Mendocino County, CA Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Two separate bodies of law shape neighbor fence issues in unincorporated Mendocino County. First, the Inland Zoning Code (Section 20.152.015) controls how tall a fence may be and where it may go, including the 3.5-foot limit in front yards and along street-frontage yards and the 8-foot limit elsewhere, plus the building-permit threshold over six feet. Second, the financial relationship between neighbors over a shared boundary fence is governed by California Civil Code Section 841, the Good Neighbor Fence Law, which applies statewide. Under Section 841, adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from a fence dividing their properties and, unless they agree otherwise in writing, are presumed equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement. A landowner who intends to incur such costs must give 30 days' prior written notice to each affected adjoining owner, including notice of the equal-responsibility presumption, a description of the problem, the proposed solution, the estimated cost, and how the cost will be shared. The presumption of equal responsibility can be overcome by evidence that splitting the cost equally would be unjust given the disproportionate benefit or burden. The County itself does not mediate or enforce these private cost disputes; they are civil matters resolved between neighbors or, if necessary, in court.