Fence laws in Frisco, Texas
What the Frisco municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Frisco sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Frisco, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A key lot in Frisco is a corner lot whose rear neighbors face its side street with no alley in between, and the code gives it a choice rather than a single line, and the answer turns on whether the fence on a key lot is open or solid. The figure is 5 feet, for closest an open key lot fence may come to the corner side property line.
- How tall
- Eight feet in a Frisco rear or side yard, and forty eight inches in a front yard at no more than fifty percent opaque, and the answer turns on which yard the fence stands in. The figure is 8 feet, for fence in a rear or side yard.
- Permits
- Every fence in Frisco needs a permit, including a repair, and the exceptions are four. The figure is 50 percent, for linear share of a fence that counts as a partial repair and needs no permit.
- 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
- Frisco has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Frisco writes the measuring rule in unusual detail. The figure is 6 inches, for gap above natural grade that counts inside the fence height.
- Corner lots
- Frisco measures its corner triangle from the right of way lines where curbs exist and from the property lines where they do not, and in the second case the legs are thirty feet, and the answer turns on whether the corner is on a major thoroughfare, and whether curbs exist. The figure is 30 feet, for each leg of the visibility triangle where there are no curbs.
- Retaining walls
- Where a fence meets a subdivision screening wall and stands taller than it, Frisco makes the fence step down to the wall over twenty feet rather than butting into it at full height. The figure is 20 feet, for distance over which a fence steps down to meet a screening wall.
- Materials
- Frisco puts chain link on the banned list in residential districts, next to barbed wire, concertina wire, razor wire, electrically charged fences and anything with barbs or broken glass on it.
- 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 Frisco?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Frisco answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence on a key lot is open or solid.
A key lot in Frisco is a corner lot whose rear neighbors face its side street with no alley in between, and the code gives it a choice rather than a single line. A fence under fifty percent opaque, built of tubular steel or wrought iron and no taller than eight feet, may come within five feet of the corner side property line. A solid fence of the same height has to sit back at the front yard setback line instead. So openness buys proximity to the street.
A fence, that is less than 50% opaque and constructed of tubular steel or wrought iron and not exceeding eight (8) feet in height, may be located up to five (5) feet from the corner lot property line of the side of the house on a key lot.
The answer turns on whether the fence on a key lot is open or solid.
- an open fence of tubular steel or wrought iron on a key lot
- Within five feet of the corner side property line. 5 ft
- a solid fence on a key lot
- At the front yard setback line.
Also on fences on the property line in Frisco
- 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 Frisco?
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Frisco answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence stands in.
Eight feet in a Frisco rear or side yard, and forty eight inches in a front yard at no more than fifty percent opaque. The front yard rule adds two small limits most codes leave out: posts and gates may stand no more than four inches above the fence, and a decorative gate over four feet needs the building official to sign it off. A decorative embellishment on a rear yard gate gets two feet of extra height and two feet of extra width and nothing more. Nonresidential districts also stop at eight feet.
All fences constructed in the front yard of a residential property shall:(1) Be no taller in height than forty-eight (48) inches as defined in subsection 18-484.8.(2) Be a maximum of fifty (50%) percent opaque.
The answer turns on which yard the fence stands in.
- a rear or side yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a front yard
- Forty eight inches, at no more than fifty percent opaque. 48 in
- a front yard, on how solid it may be
- Fifty percent opaque at most. 50%
- a nonresidential zoning district
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Frisco
- 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 Frisco?
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Frisco answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every fence in Frisco needs a permit, including a repair, and the exceptions are four. A partial repair is the main one, and the code defines it tightly: no more than fifty percent of the linear dimension of the fence, no change to its scope, location or dimensions, matching material, and a rolling twelve month window so the work cannot be split across two years. The other exceptions are a fence deep inside a residential lot that no neighbor or street can see in any season, a fence in a nonresidential district approved on a site plan, and a temporary fence.
