Fence laws in Nashville, Tennessee
What the Nashville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Nashville sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Nashville, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Nashville answers the boundary question by category rather than by distance, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands in a setback or a buffer yard.
- How tall
- Nashville has no fence chapter, and the answer turns on the setback the fence stands in and how open it is. The figure is 30 inches, for solid fence within ten feet of a street right-of-way.
- Permits
- Tennessee has no fence permit rule of its own.
- Pool barriers
- Nashville sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Nashville has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Every fence height in Nashville is measured from finish grade level on the side of the wall or fence with the greatest vertical exposure.
- Corner lots
- At a street intersection in Nashville nothing may be erected that will obstruct vision at any point above the center line grades of the intersecting streets, inside the triangle formed by the right-of-way lines and a line joining points thirty-five feet from where those lines meet, and the answer turns on the district and whether the lot sits above the road. The figure is 35 feet, for leg of the intersection sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Nashville 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
- In the urban services district, the built-up core of Davidson County, it is unlawful to erect a fence along any sidewalk with barbed wire or razor wire, or a fence of any kind on which barbed or razor wire is used, and the answer turns on the district and the height of the fence. The figure is 1 strand, for barbed wire allowed above seven feet.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Nashville?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Nashville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands in a setback or a buffer yard.
Nashville answers the boundary question by category rather than by distance. A screening wall or fence is one of the structures permitted to be located within a required setback, so no separate setback applies to it and it may run to the lot line. The same paragraph then carves fences out of a stricter rule: except for screening walls, fences and hedges, the listed features may not be placed within a required landscape buffer yard, which means a fence is the one thing on a list of thirty-two that is allowed into a buffer. 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 on a shared line. In the commercial compatibility overlay a different rule bites, prohibiting chain link fence, barbed wire, razor wire and similar fencing outright.
The following structures or building components may be located within required setbacks. Except for screening walls, fences and hedges, the following features shall not be permitted within a required landscape buffer yard.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands in a setback or a buffer yard.
- a required setback
- A fence may stand in it.
- a landscape buffer yard
- A fence is allowed where most things are not.
- the commercial compatibility overlay
- No chain link, barbed or razor wire.
- orientation and cost
- Neither is addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Nashville
- 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 Nashville?
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Nashville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the setback the fence stands in and how open it is.
Nashville has no fence chapter. The heights sit in the list of structures permitted to stand inside a required setback, at item twenty-six, between fountains and uncovered decks. Within ten feet of a street right-of-way a screening wall or fence is held to two and a half feet, except that an open fence such as chain link or something similar may reach six feet, so the rule turns on whether a driver can see through it rather than on what it is made of. Through the remainder of the required front setback the limit is six feet for any fence. In a required side or rear setback, or inside any platted common open space, it is eight feet. Electric fences are permitted only in the three industrial districts, may not exceed ten feet, and are subject to a separate section of the building code. Outside a setback the zoning code sets no fence height at all.
Two and one-half feet in height within ten feet of a street right-of-way. Open fences, such as chain link or those of a similar nature are permitted to be six feet in height.
The answer turns on the setback the fence stands in and how open it is.
- within ten feet of a street
- Two and a half feet, or six if open. 30 in
- the rest of the front setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side or rear setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- an industrial electric fence
- Ten feet, three districts only. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Nashville
- 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 Nashville?
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee 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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Nashville law. All Tennessee findings
International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 edition, published by the ICC, with amendments;
Code Adoption History, residential codes
Also on permits in Nashville
- no rule, documents checkedTitle 17 sets three fence heights, a measuring rule and a visibility rule, and never mentions an application, a fee, a review or an inspection for a fence. There is no fence permit, no zoning clearance written for a fence, and no conditional use or variance route stated in the setback obstruction list. The one place the zoning code hands a fence question to another authority is the electric fence allowance, which is made subject to the provisions of Section 16.04.200 in the building code, and the property standards chapter separately requires that no electric fence be installed or used unless it is completely surrounded by a non-electrical fence or wall of at least six feet. So the controls that exist are the dimensions themselves plus the nuisance remedy in the streets title, where an unlawful barbed wire fence has to come down within five days of notice. 17.12.040(E)(26)Nashville · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Nashville
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Nashville 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 Nashville 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 Nashville
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Nashville 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 Nashville 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 Nashville
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Nashville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every fence height in Nashville is measured from finish grade level on the side of the wall or fence with the greatest vertical exposure. That single phrase settles the slope question in the strictest way available, because the side with the greatest vertical exposure is always the low side. A retaining wall with a fence on top is read from the bottom of the wall, a fence on a berm is read from the foot of the berm, and a fence along a bank is read from whichever neighbor looks up at it. It also removes any advantage in raising the ground on the owner side, since raising one side only increases the exposure on the other. The rule is stated once, in the opening line of the fence item, and then relied on by all three of the heights that follow it, so there is no separate definitions entry to check and no exception anywhere in the section.
