FENCE RULES – NORTH RICHLAND HILLS (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page covers residential fencing inside the incorporated City of North Richland Hills, in Tarrant County, Texas.

North Richland Hills requires permits for new fences and publishes limited repair and replacement exemptions. Eight feet is the general height limit, while front fences depend on frontage, lot size, zoning and open construction. Wood and vinyl are recognized, but chain-link has substantial location and appearance restrictions. Corner visibility, driveway gates, drainage channels and utility access can determine where a fence belongs. Town Center and the Smithfield and Iron Horse transit districts have additional standards. Pool enclosures require six-foot barriers, including six-foot construction fencing under the City’s 2026 amendments. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	North Richland Hills answer
Permit or approval	A fence permit is required for new fences. The adopted code and permit guidance publish different conditions for limited repairs and replacement; confirm the applicable exemption with Building Inspections before starting.
Typical fence height	Eight feet is the general maximum. Qualifying open front fences usually have a four-foot maximum, with separate five-foot rural and six-foot large-lot rules. Special districts, screening walls and pool barriers have additional rules.
Placement & property lines	The ordinary fence provisions do not specify a universal numeric setback from an interior private property line. Required yards, corner sight areas, street frontage, planned rights-of-way, drainage and utility easements impose separate conditions.
Common fence materials	Wood: recognized, with post, finish, repair and street-facing orientation requirements. Vinyl/PVC: vinyl is recognized in the fee schedule and decorative-fence post provision; location and design restrictions still apply. Chain-link: restricted by frontage, visibility, coating and approval requirements.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by Town Center or transit-district standards, planned-development conditions, corner lots, pools, residential subdivision screening walls, drainage channels, floodways, utility access and qualifying livestock uses.
Official local resource	North Richland Hills Permit Information

The table provides quick reference. The sections below explain the corresponding rules and special conditions. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, read the sections that apply to the property, review the linked official sources, and confirm site-specific requirements with Building Inspections, Planning or Public Works, as appropriate.

GOVERNANCE

North Richland Hills is a home-rule city. The City Council adopts the public regulations, and the North Richland Hills Code of Ordinances distributes fence requirements among zoning, building regulations, drainage, subdivisions and special-district standards.

Chapter 118, Article VIII contains the principal fence and screening rules. The chief building official or designee administers those provisions. Building Inspections handles fence permits and construction review; Planning administers zoning, special-use applications and district standards. Public Works and its Engineering Division review drainage, floodplain development and engineered screening walls. The Public Works Director or designee serves as floodplain administrator. Neighborhood Services’ Code Compliance Division handles property-maintenance enforcement.

The City adopted the 2024 International Residential Code, International Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with local amendments through Ordinance 3947 in February 2026. Texas municipal residential-code law uses the International Residential Code as it existed May 1, 2012, with municipal amendment authority; municipal pool-code law permits newer local editions than its May 1, 2019 baseline. North Richland Hills’ adopted editions and amendments govern the local construction requirements described here.

Town Center, the Smithfield and Iron Horse Transit Oriented Development areas, and individual planned developments require attention to the applicable district or approved regulating plan. Their standards can change the ordinary zoning answer.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

New fences and limited replacement: The City’s adopted residential-code amendment exempts replacement of up to four eight-foot fence sections, no taller than eight feet, and expressly requires a permit for all other fences. The City’s permit guidance separately requires permits for post installation and for a series of repairs cumulatively exceeding four eight-foot panels within twelve months. It also requires repairs to match existing materials. These published formulations differ; confirm how Building Inspections will apply them to the proposed repair or replacement before starting.

Application route: The City directs residential fence and retaining-wall applications to the Miscellaneous Permit application in the NRH E-Portal. Fence contractors performing work requiring a permit must register with the City. Homeowners performing work on their own residence or homestead have the stated contractor-registration fee exemption. Appendix A’s published miscellaneous fee schedule lists $24 per lot or tract for wood, chain-link or vinyl fences, $24 for wrought iron and $69 for masonry; confirm the applicable total when applying.

Separate zoning compliance: Article VIII applies to new construction and where 50 percent or more of an existing screen, fence or wall requires replacement. The permit exemption and this zoning-applicability provision have different terms. Fence height, placement, materials, visibility, pool safety and drainage requirements continue to apply where required.

Chain-link approval: Section 118-879 permits replacement of chain-link fences existing before that section’s adoption with a permit. A new chain-link fence visible from a public street requires a special-use permit. Its other location and coating restrictions are explained below.

