about the district, so the test is whether a person walking past could reach the wire, and seven feet is high enough that they cannot. It also covers spikes, which most codes leave out, so a decorative iron fence with sharpened finials is caught by the same sentence. Electric fences are unlawful anywhere in the city except in two cases. A temporary electric fence may be put up for prescribed goat grazing, using a portable solar charger of no more than twelve volts, standing at least three feet high, with a warning sign of no more than four square feet posted every fifty feet on every side. And a permanent electric fence may enclose an outdoor storage area under a permit.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect along or adjacent to any sidewalk in the city any barbed wire fence or any fence containing spikes, unless the height of the barbed wire or spikes is seven (7) feet or greater.
The answer turns on the material and what the fence encloses.
- barbed wire or spikes by a sidewalk
- Seven feet up or not at all. 7 ft
- an electric fence generally
- Unlawful.
- goats clearing a site
- A temporary fence, signed every fifty feet. 50 ft
- an outdoor storage yard
- A permitted electric fence at ten feet. 10 ft
Also on materials in Knoxville
- 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 Knoxville
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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 Knoxville 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
8 documents, of which 3 were published by Knoxville 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 KnoxvilleKnoxville Code of Ordinances, Appendix B, Zoning Code, Article 10, Section 10.3, Accessory Structures and Uses
- 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
- City of KnoxvilleKnoxville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 19, Offenses, Section 19-100, Barbed wire fences or fences containing spikes; electric fences
- Tennessee Secretary of StateRules of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Fire Prevention, Chapter 0780-02-02, Codes and Standards
- City of KnoxvilleKnoxville Code of Ordinances, Appendix B, Zoning Code, Article 2, Section 2.3, Definitions
- 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 Knoxville 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