Fence laws in Portsmouth, Virginia
What the Portsmouth municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Portsmouth sets no rule of its own, the Virginia rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Portsmouth, Virginia, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Portsmouth grants the boundary in plain words and then limits it by what the fence would interfere with rather than by distance, and the answer turns on what lies under or beside the line. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a lot line.
- How tall
- Portsmouth prints a table and offers a choice in the front yard that few other cities write down, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for transparent fence in a residential front yard.
- Permits
- Portsmouth requires a zoning permit for all fence or wall construction, reconstruction, replacement or relocation, with no height threshold and no district exemption, and the section adds that compliance with its standards has to happen before a building permit or a zoning permit is approved, whichever comes first, and the answer turns on where the fence is and whether it exceeds the table. The figure is 8 feet, for height above which a Special Exception is needed.
- Pool barriers
- Virginia handles pool fences through its statewide building code.
- Spite fences
- Portsmouth has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Portsmouth answers both measuring questions in two sentences and answers them strictly.
- Corner lots
- Portsmouth is the only city in this project so far whose corner triangle changes size with the shape of the corner, and the answer turns on the angle at which the two streets meet. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the triangle where the interior angle is ninety degrees or more.
- Retaining walls
- Virginia writes its own statewide code and sets the bar lower than the model code does. The figure is 3 feet, for depth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit.
- Materials
- Portsmouth writes both lists and then adds conditions to one entry, and the answer turns on the material and the district.
- Livestock
- Virginia describes a lawful fence several ways and any one of them counts, as long as the livestock cannot get through. The figure is 42 inches, for minimum height of a barbed wire or board lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Portsmouth?
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Portsmouth answers this, but the answer changes depending on what lies under or beside the line.
Portsmouth grants the boundary in plain words and then limits it by what the fence would interfere with rather than by distance. A fence may be located directly on a lot line between two or more parcels held in private or public ownership, which is a permission covering city-owned land as well as private neighbors. Two things stop it. No fence may be installed within or in a manner that obstructs access to any public easement unless the easement holder expressly grants it, and no fence may be installed that blocks or diverts drainage, stated flatly with no threshold and no exception. One material rule turns into a setback in practice: vinyl coated chain link in the mixed use and downtown sub-districts has to be screened by a Type C buffer on every side facing a right-of-way, and the code says the fence is to be set back far enough to fit that landscaping, so the buffer width becomes the distance.
Fences may be located directly on a lot line between two or more parcels of land held in private or public ownership.
The answer turns on what lies under or beside the line.
- an ordinary lot line
- On the line. 0 ft
- a public easement
- Only if the holder allows it.
- drainage
- Never blocked or diverted.
- coated chain link facing a street
- Back far enough for the buffer.
Also on fences on the property line in Portsmouth
- set in state lawIn Virginia neighbors split a fence on the property line down the middle. Both build it, both keep it up, and both pay the same share. Two things end that duty: one neighbor choosing to leave their land open, or the two of them agreeing to something else. Va. Code § 55.1-2821Virginia · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Portsmouth?
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Portsmouth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is.
Portsmouth prints a table and offers a choice in the front yard that few other cities write down. In a residential district a front yard fence may be four feet if it is at least fifty percent transparent, or six feet and solid if it stands at the front facade rather than out at the street, so the taller fence is bought by moving it back to the face of the house. Side and rear yards take six feet flat, and the table repeats the same figures for interior lots, corner lots and double frontage lots, which removes the corner lot penalty most codes apply. Commercial districts get four feet and half transparent in front, eight in the side and rear, dropping to six in a corner side yard. Industrial districts get eight everywhere. Two special cases sit outside the table: utilities, wireless towers, government buildings and public safety uses may reach eight feet in any yard, and a vacant lot with no established use may be fenced only to four feet and only at fifty percent transparency, and only to stop dumping or unauthorized parking.