It is unlawful for any person to construct, repair, replace or cause to be constructed, repaired, or replaced, a fence or any part of a fence in the city without first obtaining a fence permit from the building official, except for the following:(1) Partial repairs or replacement as defined by this article.
50%linear share of a fence that counts as a partial repair and needs no permit
Also on permits in Frisco
- 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 Frisco
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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 Frisco 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 Frisco
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Frisco 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 Frisco 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 Frisco
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Frisco answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Frisco writes the measuring rule in unusual detail. Height covers the body of the fence plus up to six inches of gap above natural grade, averaged between posts, which is the space left for water to run under. Posts may add four inches on top, columns twelve, and lattice or decorative panels count as part of the fence rather than as an extra. Where a retaining wall has raised the fence, the height is read from the ground at the highest point, and building a berm for the purpose of gaining fence height is not allowed.
Fence height is measured to include the body of the fence, plus allowing a maximum of six (6) inches (on average between posts) above the natural grade (i.e., for drainage purposes). Fence posts are permitted to extend a maximum of four (4) inches above the body of the fence. Columns are permitted to extend a maximum of twelve (12) inches above the body of the fence.
6 ingap above natural grade that counts inside the fence height
Also on how height is measured in Frisco
- left to the townTexas 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. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 211.003(a)(1)Texas · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Frisco
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Frisco answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is on a major thoroughfare, and whether curbs exist.
Frisco measures its corner triangle from the right of way lines where curbs exist and from the property lines where they do not, and in the second case the legs are thirty feet. A corner on a major thoroughfare gets a larger one, forty feet by forty. A front yard fence is separately forbidden from obstructing the triangle at all, so the rule bites twice on a corner lot.
If there are no curbs existing, then the triangular area shall be formed by extending the property lines for a distance of thirty (30) feet from their point of intersection. A fence on the corner of a major thoroughfare shall have a forty (40) feet x forty (40) feet visibility triangle.
The answer turns on whether the corner is on a major thoroughfare, and whether curbs exist.
- an ordinary corner with no curbs
- Thirty feet along each property line. 30 ft
- a corner on a major thoroughfare
- Forty feet by forty feet. 40 ft
Also on corner visibility in Frisco
- 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 Frisco
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Frisco answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a fence meets a subdivision screening wall and stands taller than it, Frisco makes the fence step down to the wall over twenty feet rather than butting into it at full height. The building official can waive the twenty feet where the ground or the shape of the lot makes an orderly step down impossible, and that waiver needs drawings before the permit issues. It is a rule about how two walls meet, which almost no other code on this site addresses.
Where a fence intersects a screening wall and the height of the fence exceeds the height of the screening wall, the height of the fence shall transition to the height of the screening wall over a distance of twenty (20) feet.
20 ftdistance over which a fence steps down to meet a screening wall
Also on retaining walls in Frisco
- left to the townTexas 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. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 214.212(a)Texas · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Frisco
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Frisco answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Frisco puts chain link on the banned list in residential districts, next to barbed wire, concertina wire, razor wire, electrically charged fences and anything with barbs or broken glass on it. A chain link fence that was legal when it went up may still be repaired or replaced in whole or in part. The prohibited materials section adds rope, string, wire fabrics, chain, live bamboo, netting, paper, galvanized sheet metal, plywood, fiberglass panels and metal panels on residential property, and it bans weaving slats through chain link to turn an open fence into a solid one. Wire fence up to thirty six inches is allowed for growing things, but not for turf grass.
Chainlink, chicken wire or hog fence. Existing legal nonconforming chainlink may be repaired or replaced in whole or part in accordance with this article.
Also on materials in Frisco
- 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 Frisco
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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 Frisco 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 Frisco
- 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 Frisco itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of FriscoCode of Ordinances, Chapter 18 Buildings and Building Regulations, Article IX Fences
- 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 Frisco 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