Fence laws in Beaumont, Texas
What the Beaumont municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Beaumont sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Beaumont, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where Beaumont requires an open space buffer, an eight foot opaque fence or wall goes up along the property line and stays there. The figure is 8 feet, for required opaque buffer fence along the property line.
- How tall
- In a Beaumont historic district a solid fence in a front yard stops at four feet, and rises to six only where a taller fence is needed to screen off street parking or an incompatible use next door, and the answer turns on whether the fence is solid or at least eighty percent open. The figure is 4 feet, for solid fence in a front yard. It reaches the historic district design standards in Chapter 28 only.
- Permits
- Six feet or under on private property needs no permit in Beaumont, and the answer turns on whether the fence is over six feet. The figure is 6 feet, for height up to which no permit is needed.
- Pool barriers
- Texas requires a 48 inch fence around some pools, measured from the ground on the outside of the fence. The figure is 48 inches, for pool yard enclosure at a multiunit rental complex or property owners association pool.
- Spite fences
- Beaumont has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Beaumont leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of a municipality.
- Corner lots
- Beaumont requires a three foot screen along a landscaping edge near the right of way, and then protects the driveway from it. The figure is 3 feet, for clearance the required screen keeps from a driveway.
- Retaining walls
- Beaumont leaves retaining walls to the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012, published by the International Code Council, plus any local amendment a city adopts by ordinance.
- Materials
- A fence in a Beaumont historic district front or corner side yard is wrought iron, wood or brick, and concrete block is named as not permitted. It reaches the historic district design standards in Chapter 28 only.
- Livestock
- Texas says what a farm fence has to look like. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of a sufficient fence under the stock law. It reaches counties and areas that have adopted the local option stock law under Subchapter B only.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Beaumont?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Beaumont answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where Beaumont requires an open space buffer, an eight foot opaque fence or wall goes up along the property line and stays there. It may be masonry, or a wood stockade privacy fence run diagonal, horizontal or vertical, and the framing may be metal. Eight feet is a foot or two above what most Texas cities allow anywhere on a lot, which is what a required visual screen has to be to work.
In addition, an eight-foot high opaque fence or wall shall be erected and maintained along the property line to provide visual screening. The fence or wall shall be masonry or a wood diagonal, horizontal or vertical stockade type privacy fence, although the framing may be metal.
8 ftrequired opaque buffer fence along the property line
Also on fences on the property line in Beaumont
- set in state lawTexas sets no statewide rule for splitting the cost of a fence on a boundary. What the Agriculture Code does say is that a joint owner of a dividing fence cannot pull it out without the other owner agreeing, and that a person who wants to detach a fence from a neighbor fence has to give six months of written notice first. The notice goes to the owner of the attached fence or to that person's agent, attorney, or lessee. Agric. Code 143.122Texas · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Beaumont?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Beaumont answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is solid or at least eighty percent open.
In a Beaumont historic district a solid fence in a front yard stops at four feet, and rises to six only where a taller fence is needed to screen off street parking or an incompatible use next door. Six feet is the hard ceiling for anything solid in a front yard. A fence that is at least eighty percent open reaches six feet without needing a reason, which is the highest openness threshold of any Texas city read for this site.
Within a front yard, no solid fence or wall shall be erected to exceed a height of four (4) feet, unless a taller fence is required to screen off-street parking or screen incompatible land uses as required in section 28.04.006 of the Code of Ordinances. In no circumstances shall a solid wall or fence located in a front yard exceed a maximum height of six (6) feet. A fence or wall that is at least eighty (80) percent open may be erected to a maximum height of six (6) feet.
28.03, historic district standards, Fences (B) Height
The answer turns on whether the fence is solid or at least eighty percent open.
- a solid fence in a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a solid fence in a front yard required to screen parking or an incompatible use
- Six feet, and no more in any circumstance. 6 ft
- a fence at least eighty percent open
- Six feet. 80%
Also on fence height in Beaumont
- no rule, documents checkedTexas does not limit how tall a fence at a house can be. The only heights in state law are for farm fences, such as the five foot fence required around cropland. For a fence at a house, the city sets the limit. Agric. Code ch. 143Texas · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Beaumont?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Beaumont answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is over six feet.
Six feet or under on private property needs no permit in Beaumont. Over six feet the fence has to be windstorm certified, which is a structural certification against hurricane wind loads rather than an ordinary permit. The city adds two things on the same line: a fence may not reach into the right of way or block an easement or an alley, and stepping the fence down as it nears the road is common practice but not a requirement.
If the fence is less than or equal to 6 feet tall and is located on private property, then a permit is not required. If the fence is over 6’ tall, it will need to be windstorm certified.
Frequently Asked Questions, Is a permit needed to install a fence?
The answer turns on whether the fence is over six feet.
- six feet or under, on private property
- No permit. 6 ft
- over six feet
- Windstorm certification.
Also on permits in Beaumont
- set in state lawTexas has no fence permit rule of its own. Instead it made one national code, the International Residential Code as it stood on May 1, 2012, the building code for every city in the state. So the permit rule for a fence comes from that code and not from a Texas statute. Cities can then change it, which is why the answer differs from one city to the next. Local Gov't Code 214.212(a)Texas · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Beaumont
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
Texas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Texas requires a 48 inch fence around some pools, measured from the ground on the outside of the fence. It does not cover most homes. Section 757.002 applies the law only to a pool run by the owner of an apartment complex or by a property owners association. A pool at a single family home is not covered, and the city rule applies there instead.
This one is Texas law, not Beaumont law. All Texas findings
The height of the pool yard enclosure must be at least 48 inches as measured from the ground on the side away from the pool.
