Fence laws in North Richland Hills, Texas
What the North Richland Hills municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where North Richland Hills sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in North Richland Hills, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where North Richland Hills requires a masonry screening wall it runs the entire length of the shared boundary and stands inside the property that has to build it, not on the line or over it. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum panel height of a required masonry screening wall.
- How tall
- Eight feet is the ceiling for any wall or fence in North Richland Hills, and the answer turns on whether the fence is in a front yard, and the size and frontage of the lot. The figure is 8 feet, for maximum wall or fence height.
- Permits
- The North Richland Hills screening and fencing standards apply to new construction and to any replacement of fifty percent or more of an existing screen, fence or wall. The figure is 50 percent, for share of a fence whose replacement brings the standards into play.
- 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
- North Richland Hills has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Where the ground falls at ten percent or more, a North Richland Hills fence may be built in eight foot horizontal stair step sections rather than following the slope, and the test is applied to the average height of each section rather than to the tallest point. The figure is 10 percent, for slope at which a fence may be stair stepped.
- Corner lots
- North Richland Hills leaves corner clearance to the commissioners court of each county, for intersections on county roads outside city limits.
- Retaining walls
- North Richland Hills 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 new chain link fence in North Richland Hills may not run along a thoroughfare, may not be visible from the street, and has to be vinyl clad or powder coated in black or dark green.
- 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 North Richland Hills?
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North Richland Hills answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where North Richland Hills requires a masonry screening wall it runs the entire length of the shared boundary and stands inside the property that has to build it, not on the line or over it. The wall is six to eight feet of panel height and has to be up before any certificate of occupancy issues. Residential lots backing onto Iron Horse Golf Course are exempt, as are the parts of lots inside the Little Bear Creek Corridor.
The masonry screening wall shall be constructed along the entire length of the common property line between such properties and within the property required to erect the screening wall. The masonry-screening wall shall be constructed prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy.
6 ftminimum panel height of a required masonry screening wall
Also on fences on the property line in North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills?
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North Richland Hills answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is in a front yard, and the size and frontage of the lot.
Eight feet is the ceiling for any wall or fence in North Richland Hills. A front yard fence is allowed only on a single family or agricultural lot with at least a hundred feet of street frontage, has to be open air wrought iron or ornamental metal with brick or stone columns twenty to fifty feet apart, and stops at four feet. On a lot over an acre with two hundred feet or more of frontage the same fence may go to six. Masonry columns may stand eight inches above the fence and no more.
Walls and fences shall be no greater than eight feet in height. The height of a wall or fence shall be the vertical distance between the ground and the top of the wall or fence.
The answer turns on whether the fence is in a front yard, and the size and frontage of the lot.
- anywhere on the lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a front yard on a single family or agricultural lot with at least a hundred feet of frontage
- Four feet, open air wrought iron or ornamental metal. 4 ft
- a front yard on a lot over an acre with at least two hundred feet of frontage
- Six feet. 6 ft
Also on fence height in North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills?
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North Richland Hills answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The North Richland Hills screening and fencing standards apply to new construction and to any replacement of fifty percent or more of an existing screen, fence or wall. So a fence that predates the rules can be patched indefinitely and only has to meet them once half of it comes down. A fence also has to be kept painted, stained or sealed against rust and peeling, and high intensity, primary, metallic and fluorescent colors are prohibited on any fence surface.
This article shall be applicable to all new construction or where 50 percent or more of an existing screen, fence or wall requires replacement.
50%share of a fence whose replacement brings the standards into play
Also on permits in North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills
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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 North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills
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North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills
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North Richland Hills answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where the ground falls at ten percent or more, a North Richland Hills fence may be built in eight foot horizontal stair step sections rather than following the slope, and the test is applied to the average height of each section rather than to the tallest point. So a fence on a hill is measured piece by piece, which lets the top run level without the high end failing.
In terrain where the ground slopes at a grade of ten percent or more, the wall or fence may be built in eight-foot horizontal stair step sections. The average height of each fence section shall be no greater than eight feet in height.
10%slope at which a fence may be stair stepped
Also on how height is measured in North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills
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North Richland Hills does not set this. It leaves it to the commissioners court of each county, for intersections on county roads outside city limits.
Texas 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.
This one is Texas law, not North Richland Hills law. All Texas findings
The commissioners court may: (1) define the appropriate sight distance; (2) prohibit an obstruction of the sight distance by any vegetation, loose earth, or other item except a building or other structure affixed to the ground, if the obstruction is a traffic hazard; and (3) provide for the removal and disposition of an obstruction maintained in violation of an order adopted under this section.
The code hands this to the commissioners court of each county, for intersections on county roads outside city limits, which is not published in the code itself.
Retaining wall rules in North Richland Hills
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North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills
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North Richland Hills answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A new chain link fence in North Richland Hills may not run along a thoroughfare, may not be visible from the street, and has to be vinyl clad or powder coated in black or dark green. One that is visible from a public street needs a special use permit. An existing chain link fence may be replaced with a permit. Dog runs, sports courts, parks, playgrounds, municipal and school property, temporary events and construction sites are all excepted. New wood fences, and wood fences being completely replaced, need metal or concrete posts set in concrete.
New chain link fences shall not be permitted along any thoroughfare, shall not be visible from the street, and shall be vinyl-clad or powder-coated in black or dark green.
Also on materials in North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills
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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 North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills
- 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 North Richland Hills itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of North Richland HillsCode of Ordinances, Chapter 118 Zoning, Article VIII Screening and Fencing Standards
- 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 North Richland Hills 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