Fence laws in Grapevine, Texas
What the Grapevine municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Grapevine sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Grapevine, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- No part of a Grapevine fence, including guy wires, braces and posts, may sit on or hang over land the city or the public owns or holds an easement over. The figure is 20 feet, for setback from the property line for a driveway gate.
- How tall
- Eight feet in a Grapevine rear or side yard, and the answer turns on whether the lot is a corner lot or an interior lot, and how large it is. The figure is 8 feet, for fence in a rear or side yard.
- Permits
- Any fence of permanent construction in Grapevine, or any part of one, needs a construction permit first, with no height floor.
- 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
- Grapevine has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Grapevine leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of a municipality.
- Corner lots
- A reverse frontage corner lot in Grapevine, meaning one whose rear line runs against a neighbor’s side line or faces it across an alley, may not carry a fence closer than fifteen feet to the side property line in the side yard next to a front yard. The figure is 15 feet, for setback from the side property line on a reverse frontage corner lot.
- Retaining walls
- Grapevine 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, hedge or vine in a Grapevine front yard has to let at least half the view through, and the code says so twice: once about erecting it and once about maintaining it that way, so a hedge that thickens up over a few seasons breaks the rule as surely as a solid fence.
- 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 Grapevine?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Grapevine answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No part of a Grapevine fence, including guy wires, braces and posts, may sit on or hang over land the city or the public owns or holds an easement over. The one carve out is a utility easement, which the same sentence says is permitted to be fenced. A gate across a driveway beside a street stands at least twenty feet back from the property line.
No fence, guy wires, braces or any post of such fence shall be constructed upon or caused to protrude over property that the city or the general public has dominion and control over, owns, or has an easement over, under, around or through, except upon utility easements which are permitted to be fenced.
20 ftsetback from the property line for a driveway gate
Also on fences on the property line in Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine?
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Grapevine answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is a corner lot or an interior lot, and how large it is.
Eight feet in a Grapevine rear or side yard. In the front yard of an interior lot the limit is thirty six inches, and on an R-20 single family lot over fifty thousand square feet it is forty eight. On a corner lot no fence may be erected in the front yard area at all, except along the interior lot line. The front yard figures cover hedges and vines as well as fences, and whichever front yard area is deeper, the required one or the established one, is the one that governs.
It shall be unlawful to erect a fence, hedge or vines over 36 inches in height in the required front yard area or the established front yard area, whichever area is greater in depth, on any interior lot. Fences in a required or established front yard on properties zoned R-20 single family district with a lot size in excess of 50,000 square feet may be a maximum of 48 inches in height.
The answer turns on whether the lot is a corner lot or an interior lot, and how large it is.
- a rear or side yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- the front yard of an interior lot
- Thirty six inches. 36 in
- the front yard of an R-20 lot over fifty thousand square feet
- Forty eight inches. 48 in
- the front yard of a corner lot
- No fence, except along the interior lot line.
Also on fence height in Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine?
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Grapevine answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Any fence of permanent construction in Grapevine, or any part of one, needs a construction permit first, with no height floor. The application asks for the owner’s name, the type of construction, the height, an approximate valuation, and a plat outlining the proposed fence in heavy black lines against the adjoining lots.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or have erected a fence or any part of a fence of permanent construction in the city without first obtaining a construction permit.
Also on permits in Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine
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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 Grapevine 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 Grapevine
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Grapevine 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 Grapevine 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 Grapevine
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Grapevine 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 Grapevine 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 Grapevine
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Grapevine answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A reverse frontage corner lot in Grapevine, meaning one whose rear line runs against a neighbor’s side line or faces it across an alley, may not carry a fence closer than fifteen feet to the side property line in the side yard next to a front yard. It is a setback rather than a triangle, so it holds along the whole side street rather than only near the junction.
On all reverse frontage corner lots it shall be unlawful to construct a fence within the required side yard area that is adjacent to a front yard area at a distance closer than 15 feet to the side property line
15 ftsetback from the side property line on a reverse frontage corner lot
Also on corner visibility in Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine
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Grapevine 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 Grapevine 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 Grapevine
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Grapevine answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence, hedge or vine in a Grapevine front yard has to let at least half the view through, and the code says so twice: once about erecting it and once about maintaining it that way, so a hedge that thickens up over a few seasons breaks the rule as surely as a solid fence. Chain link may not be used in a required or established front yard at all.
It shall be unlawful to maintain a fence, hedge or vines in the required front yard area or an established front yard area, whichever area is greater in depth, of an interior lot in a manner that does not permit at least 50 percent through vision.
Also on materials in Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine
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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 Grapevine 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 Grapevine
- 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 Grapevine itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of GrapevineCode of Ordinances, Chapter 7 Building Code, Article IV 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 Grapevine 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