Fence laws in Harlingen, Texas
What the Harlingen municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Harlingen sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Harlingen, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Harlingen expressly allows a front yard fence to run past the forward most part of the house all the way out to the front and side lot property lines, on conditions rather than as an exception.
- How tall
- Harlingen decides the front yard by what can be seen through rather than by a single number, and the answer turns on whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether the use is residential. The figure is 40 inches, for solid face fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Texas has no fence permit rule of its own.
- 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
- Harlingen has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Harlingen leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of a municipality.
- Corner lots
- Harlingen writes the corner rule as a length of approach rather than as a triangle drawn on the lot. The figure is 15 feet, for clear approach to a street.
- Retaining walls
- Harlingen 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
- Inside the Harlingen Downtown District Overlay a fence has to be in character with its surroundings, barbed wire is not permitted, and brick, wrought iron, stucco, wood and concrete are encouraged.
- 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 Harlingen?
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Harlingen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Harlingen expressly allows a front yard fence to run past the forward most part of the house all the way out to the front and side lot property lines, on conditions rather than as an exception. So the question in Harlingen is not whether the fence may reach the line but what it may be made of when it gets there: solid and forty inches, or see-through and any height.
Front yard fences extending past the forward most portion of the house structure to the front and side lot property lines may be constructed and maintained under the following terms and conditions:
Also on fences on the property line in Harlingen
- 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 Harlingen?
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Harlingen answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether the use is residential.
Harlingen decides the front yard by what can be seen through rather than by a single number. A solid face fence, such as solid masonry, stops at forty inches above the grade of the yard. An ornamental or decorative fence, such as ornamental iron, that allows reasonable through vision and substantially free air flow has no height restriction beyond the one that applies to a permanent structure. A nonresidential lot, which here includes a triplex, a quadruplex and multifamily housing, may hold a solid face front yard fence at six feet right up to the lot line.
Solid face fences, such as solid masonry face fence, shall be restricted to a height of not more than 40 inches above the grade of the yard.
The answer turns on whether the fence is solid or see-through, and whether the use is residential.
- a solid face fence in a single-family or duplex front yard
- Forty inches. 40 in
- an ornamental fence with through vision and free air flow
- No height restriction beyond the one for a permanent structure.
- a solid face front yard fence on nonresidential, triplex, quadruplex or multifamily land
- Six feet. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Harlingen
- 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 Harlingen?
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Texas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Texas 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.
This one is Texas law, not Harlingen 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.
Pool fence requirements in Harlingen
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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 Harlingen 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 Harlingen
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Harlingen 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 Harlingen 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 Harlingen
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Harlingen 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 Harlingen 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 Harlingen
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Harlingen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Harlingen writes the corner rule as a length of approach rather than as a triangle drawn on the lot. A nonresidential solid front yard fence may stand at the lot line only if it leaves traffic view clear for an approach of at least fifteen feet to a street and ten feet to an alley. A solid rear fence is separately subject to the sight triangle wherever a street or alley meets another. That triangle is section 111-581, Appendix A, which the code publishes as an illustration rather than as words, so the drawing has to be looked at to know the shape.
Solid face front yard fences may be maintained at a height of no more than six feet up to lot line providing they do not obstruct traffic view for an approach of at least 15 feet on an approach to a street and ten feet on the approach to an alley.
15 ftclear approach to a street
Also on corner visibility in Harlingen
- 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 Harlingen
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Harlingen 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 Harlingen 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 Harlingen
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Harlingen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Inside the Harlingen Downtown District Overlay a fence has to be in character with its surroundings, barbed wire is not permitted, and brick, wrought iron, stucco, wood and concrete are encouraged. The overlay adds this on top of the ordinary fence rules rather than replacing them, so a downtown fence answers to both. Outside the overlay, section 111-120 names no material at all beyond the solid and ornamental categories it uses to set height.
Fencing must be in character with the surroundings. Barbed wire fences shall not be permitted. Fences of brick, wrought iron, stucco, wood or concrete shall be encouraged.
Other exterior elements, fencing
Also on materials in Harlingen
- 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 Harlingen
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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 Harlingen 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 Harlingen
- 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
7 documents, of which 2 were published by Harlingen itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of HarlingenZoning Ordinance, Chapter 111, Article V Area, Yard and Fence Regulations, Section 111-120
- 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
- City of HarlingenZoning Ordinance, Chapter 111, Article XVIII Downtown District Overlay
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 Harlingen 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