Fence laws in Kent, Washington
What the Kent municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Kent sets no rule of its own, the Washington rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Kent, Washington, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where Kent does require a fence it is on business and industrial land, and the commercial and industrial development standard conditions say where it goes, and the answer turns on whether the area is fenced and whether screening is required.
- How tall
- Kent sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- Kent leaves the fence permit rule to the International Building Code and International Residential Code as adopted by reference and as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council.
- Pool barriers
- Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code.
- Spite fences
- A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite.
- Measured from what
- Washington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. The figure is 48 inches, for top wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground. It reaches a lawful fence for animal damage claims only.
- Corner lots
- This is the one Kent rule that reaches an ordinary residential fence, and it is written as a band rather than as a ceiling. The figure is 20 feet, for leg of the visibility triangle at a residential corner.
- Retaining walls
- Kent leaves retaining walls to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- The single place the Kent zoning code puts a number on a fence is the beekeeping rule, and it names a material as well as a height, and the answer turns on how high the hive sits above the ground. The figure is 8 feet, for hive height that removes the screening requirement.
- Livestock
- Washington prints the fence in the statute. The figure is 48 inches, for height above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Kent?
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Kent answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the area is fenced and whether screening is required.
Where Kent does require a fence it is on business and industrial land, and the commercial and industrial development standard conditions say where it goes. An outside storage or operations area has to be fenced for security and public safety at the property line, which is a placement instruction rather than a screening one, and it is the only sentence in the Kent zoning code that puts a fence on a boundary. A separate condition covers appearance instead of position, requiring an outdoor storage area to be fenced by a sight obscuring fence unless development plan review decides that is not necessary, and a further one requires any unfenced outdoor storage area to be paved with asphaltic concrete, cement or an equivalent approved by the city engineer. So an owner either fences the storage or pays for the paving.
Outside storage or operations areas shall be fenced for security and public safety at the property line.
15.04.195, Commercial and industrial land use development standard conditions
The answer turns on whether the area is fenced and whether screening is required.
- an outside storage or operations area
- Fenced at the property line.
- an outdoor storage area needing screening
- A sight obscuring fence, unless plan review says otherwise.
- an outdoor storage area left unfenced
- Paved with concrete or an approved equivalent.
Also on fences on the property line in Kent
- set in state lawWashington splits a fence on the property line in half. Where neighbors share one fence around their land and one of them needs a dividing fence, the other builds half of it once notice is given. The fence goes on the property line, or as close to it as can be managed. RCW 16.60.030Washington · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Kent?
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Kent law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Washington sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence chapter says what counts as a lawful fence for livestock and how the cost of a shared fence is split, and it caps nothing at a house. The state residential code takes up the model code and adds no fence height. Cities and counties set it.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
Documents read before writing that:
- RCW 16.60Washington State Legislature
- WAC 51-51-003Washington State Building Code Council
Also on fence height in Kent
- no rule, documents checkedKent has no general fence height rule. Title 15 runs to eleven chapters and none of them is about fences. Chapter 15.08, which is where a city normally keeps this kind of rule and which carries sections on accessory buildings, projections into required yards, exceptions to height regulations and visibility at intersections, uses the word fence exactly twice, once about screening a gasoline service station from housing and once about shielding a beehive. Chapter 15.04 uses it nine times and every one of them is about screening outdoor storage on business or industrial land. So a homeowner reading the Kent zoning code finds no number for a back yard fence, no separate front yard figure and no measuring rule, which is unlike almost every other city on this site. the whole chapter, including 15.08.160 through 15.08.190Kent · Zoning code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Kent?
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Kent does not set this. It leaves it to the International Building Code and International Residential Code as adopted by reference and as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council.
Because the Kent zoning title says nothing about fences, the permit question is answered by the building codes the city adopts by reference in Chapter 14.01, and not by anything Kent wrote itself. The chapter adopts the 2021 International Building Code, International Existing Building Code, International Residential Code, International Mechanical Code, Uniform Plumbing Code, International Energy Conservation Code and International Property Maintenance Code, each together with whatever the Washington State Building Code Council has added, deleted or amended through the Washington Administrative Code, and then further amended by Kent in the sections that follow. None of those Kent amendments mentions a fence. So the fence permit threshold in Kent is whatever the adopted model code and the state amendments say it is on the day somebody asks, and the city code will not tell a reader the number.
In accordance with Chapter 19.27 RCW, the following codes (collectively, the “building codes”), together with any additions, deletions, and exceptions currently enacted or as may be amended from time to time by the state of Washington through its Building Code Council pursuant to the Washington Administrative Code (“WAC”), and as further amended in this chapter, are adopted by reference:
14.01.010, Building codes adopted
The code hands this to the International Building Code and International Residential Code as adopted by reference and as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on permits in Kent
- set in state lawWashington has no fence permit rule of its own. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code as the code for one and two family homes across the state, and it did not change that code's list of work that needs no permit, so the model list applies as written. That list is model code text and is printed on no Washington state site, so no fence height is quoted here. WAC 51-51-003Washington · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Kent
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code. The rule reaches a pool used only by the people who live at a single family house and their invited guests. Washington states no fence height of its own, so the numbers sit in that private code.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
The design and construction of swimming pools, spas, and other aquatic recreation facilities shall comply with the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, if the facility is one of the following:
Spite fence laws in Kent
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite. A judge may order the owner or renter of land not to put up a structure meant to spite, injure or annoy a neighbor, and where one already stands, the court may order it taken down. The law turns on why it went up and not on how tall it is.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
An injunction may be granted to restrain the malicious erection, by any owner or lessee of land, of any structure intended to spite, injure or annoy an adjoining proprietor.
