Fence laws in Conroe, Texas
What the Conroe municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Conroe sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Conroe, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Conroe fence keeps ten feet from the edge of the street pavement, or five feet behind the sidewalk, whichever of the two puts it further from the road. The figure is 10 feet, for minimum setback from the edge of street pavement.
- How tall
- Six feet of conforming fence goes up on a Conroe residential lot without a permit, and anything taller needs one, and the answer turns on whether the fence is across the front of the house, and whether the lot is over an acre. The figure is 6 feet, for height up to which a residential fence needs no permit.
- Permits
- Conroe puts a limit on patching. The figure is 50 percent, for share of one side of a fence whose replacement forces the whole side to be replaced.
- 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
- Conroe has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Conroe leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of a municipality.
- Corner lots
- Conroe defines its intersection visibility triangle in the fence division itself rather than pointing somewhere else: thirty five feet along each curb or pavement line from the corner, with a diagonal joining the two points. The figure is 35 feet, for each leg of the intersection visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Conroe 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
- Conroe regulates what a fence is painted as well as what it is made of.
- 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 Conroe?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Conroe answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Conroe fence keeps ten feet from the edge of the street pavement, or five feet behind the sidewalk, whichever of the two puts it further from the road. A fence with a finished face turns that face outward with the posts and supports on the inside, and no fence may be built or kept in a way that substantially blocks drainage.
No fence may be placed in any street right-of-way or intersection visibility triangle and every fence shall be set back at least ten feet from the edge of street pavement or five feet behind the sidewalk, whichever setback is greater.
10 ftminimum setback from the edge of street pavement
Also on fences on the property line in Conroe
- 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 Conroe?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Conroe answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is across the front of the house, and whether the lot is over an acre.
Six feet of conforming fence goes up on a Conroe residential lot without a permit, and anything taller needs one. The front is settled by transparency rather than by height: no fence that substantially blocks the view is allowed across the front of a house, or along a side lot line between the street and the front of the house. Wrought iron, decorative aluminium and chain link are given as acceptable. Solid fencing is fine everywhere else. Lots over an acre are out of the front yard rule, and so are subdivision perimeter walls built for privacy, security or noise.
A fence built of conforming materials that does not exceed six feet in height may be constructed on residential property without a permit. A permit is required for the construction of a residential property fence that exceeds six feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the fence is across the front of the house, and whether the lot is over an acre.
- a residential lot, on when a permit is needed
- No permit up to six feet. 6 ft
- across the front of a house, or along a side line between the street and the house
- Nothing that substantially blocks the view through it.
- a residential lot over one acre, or a subdivision perimeter wall
- The front yard transparency rule does not apply.
Also on fence height in Conroe
- 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 Conroe?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Conroe answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Conroe puts a limit on patching. Where fifty percent or more of the length of any one side of a fence has to be replaced because it is damaged, broken, rotten or missing, the whole of that side comes out and is replaced, or the fence goes. A fence may not lean more than five degrees off vertical, replacement parts have to match in composition, color, size, shape and quality, paint has to be kept even along the whole run, and the owner keeps weeds down on the outside of the fence as well as the inside.
If 50 percent or more of the length of any single side of a fence must be replaced due to damaged, broken, deteriorated or missing parts, then the entire side must be replaced or the fence must be removed.
50%share of one side of a fence whose replacement forces the whole side to be replaced
Also on permits in Conroe
- 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 Conroe
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 Conroe 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 Conroe
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Conroe 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 Conroe 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 Conroe
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Conroe 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 Conroe 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 Conroe
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Conroe answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Conroe defines its intersection visibility triangle in the fence division itself rather than pointing somewhere else: thirty five feet along each curb or pavement line from the corner, with a diagonal joining the two points. No fence may sit inside it, or in any street right of way, and every fence stands at least ten feet back from the edge of the street pavement or five feet behind the sidewalk, whichever puts it further back.
Intersection visibility triangle means a sight triangle at a street intersection formed by the legs of the intersecting curb or edge of pavement lines and a diagonal line drawn between the two legs at points that are 35 feet from the intersection.
35 fteach leg of the intersection visibility triangle
Also on corner visibility in Conroe
- 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 Conroe
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Conroe 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 Conroe 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 Conroe
Compare materials across all 50 states
Conroe answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Conroe regulates what a fence is painted as well as what it is made of. Natural wood tone, chain link gray, or a neutral such as white, beige or tan, with metal fences allowed black, dark brown or another dark color the building official accepts. Only material made and sold for fencing may be used, and siding, sheet metal and corrugated roofing may not. A wood post is four by four cedar or treated lumber set on a concrete footing at least thirty inches deep. Barbed wire is confined to farm and ranch land and to the top of a security fence on commercial or industrial property, never below eight feet. A chain link fence goes up barb side down with the finished row on top.
Fence materials must be a natural wood tone, chain-link grey, or neutral colors such as white, beige, and tan, except metal fences which may be black, dark brown, or another darker color, as approved by the building official, as well as any neutral color.
Also on materials in Conroe
- 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 Conroe
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 Conroe 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 Conroe
- 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
6 documents, of which 1 was published by Conroe itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of ConroeCode of Ordinances, Chapter 14, Article XI, Division 1, Fences and Fence Maintenance
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Chapter 214, Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures
- 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 Conroe 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