FENCE RULES – BROWARD (COUNTY), FLORIDA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Broward County, subject to local regulations.
This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Broward County; incorporated municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances. Municipalities which provide their own regulations for fences include, but are not limited to:
Aventura
Boca Raton
Coconut Creek
Cooper City
Coral Springs
Dania Beach
Davie
Deerfield Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Hallandale Beach
Hollywood
Lauderdale Lakes
Lauderhill
Lighthouse Point
Margate
Miami Gardens
Miramar
North Lauderdale
Oakland Park
Parkland
Pembroke Pines
Plantation
Pompano Beach
Southwest Ranches
Sunrise
Tamarac
West Park
Weston
Wilton Manors
Local residential fence rules appear principally in the Broward County Zoning Code, including Section 39-275 and location-specific overlay provisions. The Broward County Land Development Code adds trafficway and floodplain conditions, while the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals Chapter 1 amendments and the Building Code Division Fence Permit Procedures describe the local permit process.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.
Compiled From the Broward County Code of Ordinances, Broward County Zoning Code, Broward County Land Development Code, Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals Chapter 1 amendments, Building Code Division Fence Permit Procedures, 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code materials, Chapter 2026-63, and Florida utility-safety law as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The governing authority is the Broward County Board of County Commissioners.
The Broward County Zoning Code applies in the unincorporated area of Broward County. The Urban Planning Division administers local planning and zoning functions, and the Building Code Division publishes building-permit forms and the county's fence-permit procedure.
The Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals adopts countywide Chapter 1 administrative amendments to the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code. Chapter 1 applies in both incorporated and unincorporated Broward County through the applicable local building official. For unincorporated property, the Building Code Division administers the published fence-permit process.
For development in mapped flood hazard areas of unincorporated Broward County, the Building Official serves as the Floodplain Administrator under the Broward County Floodplain Management Ordinance.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
Effective July 1, 2026, Florida’s HB 803, enacted as Chapter 2026-63, changed the building-permit framework for certain work on single-family residential property. A local government that issues building permits must exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling, or the owner’s contractor, from the requirement to obtain a building permit for work valued at less than $7,500 on the owner’s property. The exemption does not apply to work on property located partly or entirely in a flood hazard area as defined by the Florida Building Code, or to electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work performed on property containing a single-family dwelling. A construction project may not be divided into multiple projects to evade this rule. To qualify, the owner or the owner’s contractor must submit a written exemption request to the local enforcement agency with a contract or other documentation showing the nature and value of the work.
This statutory exemption concerns only the requirement to obtain a building permit. It does not eliminate separate requirements involving zoning, fence permits, setbacks, surveys, easements, rights-of-way, drainage, visibility, floodplain review, historic or design review, Certificates of Appropriateness, pool barriers, HOA approval, covenants, or other site-specific restrictions that may apply to the property.
The statute does not classify every fence project as structural or nonstructural. Unless the local permitting authority has published specific guidance for fence work under HB 803, whether a particular fence project qualifies for the valuation exemption depends on the nature of the work, the property location, and the applicable local permitting process.
• Building-Code Permit Context: Broward County’s countywide Chapter 1 amendments state that a permit is required for the installation, alteration, or repair of any fence.
• Published Fence Procedure: The Building Code Division publishes a fence-permit process for unincorporated Broward County and requires zoning approval before building plan review.
• Permit Submittal: The published procedure calls for fence plans, a surveyor’s certificate, a Uniform Building Permit Application, and applicable contractor or owner-builder documentation.
• Inspections: Broward County Chapter 1 identifies a post-hole inspection when required and a final inspection for fence work.
• Floodplain Approval: For property wholly or partly within a mapped flood hazard area, the Floodplain Management Ordinance requires an application to the Floodplain Administrator and the required permit or approval before development begins. Fences in regulatory floodways that may block floodwaters, including stockade and wire-mesh fences, must satisfy the floodway-encroachment limitations.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Plot Lines and Required Yards: On residentially zoned property, fences, walls, and hedges may be placed on plot lines and within required yards, subject to the applicable height, visibility, easement, trafficway, floodplain, and overlay requirements.
• Easements: The Zoning Code excepts wood and chain-link fences from its general prohibition on permanent structures encroaching into easements of record. No structure or use may obstruct access through an easement specifically granted for ingress or egress.
• Trafficway Corridors: A fence or hedge along a street within a trafficway corridor that would create a sight obstruction must be set back at least 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way line. Within the resulting street or driveway intersection sight area, obstructions may not block cross-visibility between 24 inches and 96 inches above the adjacent intersection level.
