Fence laws in McAllen, Texas
What the McAllen municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where McAllen sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in McAllen, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A McAllen fence may run right up to the property line with no setback, and the price of that is orientation.
- How tall
- A McAllen fence in a front yard stops at forty eight inches, and the rule reaches ornamental fences, open fences, screen fences, walls, structural screens and shrubs grown to act as a fence alike, and the answer turns on the yard, and on a corner lot which side the address is on. The figure is 48 inches, for fence, wall, screen or hedge in a front yard.
- Permits
- No fence or wall may be built or moved in McAllen until a zoning permit has been issued for it, and moving one is named alongside building it.
- Pool barriers
- McAllen sets the pool barrier trigger at twenty four inches of depth, which is lower than most cities and catches a wading pool as well as a swimming pool. The figure is 24 inches, for water depth at which a barrier becomes required.
- Spite fences
- McAllen has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- McAllen reads a side or rear yard fence by perpendicular measurement from the nearest ground level, and a front yard fence from the nearest point on the ground.
- Corner lots
- On a McAllen corner lot the sight triangle is drawn from points twenty five feet along the intersecting street right of way lines, closed with a line between them, and the rule inside it is a prohibition rather than a height limit. The figure is 25 feet, for leg of the street intersection sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- McAllen is explicit about something most codes leave unsaid: a retaining wall is not limited in height.
- Materials
- McAllen names five materials as standard: chain link, vinyl, wood, decorative metal and wrought iron, and the answer turns on the material, and the district the fence stands in. The figure is 50 percent, for openings required to count as an open 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 McAllen?
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A McAllen fence may run right up to the property line with no setback, and the price of that is orientation. The finished side has to face the adjoining property and the street frontage, or the fence has to be finished the same on both sides, so the neighbor never looks at the posts. The only thing that pulls a fence back from the line is the street intersection visibility rule on a corner lot.
Any fence or wall shall be constructed so as to have the finished side facing adjacent property and street frontage or such fence shall be constructed to have the same finish on both sides.
Also on fences on the property line in McAllen
- 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 McAllen?
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McAllen answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and on a corner lot which side the address is on.
A McAllen fence in a front yard stops at forty eight inches, and the rule reaches ornamental fences, open fences, screen fences, walls, structural screens and shrubs grown to act as a fence alike. Along a side or rear yard the maximum is six feet. The corner lot gets a rule of its own that turns on the address rather than the geometry: where a lot has two front yards, the addressed side or the front access counts as the true front yard, and a six foot fence is allowed in the other front yard provided it creates no line of sight obstruction to the traveled way.
Ornamental fences, open fences, screen fences, walls, structural screens, and shrubs used to create a natural fence or screen, shall be permitted in any required yard, provided that any such fence, wall, screen or shrubs used to create a natural fence or screen located in a front yard shall not exceed a height of forty-eight (48) inches as measured from the nearest point on the ground.
The answer turns on the yard, and on a corner lot which side the address is on.
- a front yard
- Forty eight inches. 48 in
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- the second front yard of a corner lot, away from the address
- Six feet, provided the view of the road stays clear. 6 ft
Also on fence height in McAllen
- 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 McAllen?
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No fence or wall may be built or moved in McAllen until a zoning permit has been issued for it, and moving one is named alongside building it. There is a single exemption, for a fence inside the agricultural district put up to contain livestock. The permit doubles as the materials control, because the ordinance states that a zoning permit may not be issued for a fence made of non-standard fencing material, which means the way the materials rule is enforced is by refusing the permit rather than by prohibiting the fence.
No fence or wall shall be constructed or moved until a zoning permit has been issued for such fence or wall, provided that no such permit shall be required to construct a fence within the AG, Agricultural District for the purpose of containing of livestock.
Also on permits in McAllen
- 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 McAllen
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
McAllen sets the pool barrier trigger at twenty four inches of depth, which is lower than most cities and catches a wading pool as well as a swimming pool. The enclosure has to be a substantial fence, wall or other barrier adequate to keep out both people and animals, at least forty eight inches high, with a self-closing and self-latching gate that can be locked. A residential pool also has to sit in a side or rear yard and meet the accessory structure setbacks, while a commercial pool may go in any yard.
