Fence laws in Richmond, Virginia
What the Richmond municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Richmond sets no rule of its own, the Virginia rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Richmond, Virginia, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where a Richmond fence may stand depends entirely on what it belongs to, and the answer turns on whether the fence serves a house or a parking area. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of an opaque screening fence along an interior lot line.
- How tall
- Richmond sets fence height in a single paragraph and the base figure is six and a half feet, which is an odd number almost nobody else uses, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in and which residential district the lot sits in. The figure is 6.5 feet, for fence or wall in a required side or rear yard.
- Permits
- Richmond attaches no permit and no fee to an ordinary fence anywhere in the zoning chapter, and the answer turns on what kind of fence it is.
- Pool barriers
- Virginia handles pool fences through its statewide building code.
- Spite fences
- Richmond has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Richmond names its datum in the same paragraph that sets the heights, and it picks the point nearest the fence rather than a lot average or a street elevation. The figure is 1.5 feet, for height excluded from the measurement for posts, columns and gates.
- Corner lots
- Virginia prints a real triangle in its code, and it is about signs rather than fences. The figure is 400 feet, for the leg of the vision triangle measured along the main road from the side road. It reaches signs and advertising structures in sight of a public highway only.
- 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
- The wire rules sit in the building chapter rather than the zoning chapter, and they are the most detailed part of Richmond fence law, and the answer turns on the district, what the wire sits on and how it is installed. The figure is 3 strands, for greatest number of strands of barbed wire allowed on top of a fence.
- 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 Richmond?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Richmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence serves a house or a parking area.
Where a Richmond fence may stand depends entirely on what it belongs to. Around a house the code sets heights and stops, permitting fences within any required side or rear yard without naming a distance from the line, so a fence on the boundary is neither granted nor forbidden in the zoning chapter. Around a parking area of five or more spaces the rules turn exact. Wherever such a lot abuts or sits within fifty feet of property in an R, RO, HO or I district, and is not separated from it by an alley, it has to be screened from that property by evergreen planting at least three and a half feet tall or by an opaque fence or wall at least four feet tall. Along a street the buffer has a depth of at least the minimum yard requirement for the district and never less than five feet, with the fence placed along the setback line of the parking area rather than at the curb.
Whenever a parking area or parking lot abuts or is situated within 50 feet of property in an R, RO, HO or I district, unless separated therefrom by an alley providing access to such parking area or parking lot, the parking area or parking lot shall be effectively screened from view from such property by evergreen vegetative material not less than 3½ feet in height at the time of installation or by an opaque structural fence or wall not less than four feet in height
The answer turns on whether the fence serves a house or a parking area.
- a fence around a house
- No distance named.
- a parking lot near houses
- Screened at four feet. 4 ft
- the trigger distance
- Fifty feet. 50 ft
- a street frontage buffer
- Five feet deep at the least. 5 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Richmond
- 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 Richmond?
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Richmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in and which residential district the lot sits in.
Richmond sets fence height in a single paragraph and the base figure is six and a half feet, which is an odd number almost nobody else uses. That six and a half applies in any required side or rear yard. A front yard drops to four feet, with two districts written out by name: the R-1 district keeps the full six and a half in front, and the R-63 district is held to four. On top of whichever figure applies, an extra foot and a half is allowed for posts, columns and gates in all districts, so a gateway may reach eight feet where the fence beside it stops at six and a half. That allowance is granted outright rather than bought with a setback or a design review, which is the opposite of how most cities treat a tall entrance feature. Nothing in the paragraph varies by material, by lot shape or by what sits on the other side of the line.
Fences and walls not exceeding 6½ feet in height may be located within any required side or rear yard or court. Fences and walls located within required front yards shall not exceed four feet in height, except that in the R-1 district they may not exceed 6½ feet.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in and which residential district the lot sits in.
- a side or rear yard
- Six and a half feet. 6.5 ft
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a front yard in the R-1 district
- Six and a half feet again.
- posts, columns and gates
- A foot and a half on top. 1.5 ft
Also on fence height in Richmond
- 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 Richmond?
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Richmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on what kind of fence it is.
Richmond attaches no permit and no fee to an ordinary fence anywhere in the zoning chapter. Two approvals exist and both are tied to a particular kind of fence. An electric fence may not be installed until the Department of Planning and Development Review certifies that the plans meet the standard, which is a prior approval of the drawings rather than an inspection afterwards, and a violation of the wire section carries a fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars. A fence offered to satisfy a required parking buffer is judged against fence and wall design guidelines adopted by resolution of the Planning Commission, a document that sits outside the code entirely, and where the Director of Planning and Development Review turns a fence down the applicant may take it to the Planning Commission, which can affirm the decision or instruct that the fence be approved. Whether a tall fence needs a building permit is a question for the state building code, which was not read for this page.