Unplatted property: Section 110-41 expressly allows a permit for fencing or similar non-construction activities on an unplatted lot in any zoning district, except permits that include structural enclosures.

Drainage and floodplain review: Proposed fences in drainage easements are forwarded to Public Works for evaluation. Engineering issues floodplain development permits for proposed development in an area of special flood hazard. That ordinance defines development to include excavation, grading, filling and other manmade changes to real estate. Regulatory-floodway encroachments are subject to hydraulic requirements, and the City’s fence guidance prohibits fencing within floodways.

Screening-wall remodeling triggers: In addition to Section 118-870’s new-construction and fence-replacement applicability, Section 118-871 applies when proposed building remodeling, alteration, addition or expansion exceeds fifty percent of the existing structure’s current appraised value, excluding land, or increases building floor area by thirty percent or more.

Masonry screening and retaining walls: Required masonry or concrete screening walls need engineered, sealed plans and City review and permitting. The retaining-wall permit exemption covers walls not over three feet from footing bottom to wall top, subject to surcharge and specified liquid-impoundment exceptions. Successive walls are considered together where a line drawn upward at 45 degrees from the lower footing intersects the higher wall or its retained material. The adopted amendment requires a Texas-licensed engineer’s design for a wall or qualifying succession three feet or taller.

Pool permits and use: Under Section 118-722(a), a swimming pool cannot be constructed before a building permit is issued or used before a certificate of occupancy is issued. The proposed sanitary facilities and water supply must comply with applicable local and state health regulations before issuance of the building permit or final certificate.

Fence-post installation and erosion controls: The erosion-control article expressly excludes installation of fence poles from its definition of land-disturbance activity. Associated grading or a larger development project may have its own requirements.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

Private boundaries and required yards: Section 118-721 recognizes fences and walls in minimum required yards, subject to height and visibility requirements. The ordinary fencing provisions do not specify a universal numeric setback from an interior private property line. Confirm the legal boundary independently of an existing fence, curb, ditch or mapping line. Recorded easements, public rights-of-way and approved plat conditions are separate constraints.

Temporary accessory buildings on corner lots: Section 118-718(b)(4)b sets a three-foot interior-side building line and the primary building’s side building line beside the street. Its exception permits the temporary building within five feet of the property line when it stands behind a solid fence at least six feet high.

Front yards and driveway gates: Front fencing is limited by the frontage, zoning, lot-size and open-fence rules below. Private entry gates are permitted where a front fence is permitted and must be set back at least 20 feet from the planned ultimate right-of-way line shown on the master thoroughfare plan, providing space for one vehicle to queue on the property.

Transverse and reverse frontage lots: Where the rear yard of one lot abuts the side yard of a second lot, the first lot’s fence cannot encroach into the street-adjacent side yard unless it complies with the front-yard fence standards. Where two corner lots’ rear yards abut, compliant fencing may occupy the street-adjacent side yard.

Drainage easements, creeks and channels: Some fences may be approved in drainage easements after Public Works evaluation. City guidance prohibits fencing across concrete channels, within natural creeks or within the floodway. Fences are generally not allowed across concrete flumes; the Public Works Design Manual expressly prohibits encroaching on or crossing the specified residential drainage flumes.

Earthen drainage channels: Under the channel provisions of the Public Works Design Manual, fences must remain at least ten feet from the top of an earthen channel. The specified channel easement extends at least fifteen feet beyond one side and ten feet beyond the other, cannot be cross-fenced, and must preserve open top-of-bank maintenance access. These requirements concern the channel and its easement.

Surface-water flow: Private fences and public screening fences must avoid blocking surface water or creating erosion around, beneath or near the fence. Texas Water Code Section 11.086 also prohibits diverting or impounding natural surface water in a manner that damages another property by overflow, subject to its statutory qualifications. Fence bases, footings and grading need particular attention where runoff crosses a lot.

Utility and sewer access: The subdivision utility provisions require the specified transformer access through a seven-foot utility easement and a five-foot removable fence panel or gate. Access must remain unobstructed, including unlocked gates where required. Minimal fencing removal can fall within reasonable access for utility replacement. The Design Manual’s future sanitary-sewer easements prohibit fencing or other obstructions that interfere with future installation. Read the actual easement and approved plat before enclosing these areas.

Required subdivision screening walls: A required masonry screening wall follows the common property line inside the property responsible for the wall. It must remain outside street right-of-way. New residential subdivisions beside a C-4-U or larger thoroughfare require masonry screening along the relevant rear or side lot lines. Wall placement must be coordinated with Public Works to avoid utility and drainage conflicts.

