Fence Regulations in New York (2026)

Albany caps front-yard fences at four feet and 60% opacity, side and rear yard fences at six feet, with taller limits…

Amherst caps residential fences and walls at six feet, rising to eight feet where the lot abuts a nonresidential…

In the Town of Babylon's A Residence District, side and rear fences top out at 6 feet, front-yard fencing at 4 feet…

Brookhaven caps residential fences at four feet, measured to the highest point, unless a six-foot fence qualifies for…

Town Code § 260-59F sets a 3.5-foot fence cap in any required open space (generally the front yard) but allows six feet…

Clarkstown's zoning code caps a solid fence or freestanding wall at four and a half feet along any lot line under §…

In the Town of Clay, a residential fence other than a wire fence cannot exceed 7 feet anywhere on the lot, and no fence…

Glen Cove caps ordinary fences at four feet on any lot line or in a required yard, and six feet along side and rear…

Greece's zoning code splits fence height by yard: four feet and open construction in front and corner yards, six feet…

In the Village of Hamburg, New York, a fence in a front yard area is limited to three feet and a fence in a side or…

A fence anywhere in the Town of Huntington may rise to six feet without triggering permit review, and posts or…

In the Town of Irondequoit, New York, a residential fence can stand six feet high in the side and rear yards and four…

In the Town of Islip a fence may be no higher than 4 feet within 15 feet of a street property line, no higher than 6…

Mount Vernon sets fence height by yard and district under City Code § 267-14.B: open wrought-iron or masonry fences top…

New Rochelle caps fences and walls at four feet in a required front yard and six feet in a side or rear yard. Extra…

In New York City, fences in a front yard of a Residence District may not exceed 4 feet above adjoining grade (6 feet…

North Hempstead limits residential fences to four feet under Town Code § 70-100.2A, and bars any fence from standing…

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York, caps fences and walls at six feet in any front or side yard, requires a…

Fences and walls in the Town of Oyster Bay top out at four feet in any yard facing a street and six feet in other…

Ramapo caps a fence or wall at four feet along any lot line and six feet behind the required front yard; anything…

Rochester caps residential and village-center fences at four feet in the front yard and six feet in the side and rear…

Residential fences top out at six feet, dropping to four feet within the required front and corner-side setbacks…

Schenectady's Schedule D caps fences at four feet in front yards and along rear yards facing a street, six feet along…

Smithtown caps fences, walls and berms at six feet, drops that limit to four feet in a required front yard, and…

In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, Town Code § 330-109A caps residential fences and walls at four feet in…

In the Village of Southampton, a fence or wall in a required front yard in a residence district cannot exceed four…

The Town of Tonawanda caps residential fences at three feet in the front yard, four feet in a side yard and six feet in…

In the City of Troy, New York, fences in the B-1 through B-5, IND, INST and CON Zones can reach 10 feet, and fences in…

In the Town of Union, Broome County, New York, a fence in a residential district cannot rise above six feet, except…

In R1 and RM residential districts, Utica allows fences up to six feet high in any side, rear, or corner side yard. In…

Yonkers caps fences and walls at 4 feet in any required front or street-facing yard setback and 6 feet in other…

Greenburgh's Building Code sets its fence height threshold as a permit exemption rather than a hard cap: fences up to…

Before erecting, building, or enlarging any fence in Schenectady, you must first obtain a separate building permit from…

Albany treats a fence as a regulated "structure," so a building permit is required before you install one, and the…

A six-foot fence in the secondary front yard of a corner lot or through lot counts as a structure under Brookhaven's…

The Town of Clay requires a building permit before any structure is built, and its fee schedule lists a $30 permit fee…

Most residential fences in the Town of Colonie do not need a building permit, but Town Code § 62-14 makes an exception…

Greece's zoning code bars placing, erecting or constructing any fence on a lot without a permit from the Building…

In the Village of Hamburg, New York, a permit must first be obtained from the Village Building Inspector before any…

In the Town of Huntington, any fence taller than six feet needs a building permit from the Department of Engineering…