No electric fence shall be installed until after certification from the Department of Planning and Development Review that the plans for the fence meet the requirements of this subsection.
The answer turns on what kind of fence it is.
- an ordinary fence
- No permit in the zoning chapter.
- an electric fence
- Certified before it goes up.
- a fence counted as a buffer
- Judged against guidelines kept outside the code.
- a fence turned down
- The Planning Commission hears it.
Also on permits in Richmond
- 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 Richmond
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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 Richmond 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 Richmond
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Richmond 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 Richmond 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 Richmond
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Richmond answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Richmond names its datum in the same paragraph that sets the heights, and it picks the point nearest the fence rather than a lot average or a street elevation. Height is measured from the ground level at the base of the fence or wall, which means the measurement follows the ground up and down a slope instead of being taken once from a fixed elevation, and a fence stepping down a hill is judged panel by panel. What that phrasing leaves open is which side of the fence the base is on, because two neighbors standing on ground at different levels each have a base. Nothing states whether an owner may raise the ground first, so a berm is not answered here the way Albany and Springfield answer it. The same sentence is preceded by the one exclusion: the foot and a half allowed for posts, columns and gates sits outside the measured height.
An additional 1½ feet of height shall be permitted for posts, columns and gates for fences and walls in all districts. For purposes of this section, the height of a fence or wall shall be measured from the ground level at the base of the fence or wall.
1.5 ftheight excluded from the measurement for posts, columns and gates
Also on how height is measured in Richmond
- 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 Richmond
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Virginia answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Virginia 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.
This one is Virginia law, not Richmond law. All Virginia findings
At any public road intersection in such a manner as would obstruct the clear vision in either direction between a point on the centerline of the side road 20 feet from the nearest edge of the pavement of the main road and points on the main road 400 feet distant, measured along the nearest edge of the pavement of the main road;
400 ftthe leg of the vision triangle measured along the main road from the side road
Also on corner visibility in Richmond
- no rule, documents checkedRichmond is the largest city in this project so far with no corner sight triangle for a fence. The yards and courts division, which is where the fence heights live, never uses the words visibility, sight distance or clear view, and the corner lot rules next to it are about which yard counts as the front and how wide a street side yard has to be, not about what a driver can see. The parking rules carry detailed screening and buffer requirements and they too set no clearance at an intersection. That leaves the front yard height of four feet doing the work a triangle does elsewhere, since a fence on the street side of a Richmond corner lot is held to four feet by the yard rule whether or not anyone is looking at the corner. The R-1 district, where a front yard fence may reach six and a half feet, has no such backstop in the zoning chapter. Section 30-630.9Richmond · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Richmond
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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 Richmond 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 Richmond
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Richmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, what the wire sits on and how it is installed.
The wire rules sit in the building chapter rather than the zoning chapter, and they are the most detailed part of Richmond fence law. Barbed and razor wire may not enclose any lot in the city. The exception is narrow and comes with build instructions: on commercial or industrial property, and on a public school, park, recreation or playground site in any district, the wire may go on top of a wall or fence that is at least six feet tall, installed on arms or brackets that extend inward over the private property, with not more than three strands and the first strand at least six inches from the face of the fence. Electric fences are allowed only in the B-3, M-1 and M-2 districts, have to be built to International Electrotechnical Commission Standard 60335-2-76, have to be ringed on the outside by a non-electrified fence at least six feet tall and six inches away, and have to carry warning signs at intervals of no more than fifty feet. Chain link is never credited toward a required buffer.
No barbed or razor wire shall be used for the purpose of wholly or partially enclosing any lot or premises within the City.
The answer turns on the district, what the wire sits on and how it is installed.
- barbed wire on a commercial lot
- Three strands, angled inward. 3 strands
- the first strand
- Six inches off the face. 6 in
- an electric fence
- B-3, M-1 and M-2 only, to an IEC standard. 50 ft
- chain link in a buffer
- Never counts.
Also on materials in Richmond
- 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 Richmond
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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 Richmond 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 Richmond
- 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
9 documents, of which 3 were published by Richmond 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 RichmondRichmond Code of Ordinances, Chapter 30, Zoning, Article VII, Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements, Division 2.1
- 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
- City of RichmondRichmond Code of Ordinances, Chapter 30, Zoning, Article VI, Supplemental Regulations, Division 4, Yards and Courts
- City of RichmondRichmond Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5, Buildings and Building Regulations, Article I, Section 5-12, Barbed, razor and electric wire fences
- 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
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 Richmond 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