Fence laws in Rockwall, Texas
What the Rockwall municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Rockwall sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Rockwall, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Rockwall front yard fence is decided case by case rather than by a rule.
- How tall
- Eight feet for any Rockwall residential fence, twelve for a nonresidential one, and the answer turns on whether the fence is solid or transparent, and which yard it stands in. The figure is 8 feet, for maximum height of a residential fence.
- Permits
- No fence goes up anywhere in Rockwall without a permit from the Chief Building Official, and repair is measured rather than argued: twenty five feet of fencing, or five posts, and a repair permit is required. The figure is 25 feet, for length of replacement fencing that triggers a repair permit.
- Pool barriers
- Rockwall leaves pool barriers to Article XVII of the Rockwall Code of Ordinances, the swimming pool and spa code.
- Spite fences
- Rockwall has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Rockwall scales its lean tolerance to the height of the fence, which no other Texas city read for this site does. The figure is 1 foot, for lean at the top of a fence over four feet.
- Corner lots
- Rockwall treats the corner lot as an appearance problem rather than a sight line problem. The figure is 5 feet, for setback from a side property line facing a street.
- Retaining walls
- Rockwall 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
- Rockwall lists what a fence may be made of rather than only what it may not: wood pickets, vinyl coated chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal, brick, stone, split face or burnished block, vinyl, fiberglass composite, and concrete with a stone face.
- 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 Rockwall?
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Rockwall answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Rockwall front yard fence is decided case by case rather than by a rule. Nothing may be built between the front face of the house and the front property line without an exception granted by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and an opaque fence is prohibited in a front yard whatever the commission says. Two things skip the process: a model home fence at forty two inches and fifty percent transparent, which has to come out when the house is occupied, and a single-family estate lot, which may build to forty eight inches. A side yard fence may not run past the front face of the house, or past where a front porch meets it.
No fence shall be constructed in the front yard of a residential property without being granted an exception from the Planning and Zoning Commission unless specifically permitted by Subsection 08.03(D)(3).
Also on fences on the property line in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall?
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Rockwall answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is solid or transparent, and which yard it stands in.
Eight feet for any Rockwall residential fence, twelve for a nonresidential one. What is unusual is the floor underneath. Solid fencing has to be at least six feet as well as no more than eight, and transparent wrought iron has to be at least four. In a front yard the numbers only matter once the Planning and Zoning Commission has granted an exception, and then a fifty percent transparent wood fence stops at forty two inches and wrought iron or decorative metal at forty eight.
Residential fencing shall have a maximum height of eight (8) feet.
The answer turns on whether the fence is solid or transparent, and which yard it stands in.
- solid fencing in a side or rear yard
- Six to eight feet. 8 ft
- transparent wrought iron fencing
- Four to eight feet. 4 ft
- a front yard wood fence allowed by exception
- Forty two inches, and fifty percent transparent. 42 in
- a nonresidential fence
- Twelve feet. 12 ft
Also on fence height in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall?
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Rockwall answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
No fence goes up anywhere in Rockwall without a permit from the Chief Building Official, and repair is measured rather than argued: twenty five feet of fencing, or five posts, and a repair permit is required. When the work is finished the building official inspects it and issues a written notice of acceptance to the permit holder if it matches the permit and the application.
No fence shall be constructed within the City without the owner or authorized agent of the owner having secured a permit from the Chief Building Official or his/her designee. A fence repair permit shall be required for the replacement of 25-feet or more of fencing and/or the replacement of five (5) or more posts.
25 ftlength of replacement fencing that triggers a repair permit
Also on permits in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall does not set this. It leaves it to Article XVII of the Rockwall Code of Ordinances, the swimming pool and spa code.
The Rockwall fence article sets no pool barrier dimension. Article XI holds a single sentence sending the question to Article XVII, the swimming pool and spa code, so the height, the gaps and the gate hardware live with the adopted pool code rather than with the fence rules.
For swimming pool, spa, and hot tub barrier requirements, see article XVII, swimming pool and spa code.
The code hands this to Article XVII of the Rockwall Code of Ordinances, the swimming pool and spa code, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on pool barriers in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall 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 Rockwall 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rockwall scales its lean tolerance to the height of the fence, which no other Texas city read for this site does. One foot out of vertical at the top is the general limit, and a fence of four feet or less gets six inches. Height itself is measured from the inside natural or mean grade of the yard, so the owner is read against their own ground. A fence may not be braced from outside instead of having its posts repaired, and once the city decides a fence is a nuisance the owner has ten days unless good cause is shown.
The fence shall not be out of vertical alignment more than one foot from the vertical measured at the top of the fence. Except, however, for fencing four feet or less in height, the vertical alignment shall not be more than six inches from the vertical measured at the top of the fence.
1 ftlean at the top of a fence over four feet
Also on how height is measured in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rockwall treats the corner lot as an appearance problem rather than a sight line problem. A corner lot fence facing a street, open space or park carries masonry columns spaced forty five feet apart starting at the rear property line, with solid cedar board on board between them, and it stands at least five feet back from the side property line. The owner maintains both faces of it. No distance back from the junction and no height band above the road appear in the fence section.
The fence shall be setback from the side property line adjacent to a street a minimum of five (5) feet. The property owner shall be required to maintain both sides of the fence.
5 ftsetback from a side property line facing a street
Also on corner visibility in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall 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 Rockwall 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 Rockwall
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Rockwall answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rockwall lists what a fence may be made of rather than only what it may not: wood pickets, vinyl coated chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal, brick, stone, split face or burnished block, vinyl, fiberglass composite, and concrete with a stone face. Precast and smooth face block, and corrugated or R-panel fencing, are prohibited. A new chain link fence is prohibited in an established neighborhood, and an existing one may only be replaced with vinyl coated chain link in the same place. Solid fencing is cedar, with spruce named as forbidden, stained and sealed on both sides, and painting a fence with oil or latex paint is prohibited. Barbed wire goes only with an agricultural use and never on residential land, razor wire never, and an electric fence never.
Precast, smooth face CMU, and corrugated or R-Panel fencing shall be prohibited.
08.02(B)(5) and 08.03(B)(2)(b)
Also on materials in Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall
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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 Rockwall 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 Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of RockwallUnified Development Code, Article 08 Landscape and Fence Standards, Section 08 Fence 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
- City of RockwallCode of Ordinances, Chapter 10 Buildings and Building Regulations, Article XI Fences
- 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 Rockwall 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