In the Town of Irondequoit, New York, every fence needs a building permit except snow fencing and deer protective…

Mount Vernon's Building Commissioner cannot issue a permit for a fence that violates the height and material standards…

New Rochelle lets homeowners put up a fence up to six feet tall without a building permit, as long as it is accessory…

North Hempstead treats a fence as a "structure," and its general permit statute bars erecting any structure without…

Smithtown requires a Building Department permit before installing any fence, wall or berm higher than four feet, or any…

In the Village of Southampton, a fence is a structure, and § 116-37 bars erecting any structure without a building…

In the City of Troy, New York, every new or replacement fence or freestanding wall needs a work permit under Troy City…

Utica requires a fence permit before erecting any fence, even when no building construction or principal use is…

In the Town of Amherst outside the Village of Williamsville, a fence itself does not need a separate building permit…

Cayuga County exempts most fences from its building permit requirement, but a fence that encloses a swimming pool is…

Glen Cove does not require a building permit for a fence six feet high or less. City Code Chapter 111, Building…

Greenburgh only exempts fences from its Building Permit requirement when they stay at or under six feet in a front or…

In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, Town Code § 330-109A(4) exempts any fence or wall four feet or less…

The Town of Tonawanda does not require Code Enforcement Officer approval for a fence built on a lot line, but any fence…

In the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City, no building permit is required to install a…

Yonkers has no standalone fence permit, but City Code § 56-96 forces Department review anyway: a wood fence within 10…

A fence that meets the Town of Babylon's height and placement rules for its zoning district needs no building permit…

The Town of Islip does not require a permit to install a fence as long as it complies with zoning and traffic-safety…

For one- and two-family dwellings, the NYC Department of Buildings does not require a permit for fences 6 feet or less…

New York's Town Law § 300 makes adjoining landowners split the cost of a division fence along their shared boundary…

In the Town of Irondequoit, New York, a fence must sit entirely inside your own property lines, with its most finished…

Islip requires fences over 4 feet to be set back 15 feet from a street and 10 feet from a second front yard line, keeps…

New York City does not impose a cost-sharing 'partition fence' duty on neighbors; boundary fence disputes fall under…

In the Village of Southampton, a fence in a residence district must put its finished side toward the adjacent owner's…

Utica requires every fence to be installed with the posts and rails facing inward, toward the owner's own property, so…

Albany requires fences with a one-sided frame to be built with posts and rails on the owner's side, finished face…

In the Village of Hamburg, New York, a fence must have its most pleasant or decorative side facing the adjoining lot or…

A Ramapo fence normally has to sit at least one foot inside your property line with its finished side facing the…

In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, Town Code § 330-109A(5) requires every fence to be built with its…

The Town of Union Code does not hand neighbors a cost-sharing formula, but it sets two duties that affect them…

Mount Vernon requires a certificate of appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board before any building permit…

In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, Town Code § 330-109F bars any fence or wall on a berm but lets the…

In the Village of Southampton, § 116-12I bars retaining walls within the first 20 feet of any property line, limits a…

Albany treats retaining wall construction as grading: the City Engineer requires a stormwater, grading, and erosion…

New house site plans in the Town of Babylon must include properly engineered retaining walls built of suitable…

In Clarkstown's AAR floating zone, the age-restricted housing overlay for residents 55 and older, retaining walls are…

Glen Cove limits retaining walls to 12 feet under § 280-45.2.C, requires a setback of one foot for every foot of height…

Retaining walls over four feet, combined height if tiered, need a building permit from Huntington's Department of…

In the Town of Irondequoit, New York, retaining walls under 18 inches are exempt from the fence section, while any…

Retaining and other walls greater than 18 inches above average undisturbed grade must obtain a permit before…

New Rochelle requires anyone who raises or lowers the grade at a property line to build a retaining wall on their own…

New York City requires an owner who sets their grade higher or lower than a neighbor's to build a retaining wall at…

North Hempstead requires a Building Official permit before any retaining wall goes up, caps height at five feet in or…