• Regulatory Floodways: Stockade, wire-mesh, and other fences with the potential to block floodwaters must comply with Broward County's regulatory-floodway standards, including the required floodway-encroachment analysis where applicable.
• Utility Safety: Florida law requires notice through the statewide notification system commonly operated as Sunshine 811 before excavation or demolition. For fence projects that involve digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other movement of earth on land, notice must be provided not less than 2 full business days before excavation begins. Member operators mark or otherwise respond regarding covered underground facilities, and the excavator must verify the system's positive responses before beginning excavation where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• General Residential Height: Fences, walls, and hedges on plot lines or within required yards of residentially zoned property are limited to 6 feet. Fence height is measured from the established grade.
• Commercial or Industrial Abutment: On a lot line that is not at a corner, a residential plot abutting commercially or industrially zoned property may have a fence, wall, or hedge up to 8 feet high.
• Corner-Lot Visibility: An opaque fence, wall, or hedge may not exceed 30 inches within 25 feet of the intersection of the front and side street property lines.
• Central County Community: In Washington Park, Roosevelt Gardens, and Boulevard Gardens, front-yard fences and walls are limited to 48 inches. Roosevelt Gardens permits decorative features to extend up to 12 inches above the fence or wall. Franklin Park follows the general residential fence standards. A vacant property in the Central County Community may use a perimeter chain-link fence up to 6 feet until a dwelling is constructed.
• Garden Park Districts: For ground-floor residential street frontage in the GP-1 and GP-2 Garden Park Districts, fences are limited to 3 feet and entry columns to 4 feet. Interior side- and rear-yard fences are limited to 6 feet, and fences are not permitted along arterial or collector road frontages.
• Residential Pool Barriers: A fence or wall used to enclose a residential swimming pool or spa must be at least 5 feet high, measured from the outside of the barrier.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• General Residential Materials: The general residential fence section does not publish a closed list of allowed materials. It prohibits barbed wire, electrified wire, razor wire, and fences or walls topped with those materials on residentially zoned property.
• Published Construction Categories: The Building Code Division fence procedure provides prescriptive construction references for wood fences not exceeding 6 feet and chain-link fences not exceeding 12 feet. Other fences require engineered design or product approval. These construction-review categories do not expand the zoning height limits stated above.
• Central County Materials: Front-yard fences and walls in Washington Park and Boulevard Gardens may not be chain link, solid wood, solid concrete, or solid block. Roosevelt Gardens prohibits solid wood, solid concrete, solid vinyl, solid block, and other solid fence or wall materials in the front yard.
• Garden Park Materials: Residential street-frontage fencing in the Garden Park Districts must be picket or wrought iron; opaque, solid, shadow-box, board-on-board, and similar designs are prohibited. Chain-link fencing is prohibited throughout those districts.
• Pool-Barrier Gates: Residential pool-barrier fences and walls must be designed to prevent unauthorized access, and fence gates must have self-closing and self-latching mechanisms.
• Maintenance: Fence posts, slats, mesh, and other fencing materials must be kept free of visual disrepair. Concrete fences must be finished with stucco on both sides and painted a color compatible with the principal and accessory buildings on the plot.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, and HOA or architectural-review standards operate independently of Broward County regulations and may be more restrictive than the county's published standards.
Effective July 1, 2026, section 720.3035(1)(c), Florida Statutes, as added by Chapter 2026-63, provides that an association or similar committee may not require issuance of a governmental building permit as a prerequisite to its review of structures or improvements. This provision does not eliminate HOA or architectural review.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Height and Location: Whether a fence complies with the 6-foot general limit, the 8-foot abutment exception, plot-line and easement provisions, and any location-specific overlay standards.
• Visibility: Whether an opaque corner fence remains at or below 30 inches within the 25-foot corner area and whether a fence along a trafficway corridor meets the 10-foot setback and cross-visibility requirements.
• Special Districts: Whether property in the Central County Community or Garden Park Districts complies with the applicable front-yard height, material, opacity, and roadway-frontage limits.
• Flood Hazard Areas: Whether fence work in a mapped flood hazard area has the required floodplain approval and whether a fence in a regulatory floodway avoids prohibited effects on floodwater passage.
• Inspection and Maintenance: Whether required post-hole and final inspections are completed and whether posts, slats, mesh, concrete finishes, and other fence components remain in good repair.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Broward County, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Florida laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Florida.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, Florida Building Code requirements, HB 803 exemption procedures, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, flood-hazard status, coastal conditions, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, pool-barrier use, Florida Building Code edition, local amendment status, Sunshine 811 utility-safety requirements, overhead utility-line safety, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the Broward County Building Code Division and Urban Planning Division and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Broward County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.