Fence Regulations in Michigan (2026)

Clinton Township caps residential fences at four and one-half feet under Section 1472.03(f), though the Building…

Dearborn caps residential line fences at six feet, bans fences in the front yard, tapers corner-lot fences to two feet…

Detroit caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards and 6 feet on sides and rear, with materials, post placement…

In the City of Flint, residential fences set back 50 feet or more from the front property line can stand six feet tall…

Fence standards, finished-side orientation, corner-lot visibility, and pool barriers, are set by your city or township…

Solid, opaque privacy fences and walls in Grand Rapids are capped at 3 feet in front yards and 6 feet in side and rear…

Kent County sets no fence-height rule. In Michigan, fence height is regulated by each city, village, or zoned township…

Lansing caps front-yard fences at three feet (four feet if half-open) and side/rear fences at six feet, eight feet with…

Livonia caps a standard side or rear yard fence at four feet, allows a privacy fence up to six feet four inches with a…

Macomb County does not zone private land, so it sets no countywide fence-height cap. Height limits are established by…

Oakland County has no county-wide fence height ordinance; rules are set by each city, village, or township. Suburban…

Interior-lot fences in Sterling Heights must stand three to six feet above grade and stay out of the front yard; corner…

Troy residential fences top out at 6 feet, dropping to 30 inches in the area ahead of the front building line. Corner…

Warren caps ordinary residential fences at four feet and privacy fences at six feet under Zoning Ordinance Sections…

Westland only allows a privacy fence in an interior lot's side yard if the neighbor consents in writing; rear-yard…

Wyoming, Michigan caps fences at six feet in side and rear yards but only 36 inches in the front yard, and the building…

Clinton Township requires a fence permit from the Building Department before any fence is installed, erected, or…

Dearborn requires a compliance certificate, the city's version of a fence permit, before building, replacing, removing…

Detroit caps front yard fences at four feet (three if opaque) on single- and two-family lots, six feet on side and rear…

Flint requires a permit before erecting or altering any fence, issued through the Division of Building and Safety…

Fence permits in Grand Rapids run through the City's general Zoning Permit process: the Planning Department reviews…

Erecting, re-erecting, altering, relocating or making a major repair to any fence or privacy screen in Livonia requires…

Village Code § 430-4 bars placing fences or other obstructions in any Shelby Village street or right-of-way except…

Sterling Heights requires a building permit before anyone constructs a fence or privacy screen anywhere in the city…

Troy requires a Building Department permit before any fence goes up. Chapter 83, Sec. 5 of the City Code makes…

Before erecting any fence or wall in Warren, owners must obtain a permit from the Division of Buildings and Safety…

Westland requires a building department permit before constructing any fence in the city, whether residential…

Before putting up, rebuilding or changing any fence in Wyoming, Michigan, the property owner needs the building…

Wayne County doesn't issue general residential fence permits; that's set by each city or township's own code. The one…

Dearborn splits boundary-fence maintenance by post location: whoever's land holds the posts maintains specific halves…

Detroit requires adjoining lot owners to jointly build and maintain the partition fence between their properties, with…

When two adjoining Flint properties carry different zoning, the fence rule on that shared property line is set by…

Livonia's fence ordinance puts upkeep of a lot-line fence on whoever currently owns the property it stands on, not on a…

Macomb County has no shared-fence ordinance. Boundary fences fall under Michigan's statewide Fences and Fence Viewers…

Westland lets neighbors split a boundary fence's cost and upkeep by written mutual consent, or a building department…

Troy lets any lot owner build and keep a fence along the line shared with a neighboring lot or along a street or alley…

In the City of Flint, retaining walls are excluded from the fence ordinance entirely and must instead meet Building…

Grand Rapids zoning caps retaining wall height under Table 5.2.11.C and requires a Zoning Permit for any wall over…

Livonia's zoning ordinance lets a homeowner build a retaining wall inside a required front, side or rear setback only…

Building or relocating a retaining wall anywhere in the City of Wyoming, Michigan requires sketch-plan review and…

Westland lets homeowners build retaining walls, garden walls, steps, and paved terraces up to three feet above finished…

On residential property in the City of Flint, barbed wire fencing is flatly prohibited, and no fence anywhere in the…

Grand Rapids prohibits barbed wire and electrically charged fences on any residential property citywide; barbed wire is…

Livonia's fence ordinance bans barbed wire between or abutting residential properties, bans electrified fences that…

Warren bans razor wire, barbed wire and electrically charged fencing on any property in the city under Zoning Ordinance…

Westland bans electrified fences and any electrical attachment on a fence in every zoning district, and prohibits…

Clinton Township expressly prohibits barbed wire and electrically charged fences under Section 1472.03(e), with one…

Detroit bans single- and two-family homes from attaching barbed wire to any fence, and prohibits razor wire and…

Lansing bans razor wire, concertina wire, and electrified fences outright, and allows barbed wire only in the IND-1…

Troy bans electrically charged fences citywide and bars barbed wire in residential zones, except barbed wire used to…

Dearborn requires fence posts of iron pipe, wood, or reinforced concrete set three feet deep in concrete, and bans…

Oakland County municipalities universally prohibit barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fences in residential…

Sterling Heights requires fences and privacy screens to be built of ornamental metal, wire, wrought iron, wood or…

Wyoming, Michigan's zoning code requires every fence in the city, residential or commercial, to be of an ornamental…