Existing joint or attached fences: Agriculture Code Section 143.121 restricts removal of a dividing fence in which the person is a joint owner, or a fence attached to a fence owned or controlled by another person, unless there is mutual consent or compliance with the statutory process. Under Section 143.122, a person owning an interest in a fence attached to a fence owned wholly or partly by another person may withdraw and separate that attached fence after six months’ written notice of the intended separation. Section 143.123 allows an owner whose fence is wholly on that owner’s land to require the attached fence’s owner to disconnect and withdraw it after six months’ written notice. Each notice must be given to the specified owner or that person’s agent, attorney or lessee.

Pipeline easements: Covered construction, repair, replacement or maintenance on, across, above or below a pipeline easement requires operator notice and satisfaction of the applicable protective conditions under Health and Safety Code Chapter 756. Written agreements and statutory exceptions affect that process. Utility locating is separate from pipeline-easement construction approval.

• Texas811 before post digging: Request a Texas811 utility locate before digging, wait the applicable lawful period, check ticket responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the ticket process, preserve marks and dig carefully. Utilities Code Chapter 251 generally covers powered or mechanized digging, including augers, to sixteen inches or deeper. Ordinary notice is at least forty-eight hours before work, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and no earlier than fourteen days before work. The statute has a separate Saturday-notification branch; follow the actual lawful-start information. Private irrigation, pool and other customer-owned lines may need separate locating. Railroad Commission pipeline rules separately can cover hand digging deeper than sixteen inches, generally use a fourteen-working-day ticket life with specified written extensions and refresh requirements, and require retention of ticket/response records for at least four years. Follow the applicable pipeline response and careful-excavation procedures. A locate does not replace permits, property permission or easement requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

General height and measurement: Section 118-873 sets an eight-foot maximum for walls and fences, measured vertically from the ground to the top. On terrain sloping ten percent or more, the fence may use eight-foot horizontal stair-step sections whose average height does not exceed eight feet. Masonry columns may exceed the maximum by no more than eight inches and may not exceed the average height of adjoining fence sections by more than eight inches.

Front-yard fences: Front fences may be permitted on property zoned for single-family residential or agricultural uses with at least 100 feet of street frontage. They must be open or non-sight-barring wrought iron or ornamental metal and no higher than four feet. Brick or stone columns may be included at twenty-to-fifty-foot spacing on center.

Larger residential lots: A front fence above four feet and no higher than six feet may be permitted on a lot greater than one acre with at least 200 feet of street frontage. It must use wrought iron or ornamental metal with brick or stone columns spaced twenty to fifty feet on center. Such properties zoned AG, RE-1 or RE-2 also have the stated rural-fence alternative.

Rural front-yard fences: AG or RE-1 property with at least one acre and 150 feet of street frontage may have the specified rural fence no higher than five feet. Its permitted construction types are listed in Material and Construction Limits.

Corner visibility: Section 118-714 prohibits fences, walls and vegetation from obstructing approaching drivers’ sight within the required triangle. Vision must remain clear between thirty inches and nine feet above average curb grade. At two residential streets, the triangle extends fifteen feet along each intersecting property line. Where the specified residential and C-2-U, C-4-U or larger collector combinations intersect, the published triangle uses seventy feet toward approaching perpendicular traffic and fifteen feet parallel to the approach. Public Works may vary requirements where streets do not meet at approximately right angles. The code’s general definition describes a sight triangle as at least twenty-five feet in any direction; confirm the applicable layout with Public Works. Sections 118-18 and 118-19 make the ordinance text control conflicting illustrations.

Little Bear Creek Corridor: For new subdivisions or resubdivisions covered by Section 102-262, the specified minor-collector intersections require the greater of a triangle extending thirty-five feet along the curblines from their imaginary intersection or fifteen feet along the intersecting property lines. Vision remains clear between thirty inches and nine feet above average curb grade; Public Works may adjust non-right-angle conditions. North Tarrant Parkway and Davis Boulevard have the specified minimum thirty-foot visibility and access triangular easement within the corridor.

Fences adjoining subdivision walls: Where a residential subdivision masonry wall borders a C-4-U collector or larger street, an adjacent or perpendicular fence cannot exceed the subdivision screening wall’s height.

Town Center: Section 118-464 allows front residential picket fences up to forty inches with Home Town homeowners-association approval. The Town Center standards define a frontage fence at the frontage line with a four-foot maximum and list three-to-four-foot frontage fences for the Edge, General and Center zones. Apply the property’s Town Center frontage and subzone standards when choosing a fence.

