Troy, MI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 83, Section 4 of the Troy Code sets the material restrictions that apply on top of the general fence-construction rules in Section 2. No electrically charged fence is permitted anywhere in the City, residential or non-residential. Barbed wire is barred outright in any residentially zoned area, with one carve-out: barbed wire may be used in residential areas to prevent access to an attractive nuisance, provided the wire sits at least 6 feet above ground. In non-residential areas, barbed wire or other sharp-pointed material is permitted only where it is installed above 5 feet from the ground, and where barbed wire is used, any top projections must overhang the fence owner's own property rather than a neighbor's.

Fences enclosing school grounds, playgrounds, tennis courts, public swimming pools or other public areas can exceed the general 6-foot height limit with Building Board of Appeals approval, a provision that sits in the same section as the barbed-wire and electric-fence bans. Section 5 layers a permit requirement on top: no fence, including one using restricted material, may be built without a Building Department permit, tied to the Chapter 60 fee schedule, and none may be issued ahead of final lot-grading approval or, within an easement, ahead of Public Works sign-off.