Front Yard 4 ft. and 50% transparent; 6 ft. and solid at the front façade
Section 40.2-305(D)(3)(a), Table 40.2-305
The answer turns on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is.
- a see-through front yard fence
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a solid one at the front facade
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet in a house district, eight in a business one. 8 ft
- a vacant lot
- Four feet, half see-through, and only against dumping.
Also on fence height in Portsmouth
- no rule, documents checkedVirginia sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence chapter says nothing about height, and the statewide building code lets a fence of any height go up with no building permit. Counties and cities set the limit in their zoning rules. Va. Code §§ 55.1-2800 through 55.1-2841Virginia · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Portsmouth?
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Portsmouth answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence is and whether it exceeds the table.
Portsmouth requires a zoning permit for all fence or wall construction, reconstruction, replacement or relocation, with no height threshold and no district exemption, and the section adds that compliance with its standards has to happen before a building permit or a zoning permit is approved, whichever comes first. Two exemptions exist and both are about temporary or purpose-built fencing: customary fencing forming part of a permitted tennis court, athletic field or other recreational facility, and temporary fencing around a construction site or an unsafe condition where it meets the building code. In a historic district a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission is required on top of the zoning permit. Going taller than the table allows, or using barbed wire, needs a site security plan in which the applicant has to describe every other security measure considered and why each was rejected, and anything above eight feet needs a Special Exception.
All fence or wall construction, reconstruction, replacement, or relocation must obtain a Zoning Permit.
The answer turns on where the fence is and whether it exceeds the table.
- any fence at all
- A zoning permit.
- a historic district
- A Certificate of Appropriateness as well.
- taller than the table
- A site security plan.
- over eight feet
- A Special Exception. 8 ft
Also on permits in Portsmouth
- set in state lawA fence of any height needs no building permit in Virginia. The Uniform Statewide Building Code puts no number on it at all, where most states stop the pass at six or seven feet. Two fences are left out: one needed to keep people on foot safe under Section 3306, and one used as the barrier for a swimming pool. A zoning permit from the county or city is a separate question from the building permit this section covers. 13VAC5-63-80Virginia · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Portsmouth
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Virginia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Virginia handles pool fences through its statewide building code. That code sends swimming pools and pool enclosures to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition. Virginia states no height of its own, so the numbers come from that private code and not from Virginia text.
This one is Virginia law, not Portsmouth law. All Virginia findings
Swimming pools, swimming pool enclosures, and aquatic recreational facilities, as that term is defined in the ISPSC, shall comply with applicable provisions of the ISPSC.
Spite fence laws in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Virginia has no spite fence law. Chapter 28 of Title 55.1 is the state fence chapter, and its eight parts cover electric fences, lawful fences, cattle guards, animals that get onto other land, no fence areas, fences on a property line, unincorporated communities and cutting trees. None of them mentions a fence built to bother a neighbor, and none sets a height that starts a claim.
This one is Virginia law, not Portsmouth law. All Virginia findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Va. Code §§ 55.1-2800 through 55.1-2841Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code § 55.1-2821Virginia General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Portsmouth answers both measuring questions in two sentences and answers them strictly. Height is taken from finished grade at the highest point of the fence or wall, so a run of fence stepping up a slope is judged at its tallest panel rather than averaged, and finished rather than natural grade means the measurement comes after any regrading. Then the retaining wall question, which most codes duck: where a fence is built on top of a retaining or other wall, the combined height of fence and wall may not exceed the maximum that would apply to the fence alone. That is the strictest answer in this project. Portland and Bend treat the top of the retaining wall as the ground the fence starts from, Springfield does the same for a berm, and Albany measures from the bottom of the berm but says nothing about adding the wall into the fence figure. Portsmouth simply adds them, so a three foot wall leaves three feet of fence in a six foot yard.
In all cases, fence and wall heights are measured from finished grade on the highest point of the fence or wall. If a fence is constructed on top of a retaining or other wall, the combined height of the fence and wall shall not exceed the maximum height that would apply to a fence or wall alone.