Transit-district street screens: In Historic TOD, TOD Core and High Intensity Mixed Use, specified public-street frontages lacking a building at the build-to zone require a four-foot street screen or appropriate plaza, except along alleys. General Mixed Use–Iron Horse and General Mixed Use–Smithfield have corresponding four-foot screen/plaza requirements excluding alleys, arterial roadways and highways. Arterial Mixed Use applies its corresponding screen/plaza requirement along the specified TOD streets, with those exclusions. TOD Residential requires its four-foot street screen on the specified public-street frontages except alleys. Screens belong within the applicable build-to zone.

Transit-district residential boundaries: The TOD Core, General Mixed Use–Iron Horse, General Mixed Use–Smithfield, Arterial Mixed Use and TOD Residential development standards require six-foot masonry fencing at the specified property boundary adjoining existing single-family residential use. These are development and adjacency requirements within the station areas.

Pool enclosures: The pool area or surrounding yard must have a barrier at least six feet high. The adopted pool amendment measures seventy-two inches above grade on the side facing away from the pool or spa. Required construction fencing is also six feet high. These pool requirements apply in addition to ordinary zoning and visibility restrictions.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

Fences, hedges and retaining walls: The zoning definition covers construction or hedges greater than thirty inches high used for protection, containment, boundaries or decoration, and treats walls and screening as fences. Soil-retaining dikes and walls have their separate retaining-wall requirements.

Wood: Wood fencing is expressly recognized. Section 118-878 requires metal or concrete posts set in concrete, approved by the Building Official, for new wood fences. For complete replacement, the current code includes replacement fences, while the City’s older contractor notice excludes replacements. Confirm the required posts with Building Inspections before replacing the entire fence. Wood fences beside a collector or arterial street must present the finished or smooth side toward the street, with posts toward the lot.

Vinyl/PVC: The City recognizes vinyl in its fence-fee schedule. The Building Official may approve alternative post materials for decorative fences such as vinyl or split rail. Yard, frontage, height, visibility and special-district rules still govern the proposed design.

Chain-link and mesh: New chain-link must be vinyl-clad or powder-coated black or dark green. It is prohibited along thoroughfares and ordinarily must not be street-visible; new street-visible chain-link requires a special-use permit. Section 118-873 also prohibits V/diamond mesh and chain-link forward of the principal building or along street frontage. Section 118-879 lists exceptions for dog runs, sports courts, parks, playgrounds, municipal or school property, temporary/special events and construction sites. Existing chain-link replacement has the permit provision described above.

Rural-front-fence construction: The qualifying rural front-yard rule recognizes mortised split rail, wrought iron or ornamental metal, tubular steel pipe, post-and-rail and post-and-board. Cable may accompany tubular steel pipe. Continuous square mesh or non-climb fencing and masonry columns spaced twenty to fifty feet on center may accompany the listed types. Livestock barbed or electric wire may accompany those types only under the stated rural-fence conditions and the separate safety restrictions.

Prohibited construction: Fences cannot use sheet or corrugated metal, plywood, concrete masonry-unit block, or materials not manufactured or designed primarily for fence construction. Barbed-wire fences are prohibited except livestock fences. Walls topped with broken glass or surfaced with similar materials are prohibited.

Livestock electric fencing: Electric fencing is generally prohibited. The published exception allows no more than four strands, no higher than four feet, for controlling livestock in Agricultural and former R-1-S zoning. R-1-S was renamed RE-1. Qualifying agricultural operations also have protections under Agriculture Code Chapter 251; their actual use and statutory conditions determine application.

Finishes, repairs and upkeep: Fences must remain adequately maintained, safe, secure and structurally sound. Braces, bolts, nails, frames and fastenings must remain free from deterioration, termite damage, rot, rust or loosening and withstand their designed wind pressure. Paint, stain or seal supports, gates and surfaces as necessary. Board-on-board and similar wood privacy fences may use natural wood colors; high-intensity, primary, metallic and fluorescent colors are prohibited on fence surfaces. Repairs must use material matching the remaining fence’s character and appearance, with allowances for tapering to a permitted height and natural weathering. Hazardous or severely deteriorated fences, and fences fifteen degrees or more out of plumb, require repair, replacement or removal; replacement parts must be similar in size and appearance.