Health & Safety Code 757.003(b)
48 inpool yard enclosure at a multiunit rental complex or property owners association pool
Spite fence laws in Beaumont
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Beaumont law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Texas has no law about spite fences. Both chapters that could hold one were read start to finish. The fence chapter of the Agriculture Code covers livestock and farm land. The building chapter of the Local Government Code covers permits. Neither one mentions a fence built to bother a neighbor. That leaves a nuisance lawsuit or a city ordinance.
This one is Texas law, not Beaumont law. All Texas findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Agric. Code ch. 143Texas Legislature
- Local Gov't Code ch. 214Texas Legislature
How fence height is measured in Beaumont
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Beaumont does not set this. It leaves it to the governing body of a municipality.
Texas gives two fence heights and never says where to measure from. A farm fence around cropland has to be five feet tall. A farm fence under the stock law has to be four feet. The word ground does not appear anywhere in that chapter. For a fence at a house, Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code lets the city set the height rule, so the city decides how it is measured too.
This one is Texas law, not Beaumont law. All Texas findings
The governing body of a municipality may regulate: (1) the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures;
Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 211.003(a)(1)
The code hands this to the governing body of a municipality, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in Beaumont
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Beaumont answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Beaumont requires a three foot screen along a landscaping edge near the right of way, and then protects the driveway from it. That screen may not stand within three feet of a driveway, and may not block a driver’s line of sight of approaching vehicles as the city judges it. So the corner rule here is written as a distance from the driveway rather than as a triangle at the intersection.
The three-foot-high screen shall not be within three (3) feet of a driveway or restrict a driver’s line of sight of approaching vehicles as determined by the city.
3 ftclearance the required screen keeps from a driveway
Also on corner visibility in Beaumont
- left to the townTexas has a whole chapter about seeing around corners, and it does not reach fences. Chapter 255 lets a county set the sight distance at an intersection on a county road outside city limits, and ban anything that blocks the view. But that ban covers plants, loose dirt and other items, not a building or structure fixed to the ground. A fence is fixed to the ground, so a county order under this chapter does not apply to it. Inside a city, the city decides. Tex. Transp. Code 255.002Texas · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Beaumont
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Beaumont does not set this. It leaves it to the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012, published by the International Code Council, plus any local amendment a city adopts by ordinance.
Texas has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It made the International Residential Code, as that code stood on May 1, 2012, the building code for every city in the state, and it does not print any of that code's text. So whatever that edition says about a retaining wall is what applies in Texas. Cities can change it after a public hearing, which is why the rule differs from one city to the next.
This one is Texas law, not Beaumont law. All Texas findings
To protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the International Residential Code, as it existed on May 1, 2012, is adopted as a municipal residential building code in this state.
Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 214.212(a)
The code hands this to the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012, published by the International Code Council, plus any local amendment a city adopts by ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Beaumont
Compare materials across all 50 states
Beaumont answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence in a Beaumont historic district front or corner side yard is wrought iron, wood or brick, and concrete block is named as not permitted. Masonry columns and bases have to match the main building on color, texture, pattern and dimension, and on the color, width, type and elevation of the mortar joints, so the fence is read as part of the house rather than as a separate object.
A fence in a front or corner side yard must be constructed of wrought iron, wood or brick. Concrete block fences are not permitted.
28.03, historic district standards, Fences (D) Materials
Also on materials in Beaumont
- set in state lawTexas only says what a fence has to be made of inside a county or area that has voted to stop animals roaming loose. There a fence works if it keeps out the animals that are still allowed to roam, and the law gives four ways to build one. Barbed wire takes three wires on posts no more than thirty feet apart, with a stay between each pair. Pickets go no more than six inches apart. Boards take three boards. Rails take four. All four have to stand at least four feet tall. Barbed wire is allowed outright, and voters in an area can decide that three barbed wires on their own are enough. Tex. Agric. Code 143.028Texas · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Beaumont
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
Texas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Texas says what a farm fence has to look like. It has to be at least four feet tall, and there are four ways to build one. Barbed wire takes three wires on posts no more than thirty feet apart, with at least one stay between each pair of posts. Pickets have to be no more than six inches apart. Boards take three boards, each at least five inches wide and one inch thick. Rails take four rails.
This one is Texas law, not Beaumont law. All Texas findings
In order to be sufficient, a fence must be at least four feet high and comply with the following requirements: (1) a barbed wire fence must consist of three wires on posts no more than 30 feet apart, with one or more stays between every two posts; (2) a picket fence must consist of pickets that are not more than six inches apart;
4 ftminimum height of a sufficient fence under the stock law
Also on agricultural fencing in Beaumont
- depends, see the pageTexas has no single answer for who has to build the fence. Each county votes on it, and an area inside a county can vote on its own. The vote decides whether the animals it names are allowed to roam loose, and it only applies where the vote was held. Agric. Code 143.024(a)Texas · Statute
- set in state lawIn a county that has not voted, the farmer builds the fence, not the animal owner. Anyone farming or gardening cleared land has to put up a fence at least five feet tall that hogs cannot get through. Agric. Code 143.001Texas · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 3 were published by Beaumont itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of BeaumontCode of Ordinances, Chapter 28 Zoning, Section 28.04.006 Landscaping and screening requirements
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Chapter 214, Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures
- City of BeaumontCode of Ordinances, Chapter 28 Zoning, Article 28.03 District Regulations
- City of Beaumont, Public Works EngineeringFrequently Asked Questions, Is a permit needed to install a fence?
- Texas LegislatureTexas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 757, Pool Yard Enclosures
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Title 7, Chapter 211, Municipal Zoning Authority
- Texas LegislatureTexas Transportation Code, Title 6, Subtitle C, Chapter 255, County Regulation of Sight Distances
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 Beaumont publishes, plus the Texas rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Texas 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