Fence laws in Rowlett, Texas
What the Rowlett municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Rowlett sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Rowlett, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where a Rowlett residential development turns a side yard or a rear yard toward a street, a masonry screening wall is required along it. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum height of a required masonry screening wall.
- How tall
- Rowlett sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- Rowlett takes a fence through the ordinary residential building permit, submitted through the city online permitting system rather than over a counter.
- Pool barriers
- A Rowlett swimming pool, spa or hot tub is enclosed at forty eight inches with no opening larger than four inches in any direction, measured horizontally between the members of a picket fence. The figure is 48 inches, for minimum height of a pool, spa or hot tub enclosure.
- Spite fences
- Rowlett has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Rowlett measures a leaning fence rather than arguing about it. The figure is 10 degrees, for inclination at which a fence counts as out of plumb.
- Corner lots
- Rowlett draws the sight triangle twenty five feet back along both street lines of a corner lot and clears the band between two and a half feet and six feet above the crown of the road. The figure is 25 feet, for leg of the site visibility triangle along each lot line.
- Retaining walls
- Rowlett 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
- Rowlett bans fence materials by where they came from rather than by name.
- 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 Rowlett?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a Rowlett residential development turns a side yard or a rear yard toward a street, a masonry screening wall is required along it. The wall runs from six feet to eight feet, is built of the same materials, color and texture as the primary structure on the site, and a five foot wall maintenance easement is dedicated inside each lot that abuts it, owned and maintained by the homeowners association. Where such a wall abuts an alley, the required landscaping goes on the house side of the wall rather than the alley side.
A masonry screening wall is required for all residential development that has a side yard or rear yard directly adjacent to a right-of-way. The masonry wall shall be a minimum height of six feet
6 ftminimum height of a required masonry screening wall
Also on fences on the property line in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett?
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Rowlett law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Texas 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.
This one is Texas law, not Rowlett law. All Texas findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Agric. Code ch. 143Texas Legislature
- Local Gov't Code ch. 214Texas Legislature
Also on fence height in Rowlett
- no rule, documents checkedRowlett sets no maximum height for an ordinary residential fence. Section 77-402 says a fence may stand in any setback subject to height limitations and requirements limiting obstruction of visibility, and then no height limitation for a fence appears anywhere in the development code. The only fence heights the code states are minimums: six feet for a required masonry screening wall, rising to a maximum of eight for that wall alone, six feet for an ornamental metal fence used as a buffer, and forty eight inches for a pool barrier in a different chapter. The visibility triangle and the fence repair standard both apply whatever the height is. Chapter 77 in full, searched for a fence height limitRowlett · Zoning code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Rowlett?
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Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rowlett takes a fence through the ordinary residential building permit, submitted through the city online permitting system rather than over a counter. The city lists the fence permit beside concrete flatwork, accessory structures and roofing, and describes it as the way compliance with the city ordinances is checked before the fence goes up.
Securing a simple building permit for the installation of a fence at your home is important to ensure compliance with City ordinances and help avoid potential issues.
Residential permits, submittal requirements
Also on permits in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Rowlett swimming pool, spa or hot tub is enclosed at forty eight inches with no opening larger than four inches in any direction, measured horizontally between the members of a picket fence. Horizontal members may not be arranged so the fence can be climbed. Gate latches sit in the upper quarter of the gate and at least forty five inches off the ground. A spa or hot tub on its own may take a sturdy latching cover instead of the fence. The part most cities leave out is the temporary fence: it goes up at the start of excavation and has to meet the same standard as the permanent one.
Such fence or other solid structure shall not be less than 48 inches in height, with no openings, holes or gaps larger than four inches measured in any direction, except that the measurement for a picket fence (one composed primarily of vertical members) shall be measured in horizontal direction between such members.
48 inminimum height of a pool, spa or hot tub enclosure
Also on pool barriers in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett 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 Rowlett 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rowlett measures a leaning fence rather than arguing about it. Ten degrees of inclination from the post or from the frame between posts, taken with a plumb bob line or a carpenter level, is a violation. A composite fence, meaning one built on a structural masonry or concrete base that rises more than a foot off the ground and makes up no more than forty percent of the total height, is allowed fifteen degrees. A fence is also in violation if any part of it is missing, broken, loose or damaged, or if it is braced from outside instead of having its posts repaired.
The fence other than a composite fence exceeds an inclination of ten degrees either from the post or the frames between the posts as measured with a plumb bob line, a carpenter level, or a measurement device approved by the city.
10 degreesinclination at which a fence counts as out of plumb
Also on how height is measured in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rowlett draws the sight triangle twenty five feet back along both street lines of a corner lot and clears the band between two and a half feet and six feet above the crown of the road. Below that band and above it, a structure is allowed. The rule is written into the definition of site visibility triangle rather than into a fence section, so it reaches signs, walls, structures and plant growth on the same terms as a fence.
On the corner lot on which a front and side yard is required, no wall, fence, sign, structure or any plant growth which obstructs sight lines at elevations between two and one-half feet and six feet above any portion of the crown of the adjacent roadway shall be maintained in a triangle formed by measuring from the point of intersection of the front and exterior side lot lines a distance of 25 feet along the front and side lot lines
77-1105, site visibility triangle
25 ftleg of the site visibility triangle along each lot line
Also on corner visibility in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett 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 Rowlett 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 Rowlett
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Rowlett answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rowlett bans fence materials by where they came from rather than by name. Anything manufactured for another use, and the code gives plywood, corrugated steel and fiberglass panels as the examples, may not be used as fencing. A repair has to match the rest of the fence in composition, size, shape and quality, so a patch in a different material is a violation even when the fence stands straight.
Each structural and decorative member of a fence shall be compatible in size, material and appearance with the remainder of the fence. Products manufactured for other uses such as plywood, corrugated steel, or fiberglass panels, are prohibited as fencing materials.
Also on materials in Rowlett
- 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 Rowlett
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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 Rowlett 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 Rowlett
- 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
9 documents, of which 4 were published by Rowlett itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of RowlettCode of Ordinances, Chapter 77 Development Code
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Chapter 214, Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures
- City of RowlettCode of Ordinances, Chapter 78 Buildings and Building Regulations, Article X Fences
- City of RowlettCode of Ordinances, Chapter 22 Environment
- City of Rowlett, Building InspectionsResidential permits, submittal requirements
- 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 Rowlett 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