Also on how height is measured in Portsmouth
- left to the townVirginia does not set this. The county or city does. Section 15.2-2280 lets a locality split its land into districts and, in each one, set rules for the size, height, area, bulk, place, building, changing, repair and removal of structures. That word structures covers a fence, so a fence falls inside it. The section never says how a height is taken, so the local ordinance gives both the limit and the point the measuring starts from. Va. Code 15.2-2280(2)Virginia · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the angle at which the two streets meet.
Portsmouth is the only city in this project so far whose corner triangle changes size with the shape of the corner. Where the interior angle at the street corner is ninety degrees or more, the triangle is drawn thirty feet back along each lot line. Where the angle is less than ninety, meaning the streets meet at a sharper point and a driver has to look further around, the thirty feet grows by one foot for every ten degrees or major fraction below ninety. A sixty degree corner therefore gets thirty three feet. Inside the area a fence or wall is held to three feet above grade, while everything else is barred from the band between three and ten feet of established grade, so a fence is judged by a ceiling and a tree by a window. Mailboxes, alarm boxes, fire hydrants, utility poles, street name markers and official traffic devices are exempt, and a lot in a historic or downtown district may have the standard waived by the City Engineer.
For lots with an interior angle of less than 90 degrees at the street corner, the corner area is the area within the triangle created by the two corner lot lines and drawing an imaginary line between the corner lot lines 30 feet from the corner on each property lot line plus one foot for every ten degrees or major fraction less than 90 degrees.
The answer turns on the angle at which the two streets meet.
- a square corner
- Thirty feet each way. 30 ft
- a sharp corner
- A foot more for every ten degrees.
- a fence inside it
- Three feet above grade. 3 ft
- anything else inside it
- Clear between three and ten feet. 10 ft
Also on corner visibility in Portsmouth
- set in state lawVirginia prints a real triangle in its code, and it is about signs rather than fences. Section 33.2-1216 bans an advertisement at a public road crossing where it would block the clear view between a point 20 feet back on the side road and points 400 feet away along the main road. The next clause draws a second triangle at a railroad crossing, 400 feet along the road and 500 feet along the track. Every one of these rules covers advertising, so none of them reaches a fence on a house lot. Va. Code 33.2-1216Virginia · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Portsmouth
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Virginia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Virginia writes its own statewide code and sets the bar lower than the model code does. A wall that holds back earth gets a pass from the permit only while it holds back less than three feet of unbalanced fill, which is the dirt piled on the high side with nothing on the low side to push back. Virginia measures the dirt and not the wall, the same way Utah does, and it stops a foot sooner. No other state read here sets it lower. Two things end the pass: a wall built to hold Class I, II or III-A liquids, and a wall carrying a surcharge, which means a load pressing on the dirt behind it on top of the ordinary fill. Skipping the permit does not excuse work that breaks another part of the code, and a zoning permit from the county or city is a separate question.
This one is Virginia law, not Portsmouth law. All Virginia findings
Retaining walls supporting less than three feet of unbalanced fill that are not constructed for the purpose of impounding Class I, II, or III-A liquids or supporting a surcharge other than ordinary unbalanced fill.
13VAC5-63-80 B, Section 108.2, item 7
3 ftdepth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit
Fence materials allowed in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the district.
Portsmouth writes both lists and then adds conditions to one entry. Permitted: pressure treated or rot resistant wood, wrought iron, ornamental metals, brick, stone, masonry, vinyl, and chain link. Prohibited in every district: debris, junk, rolled plastic, sheet metal, pallets, plywood, razor wire and concertina wire. Barbed wire is out everywhere unless approved under a security plan, and electric fencing is out everywhere except the invisible kind used to contain pets. Chain link then carries three rules of its own. It may not be opaque and may not have slats. In industrial districts it has to be coated in black or green vinyl. In the mixed use and downtown sub-districts that coated fence still has to be screened by a Type C buffer on every side facing a right-of-way, set back far enough to fit the planting. And chain link is prohibited outright in the historic districts and in the four D1 transect sub-districts. The posts and rails face inward and the smooth side faces away from the lot.
