Fence laws in Killeen, Texas
What the Killeen municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Killeen sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Killeen, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Killeen fence facing a public right of way turns its smooth side out and keeps the support posts on the inside.
- How tall
- Four feet in a Killeen front yard, or six if the fence is wrought iron, which is the only material the height rule singles out, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in and whether it is wrought iron. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard. It reaches residential uses and the B-1 zoning district only.
- Permits
- Killeen exempts a narrow slice of repair work and nothing else. The figure is 25 feet, for length of like for like repair allowed in twelve months without a 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
- Killeen has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Killeen measures from finished grade to the top of the fence, and it counts a stem wall or retaining wall underneath as part of the fence rather than as ground. The figure is 8 feet, for hard ceiling along the property line whatever the difference in ground level.
- Corner lots
- Killeen draws its visibility triangle thirty five feet back along each curb line from where the two curb lines cross, extending the curb lines out into the intersection if it needs to in order to find that point. The figure is 35 feet, for each leg of the visibility triangle, from the curb line intersection.
- Retaining walls
- Killeen 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
- Killeen bans anything that was not made to be a fence, and names plywood, particleboard, corrugated metal, railroad ties, tires and door panels as examples.
- 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 Killeen?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Killeen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Killeen fence facing a public right of way turns its smooth side out and keeps the support posts on the inside. Where the code requires a screening device, the finished side faces away from whatever is being screened. Any gate in a fence has to be at least three feet wide so emergency crews and their equipment can get through.
The smooth, finished side of the fence shall face outward, with the support posts on the inside, for any fence facing a public right-of-way.
Also on fences on the property line in Killeen
- 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 Killeen?
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Killeen answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in and whether it is wrought iron.
Four feet in a Killeen front yard, or six if the fence is wrought iron, which is the only material the height rule singles out. The low limit runs from the front property line back to the required front yard setback, and a fence column may sit twelve inches above the fence. Side and rear yards go to eight feet, and anything over six feet there may not be chain link.
The maximum height of a fence in a front yard shall be four (4) feet overall height as measured from the finished grade, except that wrought iron fences may not exceed six (6) feet overall height as measured from the finished grade.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in and whether it is wrought iron.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a front yard, wrought iron
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Eight feet, and not chain link above six. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Killeen
- 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 Killeen?
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Killeen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Killeen exempts a narrow slice of repair work and nothing else. Up to twenty five feet of an existing fence may be repaired in any twelve month period without a permit, and only with the same materials as the original and no change to the design or the placement. Anything beyond that is a permit, and the application asks for the height, the materials, the location, the distance to each structure on the lot and the lot size.
Repair of an existing fence with like materials of original construction and with no change to the original design or placement shall be allowed without a permit for any improvement that does not exceed twenty-five (25) feet of the original fence during a twelve-month period.
25 ftlength of like for like repair allowed in twelve months without a permit
Also on permits in Killeen
- 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 Killeen
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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 Killeen 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 Killeen
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Killeen 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 Killeen 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 Killeen
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Killeen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Killeen measures from finished grade to the top of the fence, and it counts a stem wall or retaining wall underneath as part of the fence rather than as ground. Where two adjoining lots sit at different levels, the lot that sits lower may add the difference in elevation at the property line to its normal limit, so the fence can reach the same skyline as the neighbor’s. Eight feet along that property line is the hard ceiling whatever the drop.
In those instances where fences are attached or constructed on top of stem walls or retaining walls, the calculation of height shall include the combined fence and wall structure as measured from the finished grade. In those instances where there is a difference in surface elevation between two (2) adjoining properties, then the fence on the adjacent property with the lower elevation shall not exceed the maximum allowable height plus the difference in surface elevation between the adjoining yard areas at the property line, but in no instance shall it measure more than eight (8) feet in vertical height along the property line of the back or side yard upon which the proposed fence is to be located.
8 fthard ceiling along the property line whatever the difference in ground level
Also on how height is measured in Killeen
- 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 Killeen
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Killeen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Killeen draws its visibility triangle thirty five feet back along each curb line from where the two curb lines cross, extending the curb lines out into the intersection if it needs to in order to find that point. The triangle takes in both the public right of way and the corner of the lot, and no fence may reach into it at all.
The visibility triangle shall mean a triangle sight area, at all intersections, which shall include that portion of public right-of-way and any corner lot within the adjacent curb lines and a diagonal line intersecting such curb lines at points thirty-five (35) feet back from their intersection
35 fteach leg of the visibility triangle, from the curb line intersection
Also on corner visibility in Killeen
- 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 Killeen
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Killeen 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 Killeen 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 Killeen
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Killeen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Killeen bans anything that was not made to be a fence, and names plywood, particleboard, corrugated metal, railroad ties, tires and door panels as examples. Used or salvaged material that is weathered, worn, rusted or corroded is out as well. R-panel and U-panel metal fences are allowed if coated and capped. Outside agricultural, single family, two family and manufacturing use, chain link has to be black or green vinyl coated with the posts and hardware painted to match. Barbed wire and electric fencing are limited to the agricultural districts, and security wire in the manufacturing districts has to start at least six feet off the ground.
Materials not originally intended for use in constructing a fence are prohibited as fencing and screening materials. Examples of prohibited materials include plywood, particleboard, corrugated metal, railroad ties, tires, door panels, and other makeshift materials.
Also on materials in Killeen
- 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 Killeen
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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 Killeen 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 Killeen
- 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 Killeen itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of KilleenCode of Ordinances, Chapter 31 Zoning, fence article, sections 31-853 to 31-858
- 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 Killeen 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