Required masonry screening: Sections 118-871–872 require six-to-eight-foot masonry panels where the district screening table applies, subject to the stated exceptions. The wall must extend along the entire common property line inside the property required to provide it and be completed before issuance of any certificate of occupancy. Residential lots abutting Iron Horse Golf Course and portions of property within Little Bear Creek Corridor have the stated masonry-screening exemptions. Required walls should follow the main building’s material/color and architectural design where applicable.

District screening table: Section 118-872 requires the listed wall-providing districts—R-7-MF, MH-1, O-1, LR, C-1, C-2, OC, I-1, I-2 and U—to screen adjoining RE-1, RE-2, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4-D, R-6-T and R-8 districts. The AG adjacency requirement applies when the Comprehensive Land Use Plan designates the AG property for low- or medium-density residential use. The table’s PD adjacency requirement applies when the planned development is residential. Planned-development wall duties follow the approved site plan.

Additional district adjacencies: O-1, LR, C-1, C-2, OC, I-1 and I-2 must also screen adjoining MH-1, R-7-MF and U districts. R-7-MF must also screen adjoining U, and MH-1 must also screen adjoining R-7-MF and U. Residential districts not listed as wall-providing districts have no district screening requirement under this table. Town Center and Transit Oriented Development have their separate screening standards.

R-7-MF and MH-1 perimeter screening: In R-7-MF multifamily and MH-1 HUD Code manufactured-home developments, perimeter screening adjoining a C-4-U or larger thoroughfare must be a permanent decorative masonry wall at least six feet high, constructed along and adjacent to the thoroughfare. Along C-2-U or R-2-U thoroughfares, parks or dedicated open space, these developments require a permanent decorative wall at least six feet high using masonry, stone, wrought iron or a combination. Wrought iron cannot exceed forty percent of the wall face, including columns.

Masonry screening-wall specifications: Public Works requires a Texas-licensed structural or civil engineer’s design and sealed plans. The wall is at least six feet above the nearest adjoining sidewalk grade; neither wall nor column exceeds eight feet unless functioning as an engineered retaining wall. Unless Public Works determines drainage openings unnecessary, provide a uniform two-inch opening between columns. A twelve-inch concrete mow strip is centered below the wall, which occupies a 2.5-foot screen-wall easement. Maintenance belongs to the property owner or HOA.

Masonry screening-wall construction and plans: The Design Manual specifies 3,000-psi concrete at twenty-eight days with independent testing, ASTM A-615 Grade 60 reinforcing steel, concrete placement within eight hours after drilling piers, City-approved brick, Type S mortar, the referenced engineered-brick practice, and No. 9 gauge, 1¾-inch galvanized ladder wire at every course. Brickcrete or woodcrete-type substitutes must resemble masonry. Ordinary concrete finishes and traditional smooth-faced concrete block are prohibited along collector/arterial streets; exposed aggregate is recognized. Plans must show the legal property name, location and limits, profiles and grades, wall and column elevations, mow strip and drainage opening, steel/concrete strengths and wind-load calculations.

Retaining walls: Soil-retaining dikes and walls are outside the zoning fence definition and have separate requirements. Wood retaining walls higher than twenty-four inches are prohibited. A retaining wall below three feet that supports loads beyond its retained soil requires a Texas-licensed engineer’s design. Retaining walls must remain structurally sound and reasonably plumb; hazardous, severely deteriorated walls or walls ten degrees or more out of plumb require correction.

Living screens in the transit districts: Section 118-567(e)(3)c permits a living fence to serve as the required street screen along a public-street frontage not defined by a building at the build-to zone, excluding alleys and highways. The living fence must be at least four feet high, using shrubs planted two feet on center and two feet high when planted, selected from the TOD district planting list. The screen must occupy the build-to zone along the corresponding frontage.

Rear-yard recreational-vehicle storage: Section 118-724(g) permits rear-yard RV storage either on an improved surface large enough for the vehicles or behind a solid fence at least six feet high screening them from public view. The section defines improved surface as concrete, asphalt or concrete pavers meeting Public Works standards.

Side-yard storage and other residential screening: Section 118-725(c) requires parking or storage of motorized vehicles, boats, trailers, objects or materials in a residential side yard to be screened from both public streets and adjacent property by a solid fence at least six feet high. The qualifying stored inoperable-vehicle provision requires screening in all directions by a six-foot permanent masonry and/or approved outdoor-wood fence, including redwood or cedar. A backyard chicken coop and exercise area on a lot smaller than one-quarter acre, or 10,890 square feet, must be behind a fence at least six feet high.