Prohibited materials for the construction of fences and walls include: debris, junk, rolled plastic, sheet metal, pallets, plywood, razor wire, or concertina wire in all zoning districts.
The answer turns on the material and the district.
- the permitted list
- Wood, iron, brick, stone, masonry, vinyl, chain link.
- chain link in industry
- Black or green vinyl coated.
- chain link downtown or in a historic district
- Prohibited.
- barbed wire
- Only under an approved security plan.
Also on materials in Portsmouth
- set in state lawVirginia puts the electric fence first in its fence chapter, and the rule is about the box rather than the wire. On land used for farming, an electric fence cannot be sold, handed out, built, put in, kept or used unless a controlling device holds down the charge running through it. That device has to carry the Underwriters Laboratories label under UL 69, or meet the matching standard from the International Electrotechnical Commission. One device can feed only one connected run of fence, and it has to be grounded when it goes into service. A device that meets neither standard can be used only while it stays inside the current limits the next section prints. Breaking any of this is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Va. Code 55.1-2801Virginia · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Portsmouth
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Virginia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Virginia describes a lawful fence several ways and any one of them counts, as long as the livestock cannot get through. One is a fence at least five feet high. One is barbed wire at least 42 inches high with at least four strands, fixed to posts set no more than 12 feet apart, unless a stay or brace sits halfway between them. One is boards, planks or rails at least 42 inches high with at least three boards. A cattle guard strong enough to turn livestock counts too.
This one is Virginia law, not Portsmouth law. All Virginia findings
2. Made of barbed wire, at least 42 inches high, consisting of at least four strands of barbed wire, firmly fixed to posts, trees, or other supports substantially set in the ground, spaced no farther than 12 feet apart unless a substantial stay or brace is installed halfway between such posts, trees, or other supports to which such wires are also fixed;
42 inminimum height of a barbed wire or board lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Portsmouth
- set in state lawIn Virginia the damages follow the fence. When livestock get into land that is already fenced in by a lawful fence, the owner of the animal pays the real damage. The fence has to be there first, which makes the landowner the one who builds, unless the county has changed the rule. Va. Code 55.1-2810Virginia · Statute
- set in state lawA county board can flip that rule for all or part of the county. By ordinance it can declare the line of every lot or tract, or a stream, to be a lawful fence, which means no fence has to be built at all for the damages rule to work. It can also name a different kind of fence than the one the state describes. Where that ordinance is in place, the owner of livestock may not let them off their own land. Va. Code 55.1-2814Virginia · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 2 were published by Portsmouth itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Virginia General AssemblyCode of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 28, Article 6, Section 55.1-2821, Obligation to provide division fences
- City of PortsmouthPortsmouth Code of Ordinances, Chapter 40.2, Zoning, Article III, Community Development Standards, Section 40.2-305, Fences and Walls
- Virginia General AssemblyCode of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 28, Trespasses; Fences, full chapter listing
- Virginia Department of Housing and Community DevelopmentVirginia Administrative Code, 13VAC5-63-80, Section 108 Application for permit
- Virginia Department of Housing and Community DevelopmentVirginia Administrative Code, 13VAC5-63-336, Chapter 31 Special construction, Section 3109.1
- Virginia General AssemblyCode of Virginia, Title 15.2, Chapter 22, Planning, Subdivision of Land and Zoning
- Virginia General AssemblyCode of Virginia, Title 33.2, Chapter 12, Outdoor Advertising in Sight of Public Highways
- City of PortsmouthPortsmouth Code of Ordinances, Chapter 40.2, Zoning, Article II, Zoning Districts, Section 40.2-218, Area, Bulk, Density, Building, and Setback Standards
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 Portsmouth publishes, plus the Virginia rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Virginia 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