Fence laws in Richardson, Texas
What the Richardson municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Richardson sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Richardson, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- No part of a Richardson fence may stand on or lean over public property, and the code goes further than most by requiring the fence to be kept in a plane so it does not come to overhang later.
- How tall
- Eight feet along the rear line, and eight along a side line as far forward as the front wall of the house or the building line, whichever sits further from the street, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in and whether the lot is a corner lot. The figure is 8 feet, for fence along the rear property line. It reaches single-family, duplex and apartment zoning only.
- Permits
- Richardson requires a fence permit above two and a half feet, which is the lowest trigger of the Texas cities read for this site. The figure is 2.5 feet, for height above which a fence needs 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
- Richardson has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Richardson measures a fence from the inside of the yard, at the natural or mean grade, rather than from whichever side reads taller.
- Corner lots
- Where an alley meets a street in Richardson the clear area is a triangle five feet by twenty, not the equal-sided triangle most cities draw. The figure is 20 feet, for the long leg of the clear area where an alley meets a street.
- Retaining walls
- Richardson 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
- Richardson publishes both lists.
- 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 Richardson?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Richardson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No part of a Richardson fence may stand on or lean over public property, and the code goes further than most by requiring the fence to be kept in a plane so it does not come to overhang later. An easement needs written approval from every agency with an interest in it. And where a subdivision has a screening wall along a public street behind the houses, no private fence may be attached to that wall.
No fence or any part of such fence shall be constructed upon or caused to protrude over public property. All fences must be maintained in a plane so as not to overhang public property.
Also on fences on the property line in Richardson
- 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 Richardson?
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Richardson answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in and whether the lot is a corner lot.
Eight feet along the rear line, and eight along a side line as far forward as the front wall of the house or the building line, whichever sits further from the street. In front of the house a fence is only allowed at all as part of the landscaping or as a decorative screen, stops at three feet, may not create a traffic hazard, and needs the chief building official to approve it. On a corner lot where the rear line runs against a neighbor’s side line, eight feet is allowed except in a corner block measured fifteen feet along the rear line and twenty five feet along the street side line, where the limit is four feet at fifty percent through vision.
Front yard. No fence shall be permitted between the front property line and the front wall of the building unless a part of the landscaping or a decorative screen. The fence shall not exceed three feet in height and shall not create a traffic hazard.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in and whether the lot is a corner lot.
- the rear property line
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a side property line up to the front wall or building line
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- between the front property line and the front wall of the house
- Three feet, and only as landscaping or a decorative screen. 3 ft
- the corner block on a lot whose rear line abuts a neighbor’s side line
- Four feet, at fifty percent through vision. 4 ft
Also on fence height in Richardson
- 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 Richardson?
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Richardson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Richardson requires a fence permit above two and a half feet, which is the lowest trigger of the Texas cities read for this site. Plans and specifications go in with the application, the finished fence is inspected, and the chief building official issues a card of acceptance or rejects it. An appeal from that decision goes to the zoning board of adjustment, which can grant a special exception where strict enforcement would work an unnecessary hardship.
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct a fence over 2½ feet in height on any lot without having first obtained a fence permit therefor from the building inspection department.
2.5 ftheight above which a fence needs a permit
Also on permits in Richardson
- 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 Richardson
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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 Richardson 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 Richardson
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Richardson 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 Richardson 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 Richardson
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Richardson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Richardson measures a fence from the inside of the yard, at the natural or mean grade, rather than from whichever side reads taller. On a lot that sits above the street or above the neighbor, the owner gets the benefit of their own ground, which is the opposite of the rule Garland and Killeen use.
All fence heights shall be measured vertically from the inside natural or mean grade elevation of the yard.
Also on how height is measured in Richardson
- 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 Richardson
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Richardson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where an alley meets a street in Richardson the clear area is a triangle five feet by twenty, not the equal-sided triangle most cities draw. The long leg runs along the street and the short one along the alley, which matches how a driver leaving an alley actually needs to look. A fence rebuilt where a ten by ten clear area already exists may keep the ten by ten. Ground that blocks the view has to be cut back rather than worked around.
To obtain proper sight distance where an alley and street intersect, a clear area formed by a five-foot by 20-foot triangle shall be maintained so as not to cause danger to traffic by obstructing visibility.
20 ftthe long leg of the clear area where an alley meets a street
Also on corner visibility in Richardson
- 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 Richardson
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Richardson 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 Richardson 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 Richardson
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Richardson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Richardson publishes both lists. Wood, concrete, masonry, chain link, wrought iron, metal tubing, vinyl and fiberglass composite are permitted, along with anything else the building official accepts for exterior exposure. Barbed wire, razor ribbon, sheet metal, corrugated steel, fiberglass panel, plywood and anything else made for another purpose are prohibited. Barbed wire comes back only in an industrial district, in a rear or side yard, with every strand at least six feet up and the whole fence at least three hundred feet from residential zoning. No fence may be electrically charged.
Prohibited materials. Materials prohibited are barbed wire, razor ribbon, sheet metal, corrugated steel and fiberglass panel, plywood or any other similar material manufactured for other uses.
Also on materials in Richardson
- 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 Richardson
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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 Richardson 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 Richardson
- 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 Richardson itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of RichardsonCode of Ordinances, Chapter 6 Buildings and Building Regulations, 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 Richardson 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