Retaining walls in the Town of Oyster Bay fall under the Building Construction chapter's permit jurisdiction alongside…

Ramapo treats a retaining wall as a type of fence under its zoning code, so the same numeric limits apply: § 376-52C…

Rochester lets a retaining wall exceed the normal four-foot front-yard fence cap only where a natural topographic grade…

Smithtown requires a building permit before any retaining wall, sea wall or bulkhead is built, altered, removed or…

Building a retaining wall in the Town of Tonawanda needs no building permit under § 54-5.B(4), unless the wall supports…

Yonkers treats retaining walls the same as fences under City Code § 43-41D: they cannot exceed four feet in a required…

A retaining wall in the Town of Amherst skips the building permit that most other structures need. Amherst Code §…

Most retaining walls in Cayuga County can be built without a building permit, but the exemption drops away if the wall…

In the Town of Colonie, most retaining walls do not need a building permit at all. Town Code § 62-14B(5) exempts…

Greenburgh exempts retaining walls under four feet high from its Building Permit requirement; walls at four feet or…

Schenectady exempts most retaining walls from the building permit requirement, but the exemption drops away if the wall…

Syracuse requires every fence, retaining wall and other minor structure on a property to be kept structurally sound and…

In the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City, construction of a retaining wall needs no…

Cheektowaga's zoning code does not cap retaining wall height. Section 260-59F(1)(a) lists retaining walls of any…

Razor wire, barbed wire, and concertina wire are banned outright anywhere in the Town of Brookhaven under Town Code §…

Glen Cove's zoning code bans barbed wire and razor wire fences outright and prohibits thin wire, twine or rope fencing…

Islip prohibits electric fences and barbed, razor or concertina wire, requires any fence over 6 feet to be an open…

New Rochelle bans electrically charged fences, barbed wire and any other sharp-material fencing in every residentially…

Albany's zoning code bars barbed wire, broken glass, and electrified fencing citywide, and prohibits chain-link fencing…

In Cheektowaga's rear and side yards, fences may not top out with barbed wire, razor ribbon or concertina wire. The…

Barbed wire and electrified fences are not banned outright in the Town of Colonie, but § 62-45E requires a special…

Greece prohibits barbed wire and similar sharpened enclosure material on fences townwide unless the Board of Zoning…

In the Village of Hamburg, New York, barbed wire, spikes, chipped glass, electricity or similar materials cannot be…

Mount Vernon bans electrically charged fences, barbed-wire fences and any fence built of sharp materials citywide under…

North Hempstead bans barbed wire, spikes, chipped glass, and electric fencing on any fence under Town Code § 70-100.2B…

Barbed wire, electrically charged fencing and any fence built of sharp materials are banned outright in every residence…

Rochester's fence code bans barbed wire outright in every residential zoning district and bars razor wire or any…

In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, Town Code § 287-10 forbids any barbed-wire fence along a public…

Fences in the Town of Union, Broome County, New York, must be wood, chain link, wrought iron or PVC. Barbed wire and…

Yonkers City Code § 43-41D bans electrically charged fences, barbed wire and any fence built of sharp materials on…

Amherst's zoning code bars barbed wire and similar security topping on fences in nonresidential districts, and caps…

Town of Babylon zoning limits by-right fences to basket-weave, woven-wire, vertical-wood-staving, split-rail, or evenly…

Huntington's deer-management law lets residents install commercially approved deer fencing up to eight feet without a…

In the Town of Irondequoit, New York, fences must use commercially available fencing materials and look uniform. Barbed…

New York City's Administrative Code regulates fences 'whether of masonry, steel, wood, or any other materials,' capping…

Schenectady's zoning code flatly prohibits barbed wire, chicken wire, pallets, plywood, sheet metal, and construction…

In the City of Troy, New York, Troy City Code § 285-76(C) bars barbed wire in the bottom eight feet of fences in the B…

Utica restricts certain fence materials: chain-link is excluded where fences serve as required landscape screening, and…

The Town of Tonawanda bans fences made of unfinished metal, concrete block, plastic, fiberglass or plywood anywhere in…