Before You Build in Phoenix, AZ: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

Phoenix requires a permit for any retaining wall over 3 feet (top of footing to top of wall), and for 3-foot-or-less walls burdened by a surcharge from a house, road, pool, or that support a fence. Structural design calculations are required for retaining walls over 3 feet, and combination wall-and-fence structures over 9 feet need zoning approval.

A Phoenix building permit is not required for fences 3 feet or less in height, or retaining walls 3 feet or less without a surcharge. Fences over 3 feet (up to 7 feet) require a building permit demonstrating zoning and site-drainage compliance, and retaining walls over 3 feet always require a permit.

Phoenix requires building permits for most fences. Fences up to 6 feet require a permit demonstrating zoning compliance. Fences over 6 feet require a building permit with International Building Code compliance. Masonry/concrete fences up to 3 feet and wire fences up to 7 feet may be exempt in some cases.

Building a swimming pool, spa, or pool barrier in Phoenix requires a building permit from the Planning & Development Department, with two mandatory inspections (pre-gunite and pre-plaster). Only small above-grade prefabricated pools (≤ 5,000 gallons) are exempt from the structure permit, and even those still require a separate permit for the pool barrier.

Phoenix requires every residential pool, spa, or hot tub holding 18 inches or more of water to be enclosed by a barrier at least five feet (60 inches) high with self-closing, self-latching gates, plus a separate inner-yard barrier between the dwelling and the pool. The rules are set in the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as amended by Phoenix Ordinance G-7397, building on Ordinance G-3316 adopted May 4, 1990.

Phoenix permits up to two accessory dwelling units (one attached, one detached) on a single-family detached lot, with a third allowed on lots of one acre or more when one ADU is affordable housing. A detached ADU may sit as close as 5 feet from a street side property line and 3 feet from an interior side or rear line under Zoning Ordinance Section 706.A.

Phoenix allows converting an existing garage or carport into an Accessory Dwelling Unit, but the conversion must establish new equivalent off-street parking elsewhere on the lot in dustproof condition, and that replacement parking may not be placed in the front-yard setback. A converted garage ADU is regulated under Zoning Ordinance Section 706.A and requires building permits.

In Phoenix, one-story detached tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses do not require a building permit if their aggregate floor area does not exceed 200 square feet, per Phoenix Building Construction Code Section 105.2.1. Sheds must still meet zoning setbacks of at least 3 feet from a side or rear property line under Zoning Ordinance Section 706.B.

A backyard recreational fire is the one open-flame exception that does not require a Phoenix open-burning permit, but Phoenix Fire Code section 307.4.2 requires it to be at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material, constantly attended, and the Maricopa County wood-smoke and No Burn Day rules still apply.

Open burning in Phoenix requires an operational permit from the Phoenix Fire Department under Fire Code section 105.5.36, and the Maricopa County Air Quality Department separately bans burning household trash and yard waste year-round and prohibits all outdoor wood burning on declared No Burn Days under Rule 314.

Phoenix City Code Sec. 23-32 makes it unlawful to let trees, shrubs or bushes growing on your property interfere with traffic signs, pedestrians, bicyclists, vehicles, or drainage in any public right-of-way, and Sec. 31-13 limits obstructions in the sight-visibility triangle at residential intersections.

Phoenix Code § 34-15 makes it unlawful to cut, trim, remove, injure, or interfere with trees and shrubbery in city parks, boulevards, alleys, and streets without City Forester authorization.

Phoenix has no fixed day-of-week outdoor watering schedule; instead, Phoenix City Code Chapter 37 (sections 37-126 through 37-130, the Drought Management Plan) authorizes the Water Services Director to declare progressive drought stages, and watering restrictions become mandatory only at Stage 2 (Water Warning) or higher. Turf in the public right-of-way is banned under Arizona state law.