Guide
Heights front and back, corner-lot visibility triangles, privacy screens, materials and the penalty.
In an Oakville residential zone a fence may be 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) in a side or rear yard and 1.5 metres (5 feet) in a front yard, where anything above 1 metre must be open lattice. Nothing over 0.91 metres (3 feet) may stand inside a corner lot's visibility triangle. Barbed wire and electrified fences are prohibited in residential zones, and the penalty starts at $300.
Section 5 of the by-law sets the residential maximums; Section 6 sets the exceptions.
In a residential zone, 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) in any yard other than a front yard, and 1.5 metres (5 feet) in a front yard. Any part of a front-yard fence above 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) must be commercially available open lattice.
Height is measured from the grade at the base of the fence, and where the fence steps, it is taken as the average height over any 2.44 metre (8 foot) portion.
Yes. A boundary fence in a side yard, rear yard or flankage may reach 2.2 metres (7 feet 4 inches), provided any portion above 1.9 metres (6 feet 2 inches) is commercially available open lattice.
A boundary fence is one located wholly or partly within 0.91 metres (3 feet) of a property line. Where neighbouring lots sit at different grades, its height is measured from the mean grade between the two lots.
They are allowed to exceed it. Gates may be up to 30 centimetres (1 foot) above the limit, an archway forming part of an entrance may reach 2.3 metres (7 feet 6 inches), and decorative caps on structural posts may add up to 15 centimetres (6 inches).
2 metres (6 feet 6 inches), with a higher fence permitted only to the extent the by-law allows for the particular use.
Yes. A fence enclosing a tennis court or similar private sports facility in a rear or side yard may be up to 3.7 metres (12 feet), must be chain link with corrosion-resistant or treated posts and bracing, and must sit at least 0.6 metres (2 feet) from any property line.
This provision explicitly does not cover pools. A pool enclosure is governed by the separate Pool Enclosure By-law and needs its own permit.
No fence or hedge may stand higher than 0.91 metres (3 feet) at any point inside a 10.67 metre (35 foot) visibility triangle at the intersection, or inside the 2 metre (6 foot 6 inch) triangle measured at a driveway.
This applies to hedges as well as built fences, and it overrides the ordinary height limits — including for gates and archways.
A privacy screen is a fence over 2 metres in height, and the by-law treats it separately.
At ground level, 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) plus an additional 0.3 metres (1 foot) for every 0.3 metres it is set back from the property line, to a maximum of 2.9 metres (9 feet 6 inches). On a deck or platform the maximum is 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) above the deck.
It must sit at least 0.91 metres (3 feet) from any property line, and any portion above 2 metres measured from the ground must be commercially available open lattice.
Yes. No more than 9 metres (29 feet 6 inches) along any one section, and no more than 12 metres (39 feet 4 inches) in total.
Not in residential zones. The by-law prohibits a fence wholly or partly constructed of barbed wire, and prohibits an electrified fence, with limited exceptions elsewhere.
Outside those zones the by-law permits barbed wire above 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) in defined circumstances, and an electrified fence where permitted must carry a sign warning that the fence carries electricity.
An officer may issue a penalty notice carrying an administrative penalty of $300. A second penalty notice issued within 24 months of the first carries $400.
Both amounts are stated as $300 and $400 'or as revised in the Town's rates and fees schedule', so the schedule in force governs.
Not from this by-law, which sets the rules a fence must meet rather than requiring approval. The Town's fences and gates construction page is where to check whether your particular project needs a permit — a pool enclosure does.
Town of Oakville
Fences and Privacy Screen By-law