Screening Walls or Fences. The maximum permitted height measured from finish grade level on the side of the wall or fence with the greatest vertical exposure shall be:
Also on how height is measured in Nashville
- 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 Nashville
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Nashville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and whether the lot sits above the road.
At a street intersection in Nashville nothing may be erected that will obstruct vision at any point above the center line grades of the intersecting streets, inside the triangle formed by the right-of-way lines and a line joining points thirty-five feet from where those lines meet. Thirty-five feet is a long leg, and the datum is unusual: the limit is not a fixed height above the ground but the level of the crown of the road, so on a lot that sits below the street almost nothing is caught and on a lot that sits above it a low fence can be. Development in the urban zoning overlay district and in the downtown and five other districts is exempt from the triangle entirely, which is a deliberate choice for a walkable street wall. A second rule covers every district with no exemption: no fence, wall, hedge, planting or structure may obstruct vision where a private driveway meets a public street.
At street intersections nothing shall be erected that will obstruct vision at any point above the center line grades of the intersecting streets within the triangular area formed by the right-of-way lines and a straight line joining the right-of-way lines at points which are thirty-five feet distant from the intersection of the right-of-way lines and measured along such right-of-way lines.
The answer turns on the district and whether the lot sits above the road.
- a street intersection
- Thirty-five feet along each right-of-way line. 35 ft
- the height that matters
- The center line grade of the streets.
- downtown and the urban overlay
- Exempt from the triangle.
- a private driveway
- Covered in every district.
Also on corner visibility in Nashville
- 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 Nashville
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Nashville 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 Nashville 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 Nashville
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Nashville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the height of the fence.
In the urban services district, the built-up core of Davidson County, it is unlawful to erect a fence along any sidewalk with barbed wire or razor wire, or a fence of any kind on which barbed or razor wire is used. One narrow exception survives: a single strand of barbed wire may be stretched along the top of a fence over seven feet high to stop anyone climbing it. Both the single strand and the seven feet have to be satisfied, so the exception does not reach an ordinary six foot fence. Any fence breaking the rule is declared a nuisance and dangerous to the public, and the owner has a duty to remove it within five days of notice from the director of public works, which is a much faster remedy than a zoning enforcement action. Electric fences are permitted only in the industrial districts and are capped at ten feet. The zoning code names no other fence material.
It is unlawful for any person to erect a fence along any sidewalk in the urban services district with barbed wire or razor wire, or a fence of any kind on which barbed wire or razor wire is used; provided, that this section shall not be construed to prevent anyone from stretching a single strand of barbed wire on the top of any fence over seven feet high to prevent anyone from climbing over the same.
The answer turns on the district and the height of the fence.
- a fence along a sidewalk
- No barbed or razor wire.
- a fence over seven feet
- One strand of barbed wire on top. 1 strand
- an offending fence
- A nuisance, removed within five days of notice. 5 days
- an electric fence
- Industrial districts only.
Also on materials in Nashville
- 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 Nashville
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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 Nashville 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 Nashville 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
- Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson CountyMetropolitan Code of Laws, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.12.040, Other setbacks
- 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
- Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson CountyMetropolitan Code of Laws, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.20.180, Visibility
- 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
- Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson CountyMetropolitan Code of Laws, Title 13, Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places, Section 13.32.120, Barbed wire fences prohibited, Exceptions
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 Nashville 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