Stafford Township, NJ Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Township Code § 211-35X(2)(a) sets the neighbor rules for every fence erected, rebuilt, renovated and maintained in a residential district of Stafford Township, including Manahawkin. Subsection [9] contains two sentences that govern the boundary. The first says fences shall not be erected on a property line without the approval, in writing, of the adjoining property owners. The second says all fences shall be erected a minimum of six inches from the property line on which they will be located. Both sentences are printed in the same paragraph, so a homeowner planning a boundary fence should read them together with the Zoning Office.

Subsection [5] decides which side your neighbor sees. All fences are constructed with the face or finished side away from the property and the structural side toward the interior of the lot on which they are erected. Subsection [10] protects the adjoining lot from water: fences must permit the free flow of natural drainage and prohibit the blocking, obstruction, damming and ponding of surface water on the lot where they stand and on all contiguous and adjoining properties.

Encroachment is addressed in [12]. No fence, wall or hedge shall encroach upon any public right-of-way, public easement or other private property other than the lot it is intended to serve. Under [11], no fence, wall or hedge can serve as the side of a shed, building or accessory structure. Living fences under [8] are planted no closer than six inches to a property line.

Chapter 213 puts the location risk on the owner. Under § 213-1(K)(2), when the Zoning Officer has reasonable cause to question a handwritten fence location, the applicant must obtain an as-built survey certified by a licensed engineer or licensed land surveyor, and the property owner signs an affidavit stating that the Township assumes no responsibility for the location of the fence and that any dispute arising out of its placement is the owner's responsibility.