Bethlehem, PA Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Bethlehem follows the standard Pennsylvania split: the City enforces public zoning law (Article 1318 - height under the 7-foot cap, sight triangle under § 1318.06, materials, and permit) while leaving private property-line and cost-sharing disputes to the courts. The Zoning Officer will issue a permit under Article 1318 to either neighbor for a fence on or near the boundary line so long as the fence complies with the seven-foot height cap and sight-triangle rules; the officer will not adjudicate which neighbor owns the line or whether the line on the deed matches the line on the ground. Pennsylvania historically had a partition-fence statute (the original 1700-era statute applicable to livestock fences in agricultural areas) but no broadly-applicable modern statute compels cost-sharing on urban residential fences - cost-sharing flows from common-law principles, prior course of dealing, and any written agreement. If the dispute is over where the line actually is, Pennsylvania uses the doctrines of adverse possession (21-year continuous, open, notorious use) and acquiescence to resolve long-standing boundary-fence locations. A neighbor who builds a fence on your land without consent commits trespass under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3503 (criminal) or a civil action for ejectment and damages. Bethlehem straddles Lehigh County and Northampton County; private disputes are filed in the magisterial district court of the county where the property sits, or in the Court of Common Pleas for higher-value cases. The good-side / bad-side convention - finished side facing the neighbor - is not codified in Bethlehem but is often enforced by the South Bethlehem Historic Conservation Commission and other historic-district design guidelines as a matter of architectural compatibility. Spite fences (built solely to annoy a neighbor with no legitimate use) can be challenged under Pennsylvania nuisance law (Restatement (Second) of Torts § 829), though success is rare.