How fence height is measured in Kent
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. RCW 16.60.010 says a lawful fence has at least four barbed wires with the top wire 48 inches above the ground, give or take four inches, and the rest spaced 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Above the ground is the answer, and it is the only answer the state gives. For a fence on a city lot, RCW 35.63.080 lets a council set rules for the height, number of stories, size, building and design of buildings and other structures, so the city ordinance gives both the limit and the point it starts from.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
48 intop wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground
Fence rules for corner lots in Kent
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Kent answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
This is the one Kent rule that reaches an ordinary residential fence, and it is written as a band rather than as a ceiling. On a corner lot in any residential district nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as materially to impede vision between two and a half feet and ten feet above the centerline grades of the two intersecting streets. The area it applies to is bounded by the street lines of the corner lot and a line joining points twenty feet back from the point of intersection. Because the rule protects a band and not a plane, a low fence under two and a half feet is untouched by it, and a tall solid fence fails not because of its total height but because of the part of it sitting at driver eye level. The word fence never appears, so the rule catches a hedge, a wall and a stack of anything else just as readily.
On a corner lot in any residential district, nothing shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner as materially to impede vision between a height of two and one-half (2 1/2) and ten (10) feet above the centerline grades of the intersecting streets in the area bounded by the street lines of such corner lots and a line joining points along the street lines twenty (20) feet from the point of the intersection.
15.08.130, Visibility at intersections in residential districts
20 ftleg of the visibility triangle at a residential corner
Also on corner visibility in Kent
- set in state lawWashington puts its clear view duty at the railroad tracks. RCW 36.86.100 tells the county to clear brush and trees out of the county road right of way for 100 feet on each side of a railroad crossing, so a driver can see a train coming, and puts the same duty on the railroad for its own land. It also bans a sign within 100 feet of that crossing outside city limits, unless the county finds the sign does not cut the view. Nothing in it draws a triangle at an ordinary street corner. RCW 36.86.100Washington · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Kent
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Kent does not set this. It leaves it to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended.
Washington has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code for one and two family homes, and lists every section it changed as its own numbered rule. That list was read in full. Nothing changes Section R105, the list of work that needs no permit, so the model code pass for such a wall stands as written. The slot for Section R404, which covers foundations and walls that hold back earth, is marked reserved, so Washington added nothing there either. The number that answers the question is model code text, which the International Code Council sells and which no Washington state site prints.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
The 2021 edition of the International Residential Code as published by the International Code Council is hereby adopted by reference
The code hands this to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Kent
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Kent answers this, but the answer changes depending on how high the hive sits above the ground.
The single place the Kent zoning code puts a number on a fence is the beekeeping rule, and it names a material as well as a height. A hive may not sit within twenty five feet of a property line, and there are two ways out of that. Lift the hive eight feet or more above the adjacent grade, which sends the bees up over head height before they fly, or keep it below eight feet and put a solid fence or hedge six feet high between it and the line. The barrier has to run parallel to the property line and extend at least twenty five feet past the hive in both directions, so it is a screen with a stated length rather than a panel in front of the boxes. On a lot under ten thousand square feet no more than four hives are allowed, each with one swarm, and the keeping has to be registered with the State Department of Agriculture.
Hives shall not be located within twenty-five (25) feet of any property line except when situated eight (8) feet or more above the grade immediately adjacent to the grade of the lot on which the hives are located or when situated less than eight (8) feet above the adjacent existing lot grade and behind a solid fence or hedge six (6) feet high parallel to any property line within twenty-five (25) feet of a hive and extending at least twenty-five (25) feet beyond the hive in both directions.
15.08.070.E, Keeping of animals, beekeeping
The answer turns on how high the hive sits above the ground.
- a hive eight feet or more above grade
- No screen needed. 8 ft
- a hive below eight feet within twenty five feet of a line
- A solid fence or hedge six feet high. 6 ft
- the length of that screen
- Twenty five feet past the hive in both directions. 25 ft
Also on materials in Kent
- set in state lawWashington writes a lawful fence as a barbed wire fence and prints the build. It takes at least four barbed, level, well stretched wires, with the top one about 48 inches off the ground and the others 12, 22 and 32 inches below it, tied to solid posts set no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays every eight feet. The very next section says any other fence as strong and as well made counts too, so barbed wire is the standard to match and not the only material allowed. RCW 16.60.010Washington · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Kent
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington prints the fence in the statute. A lawful fence carries at least four barbed wires, level and pulled tight. The top wire sits 48 inches off the ground, give or take four inches, and the others hang 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Posts go in firmly and evenly, no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays no more than eight feet from each other or from a post. Any other fence built just as strong counts too.
This one is Washington law, not Kent law. All Washington findings
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
48 inheight above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Kent
- set in state lawIn Washington the damages claim hangs on the fence. A person who built a lawful fence around their land and kept it in repair can sue the owner of an animal that broke through it, collect the full damage and the costs of the suit, and hold the animal until it is paid. Proving the fence was lawful when the animal broke through is enough. The fence has to be there first, so the landowner who wants the animals out is the one who builds. RCW 16.60.015Washington · Statute
Documents behind this page
9 documents, of which 3 were published by Kent itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Section 16.60.030, Partition fence, Erection, Notice
- City of KentKent City Code, Title 15, Chapter 15.04, District Regulations
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Fences, full chapter
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-003, International Residential Code
- City of KentKent City Code, Title 15, Chapter 15.08, General and Supplementary Provisions
- City of KentKent City Code, Title 14, Chapter 14.01, Building Codes
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-0327, Section R327, Swimming pools, spas and hot tubs
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 7.40, Section 7.40.030, Malicious erection of structure may be enjoined
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Title 36, Chapter 36.86, County Roads and Bridges
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 Kent publishes, plus the Washington rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Washington 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