All 50 states and DC
Who owns the fence between two properties?
A fence standing on the line between two owners is called a partition fence, or a division fence depending on the state. Most states have a statute saying how its cost is split. Many of those statutes are two hundred years old, were written for farms, and only bite when at least one side keeps animals. A handful of states have no rule whatsoever, which means the cost is whatever the two neighbors agree it is.
Who owns the fence between two properties, state by state
39 stated, 9 silent. Every row links the state page and the document behind it.
| State | What the record says | Share or notice | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | StatedAlabama calls a fence on the line between two different owners a partition fence. | none stated | Ala. Code 35-7-3 |
| Alaska | SilentAlaska has no partition fence statute. | none stated | AS 03.30.010 to AS 03.30.060 |
| Arizona | SilentArizona has no partition fence statute and no rule splitting the cost of a boundary fence between neighbors. | none stated | A.R.S. Title 3 |
| Arkansas | Not read yet | none stated | none |
| California | StatedAdjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from a fence dividing their properties, and are... | none stated | Civ. Code 841 |
| Colorado | StatedColorado splits the cost of a boundary fence between farm and ranch neighbors. | 50% | C.R.S. 35-46-112 |
| Connecticut | StatedConnecticut splits a fence that sits on a property line between the two owners on either side. | none stated | Conn. Gen. Stat. 47-43 |
| Delaware | StatedDelaware splits a partition fence in equal shares between the occupants on either side, for as long as both... | none stated | 25 Del. C. 1304 |
| District of Columbia | SilentThe DC Official Code has no division fence statute and no party fence cost sharing rule. | none stated | D.C. Code tit. 42 |
| Florida | SilentFlorida has no partition fence statute. | none stated | Fla. Stat. ch. 588 |
| Georgia | SilentNo partition fence rule was found in Georgia's statewide codes. | none stated | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 110-11-1-.25 |
| Hawaii | StatedHawaii settles boundary fence questions in court instead of by a fixed cost split. | none stated | HRS 664-21 |
| Idaho | StatedWhen Idaho neighbors share one enclosure and one of them needs a partition fence, the other has to build ha... | none stated | Idaho Code 35-103 |
| Illinois | StatedThe Illinois Fence Act splits a division fence between adjoining owners in just proportion. | none stated | 765 ILCS 130/3 |
| Indiana | StatedIndiana splits a partition fence by length rather than in half. | none stated | IC 32-26-9-3 |
| Iowa | StatedIowa treats a fence on a boundary as a shared job. | none stated | Iowa Code 359A.1A |
| Kansas | StatedKansas splits a shared boundary fence between the two neighbors. | none stated | K.S.A. 29-301 |
| Kentucky | StatedKentucky calls a fence on the line between two properties a division fence. | none stated | KRS 256.030(1) |
| Louisiana | StatedLouisiana treats a fence sitting on a property line as shared unless proof shows otherwise. | none stated | La. Civ. Code Art. 685 |
| Maine | StatedMaine splits a partition fence in equal shares between the occupants of enclosed adjoining land, for as lon... | none stated | 30-A M.R.S. 2952 |
| Maryland | StatedMaryland has no state rule splitting the cost of a boundary fence. | none stated | Md. Code, Local Gov’t § 10-318 |
| Massachusetts | StatedMassachusetts splits a partition fence in equal shares between the neighbors on either side. | none stated | M.G.L. c. 49, § 3 |
| Michigan | StatedMichigan flips the usual partition fence rule. | none stated | MCL 43.53(1) |
| Minnesota | StatedMinnesota splits the cost of a partition fence in equal shares. | none stated | Minn. Stat. 344.03, subd. 1(a) |
| Mississippi | Not read yet | none stated | none |
| Missouri | StatedMissouri starts a division fence with written notice to the neighbor. | none stated | RSMo § 272.060 |
| Montana | StatedMontana splits a partition fence in equal shares between the occupants of adjoining enclosed land, for as l... | none stated | MCA 70-16-206 |
| Nebraska | StatedNebraska splits a shared boundary fence between the two adjoining landowners. | none stated | Neb. Rev. Stat. 34-102 |
| Nevada | SilentNevada has no partition fence or division fence statute. | none stated | NRS ch. 569 |
| New Hampshire | StatedNew Hampshire splits a partition fence in equal shares between the owners of adjoining land that is under i... | none stated | RSA 473:1 |
| New Jersey | StatedNew Jersey splits a partition fence between neighbors only when at least one of them uses the land to pastu... | none stated | N.J.S.A. 4:20-7 |
| New Mexico | Not read yet | none stated | none |
| New York | StatedNew York Town Law splits a division fence between the two adjoining owners in just and equitable portions u... | none stated | Town Law 300 |
| North Carolina | SilentNorth Carolina used to have a division fence law and repealed it. | none stated | N.C.G.S. ch. 68 |
| North Dakota | StatedNorth Dakota binds the occupants and owners of enclosed land equally to keep up the partition fence between... | none stated | N.D.C.C. 47-26-05 |
| Ohio | StatedOhio has one of the most worked out partition fence laws in the country. | none stated | ORC 971.06(A) |
| Oklahoma | StatedOklahoma treats a boundary fence as a shared duty. | none stated | 60 O.S. § 70 |
| Oregon | StatedOregon treats a partition fence as a shared cost between neighbors. | 50% | ORS 96.010 |
| Pennsylvania | SilentNo partition fence rule appears in the published Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. | none stated | 34 Pa. Code 403.62 |
| Rhode Island | StatedRhode Island splits a partition fence between two pieces of land that are both under improvement. | none stated | R.I. Gen. Laws 34-10-10 |
| South Carolina | SilentSouth Carolina has no statewide partition fence law. | none stated | S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 7 |
| South Dakota | StatedSouth Dakota makes each landowner liable for half the cost of building and keeping up a partition fence, un... | none stated | SDCL 43-23-1 |
| Tennessee | StatedTennessee lets one side step out of a partition fence duty when the two properties are used differently. | none stated | Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, adding a section to T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8, Part 2 |
| Texas | StatedTexas sets no statewide rule for splitting the cost of a fence on a boundary. | none stated | Agric. Code 143.122 |
| Utah | StatedUtah splits the cost of a partition fence between the owners on each side. | 50% | Utah Code 4-26-102 |
| Vermont | StatedVermont splits a division fence in half when both sides of the line are occupied. | none stated | 24 V.S.A. 3802 |
| Virginia | StatedVirginia treats a fence on the line between two properties as a shared cost. | none stated | Va. Code § 55.1-2821 |
| Washington | StatedWashington splits a partition fence in half. | none stated | RCW 16.60.030 |
| West Virginia | StatedWest Virginia treats every partition fence as a lawful fence by default. | none stated | W. Va. Code 19-17-4 |
| Wisconsin | Statedland used and occupied for farming or grazing | none stated | Wis. Stat. § 90.03 |
| Wyoming | StatedWyoming treats a boundary fence as a partition fence once it separates the land of two owners. | 50% | W.S. 11-28-106(a) |
The other nine questions
A fence rule usually turns on more than one of these, and the answer to one does not settle another.
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and each state page carries the date its documents were read. How findings are made · What the terms mean · Browse by state