Swimming or wading pool structures greater than twenty-four (24) inches in depth shall be enclosed by a substantial fence, wall or other barrier which shall be adequate to prevent unauthorized entrance to the pool and pool area by persons or animals.
24 inwater depth at which a barrier becomes required
Also on pool barriers in McAllen
- set in state lawTexas 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. Health & Safety Code 757.003(b)Texas · Statute
Spite fence laws in McAllen
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McAllen 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 McAllen 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 McAllen
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
McAllen reads a side or rear yard fence by perpendicular measurement from the nearest ground level, and a front yard fence from the nearest point on the ground. Both phrases anchor the reading to whatever ground is closest to the fence at that spot rather than to an averaged grade, a natural grade or the higher of two lots, so on uneven ground the answer changes along the run. The word perpendicular also settles that the measurement is taken straight up rather than along the slope.
The maximum fence, free-standing wall or screen height along any side or rear yard shall be six (6) feet, as determined by perpendicular measurement from the nearest ground level.
Also on how height is measured in McAllen
- 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 McAllen
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a McAllen corner lot the sight triangle is drawn from points twenty five feet along the intersecting street right of way lines, closed with a line between them, and the rule inside it is a prohibition rather than a height limit. No building, fence, wall, structure or other obstruction may be placed or maintained there at all. One thing is carved out: an open fence with an unobstructed opening of fifty percent or greater that also meets the front yard rule at 504.03. The central business district is outside the rule entirely, and every other fence section in the ordinance points back to this one.
no building, fence, wall, structure or other obstruction, except an open fence (having an unobstructed opening of fifty (50) percent or greater) and meeting the Section 504.03 requirement for a fence, shall be placed or maintained
25 ftleg of the street intersection sight triangle
Also on corner visibility in McAllen
- 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 McAllen
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McAllen answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
McAllen is explicit about something most codes leave unsaid: a retaining wall is not limited in height. What the ordinance asks instead is that the wall be structurally sound for the height and the type of material it retains, and that it be built only of concrete, wood, steel or retaining wall blocks, or a combination of those, with any other material prohibited. The one locational control is the street intersection visibility rule, which a retaining wall has to meet like anything else.
Retaining walls shall not be limited in height, but shall be constructed so that such wall is structurally sound for the height and type of material being retained. Retaining walls shall be constructed only of concrete, wood, steel or retaining wall blocks or combination thereof.
Also on retaining walls in McAllen
- 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 McAllen
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McAllen answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and the district the fence stands in.
McAllen names five materials as standard: chain link, vinyl, wood, decorative metal and wrought iron. Anything else is non-standard and the city refuses the zoning permit rather than prohibiting the fence in terms. Electrified and barbed wire fences are prohibited in a residential district, and allowed on top of security fencing on public grounds, on private land in the commercial and industrial districts, and for containing livestock in the agricultural district. An open fence or chain link fence is expressly preserved for agricultural use, recreational use and public safety and security fencing in any non-residential district, with an open fence defined as at least fifty percent unobstructed openings per square foot. This subsection is printed as 505.04 in the ordinance even though it sits inside Section 504.
Fence materials, fences shall be constructed of standard non-agricultural fencing materials, including chain link, vinyl, wood, decorative metal, and wrought iron. Zoning permits may not be issued for fences constructed of non-standard fencing materials
505.04 as printed, within Section 504, and 504.06 and 504.07
The answer turns on the material, and the district the fence stands in.
- any fence
- Chain link, vinyl, wood, decorative metal or wrought iron.
- a residential district
- No electrified or barbed wire fence.
- commercial, industrial, public or agricultural land
- Barbed or electrified wire on top of security fencing, or to contain livestock.
- an open fence anywhere it is allowed
- At least half unobstructed, per square foot. 50%
Also on materials in McAllen
- 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 McAllen
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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 McAllen 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 McAllen
- 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 McAllen itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of McAllenZoning Ordinance, Article 5, Supplemental Regulations, Section 504, Fences and walls (updated 4 March 2024)
- 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 McAllen 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