Tuscaloosa, AL Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Section 25-148 of the Tuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance governs fence and wall location. Fences and walls are allowed anywhere on a lot, or on a property line between privately owned lots. They are prohibited within a Sight Triangle and may not be located in any street right-of-way, and they must be set back at least ten feet from the curb line of abutting streets. A fence may not be installed so it blocks or diverts a natural drainage flow onto or off of any other land unless covered by an approved stormwater management plan.

The Sight Triangle is defined (in the Ordinance's definitions) as the space between three and one-half and ten feet above street level within 20 feet of the intersection of the right-of-way lines of two streets, two railroads, or a street and a railroad property line, where no fence, sign, vegetation, or other obstruction to vision is allowed (except within the original city survey). Tuscaloosa's zoning code does not impose a general 'good-neighbor' cost-sharing rule between adjoining owners; Alabama has no statewide partition-fence cost-sharing statute, so cost-sharing and boundary-line fence disputes between neighbors are generally a private matter governed by Alabama property law rather than city ordinance.