Private-home pool gates: The City’s adopted pool-code amendments require pedestrian access gates to open away from the pool or spa, self-close, self-latch and accommodate a locking device. Electric or solar closers/latches cannot independently provide the required barrier. The vehicular-gate exception requires an additional qualifying barrier near the pool, at least forty-eight inches high and not easily removed. The City’s pre-plaster/safety inspection checks permanent fencing, gates and applicable door/window protection before water is introduced.

Pool construction fencing: From excavation until the permanent barrier is complete, an in-ground pool or spa site must be surrounded and secured with durable fencing at least six feet high, without openings admitting a four-inch sphere. Post “No Trespassing” signs at least every fifty feet. The code official may require a tarp secured to the outside to reduce climbability and visibility. This is the enacted 2026 construction-fencing requirement.

House walls and pool access: Where a one- or two-family dwelling, townhouse or accessory-building wall forms part of the barrier, the local amendment recognizes window-alarm exceptions for ASTM F2090 window-opening controls or an additional approved barrier near the pool at least forty-eight inches high that cannot easily be removed. A listed and labeled ASTM F1346 safety cover may also permit omission of window alarms; approved equivalent protection is another stated alternative. Pool lighting must be shielded, directed away from adjoining residences, or screened so direct rays are not visible from adjoining property.

Onground pools and natural-water boundaries: Where an onground pool wall or a barrier mounted on it serves as the enclosure, the amended minimum top height is seventy-two inches around the entire perimeter. The applicable wall/barrier requirements remain, including manufacturer approval when the wall alone serves as the barrier. At a qualifying natural-water boundary for a one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse, the local exception requires that shoreline public access is not permitted and the adjoining barriers extend at least eighteen inches beyond the water’s edge.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

HOA documents, deed restrictions, architectural approvals, private easements and fence-location, cost or maintenance agreements can impose independent requirements within Texas law. A City permit does not determine ownership, settle a boundary dispute or allocate a neighbor’s share of fence costs. Settle shared-fence arrangements in writing and obtain permission before entering neighboring land or attaching work to another owner’s fence.

HOA security-fence protections: Property Code Section 202.023 generally protects security measures, including perimeter fences, while allowing associations to regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of defined license areas, public/community sidewalks and drainage easements or areas. An association may require a driveway gate at least ten feet from the right-of-way where the driveway meets a defined laned roadway. A restrictive covenant may prohibit new fencing in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line.

Existing fencing and enhanced security: Section 202.023 protects maintenance of perimeter or front-building-line fencing installed or constructed before September 1, 2025. The front-building-line prohibition has exceptions for qualifying confidential residential addresses or law-enforcement documentation establishing a need for enhanced security. The section excludes specified condominiums and Chapter 215 master mixed-use associations. Public permits, easements and pool-safety requirements remain separate.

HOA pool-enclosure protections: Section 202.022 protects qualifying nonclimbable transparent-mesh or clear-panel enclosures in metal frames, no more than six feet high, when they conform to applicable safety requirements. Associations may regulate appearance and colors but cannot prohibit the specified black transparent-mesh/metal-frame form. This protection has its own defined enclosure requirements.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Permit and replacement review: new fencing, repair-exemption application, contractor registration, chain-link approval and required screening-wall plans.

• Location and visibility: front yards, driveway gates, corner sight areas, subdivision screening walls and district-specific frontage standards.

• Drainage and utilities: easement access, channel and flume obstructions, surface-water flow, floodplain development and pipeline-easement work.

• Construction and maintenance: approved materials, posts, street-facing finishes, safe repair and deteriorated or leaning fences and retaining walls.

• Pool safety: construction fencing, permanent barriers, pedestrian gates and applicable access protection.

Public enforcement is separate from HOA review and private boundary, ownership, entry or cost-sharing disputes.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of North Richland Hills, Texas. Updated November 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Texas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Texas.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official statutes, ordinances, orders, permits, certificates, development approvals, applicable building-code requirements, surveys, recorded documents or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary with municipal or unincorporated location, applicable extraterritorial authority, zoning or special-area status, code adoption and amendments, site conditions, subdivision or plat conditions, easements, rights-of-way, drainage and floodplain requirements, historic or design districts, pool use, agricultural operations and stock laws, fence ownership or attachment, coastal or public-access conditions, utility and pipeline excavation requirements, and private restrictions subject to Texas law. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and site-specific limitations with North Richland Hills Building Inspections and the responsible office for each applicable issue, and review applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with controlling law, adopted regulations or official requirements, the controlling authorities govern. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.