Do I Need Council Approval for a Fence in Sydney?

Most standard fences between two suburban properties in Sydney do not need council approval. Front fences, unusually tall fences, anything in a heritage conservation area and anything involving masonry or retaining are where that changes. The catch is that the detail sits with your own council, and no two local environmental plans are identical, so a rule your mate quoted from a different suburb may not hold on your block.

The short answer

Fencing is one of the things the New South Wales planning system treats as exempt development when it stays within set limits. Exempt development means you can carry out the work without lodging a development application, provided every condition in the relevant code is met. Miss one of those conditions, and you are back to needing approval, either as complying development through a certifier or as a full DA through the council.

For a typical rear or side boundary fence replacing a like-for-like timber paling or Colorbond fence at ordinary residential height, most Sydney homeowners never touch the council. For a 2.1 metre masonry front fence on a corner block in a conservation area, you almost certainly will.

Where approval is more likely to be needed

These are the situations that most often push a fence out of the exempt category:

• Front fences, particularly anything above the modest height limits that apply in the front setback of most residential zones.

• Heritage items and heritage conservation areas, where the character of the streetscape is specifically protected.

• Corner blocks and driveways, where a solid fence can block sight lines for drivers and pedestrians.

• Masonry, brick or rendered fences, and any fence that also retains soil, which brings structural and drainage requirements with it.

• Fences to a public road, laneway, reserve or park, where the adjoining land is managed by a public authority.

• Bushfire-prone and flood-prone land, where material choice and the way water moves across the site can both be controlled.

• Strata and community title properties, where the owners corporation and the by-laws are an extra layer on top of anything council requires.

Front fences are the usual sticking point

Backyard fences rarely cause anyone trouble. Front fences do, because they are the part of your property the street sees. Councils generally control front fence height, and often how solid the fence can be, sometimes requiring the upper portion to be open or partly transparent rather than a solid wall. That is a large part of why picket and open-style fences remain so common on Sydney front boundaries. If you are weighing up styles, our guide to front fence ideas for Sydney homes and our overview of picket fencing both cover the options that tend to sit comfortably within typical controls.

Heritage areas and conservation zones

A heritage conservation area is not the same as your house being individually heritage listed, and plenty of owners in the Inner West, the Eastern Suburbs and parts of St George are in one without realising. In a conservation area, councils are generally concerned with whether the fence suits the period and character of the street. That can mean restrictions on materials, height and style, and it often means a Colorbond fence is fine along a rear boundary but not across the front. If you are in any doubt, this is the case where a phone call to the council before quoting saves the most money.

Pool fences follow a different rulebook entirely

Pool barriers are not a planning question, they are a safety law question, with their own standards, registration requirements and inspection regime. Whether or not your dividing fence needs council approval has no bearing on whether your pool barrier complies. We have set out the separate requirements in our guide to pool fencing in Sydney, and for anything specific a registered pool certifier is the right person to ask. See also our pool fencing in Sydney service page.

Why there is no single Sydney fence height

People often ask for the Sydney fence height limit as though there is one number. There is not. Sydney is made up of dozens of local government areas, each with its own local environmental plan and development control plan sitting underneath the state codes. Sutherland Shire, Georges River, Bayside, Randwick, Waverley, Canterbury-Bankstown, the Inner West and the City of Sydney all set their own controls, and within a single council area the rules can differ between zones, between front and rear boundaries, and between a standard lot and a corner lot.

That is also why the height question and the cost question are linked: a fence built to a controlled height in a controlled material is a different job to a straightforward rear boundary replacement. If you are also working out who is paying for it, see who pays for a dividing fence in NSW.

How to check the rules for your own address

• Identify your local government area. If you are not certain which council you are in, the NSW Planning Portal will tell you from your address.

• Look up your property on the NSW Planning Portal to see the zoning and any heritage or hazard overlays that apply.

• Read your council's development control plan section on fencing. This is usually where the practical height and material rules live.

• Call the council's duty planner. Most Sydney councils offer this, it is free, and ten minutes on the phone beats rebuilding a fence.

• Tell your fencing contractor what you find, before the quote is finalised rather than after.

What happens if you build without approval

Where approval was required and not obtained, a council can issue an order to modify or remove the fence, and the cost of that falls on the owner. It also has a way of surfacing at the worst possible moment, when a property is being sold and a purchaser's solicitor asks for approvals. Neither outcome is common for ordinary boundary fencing, but both are entirely avoidable with one phone call at the start.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need council approval to replace an existing fence?

Replacing a like-for-like boundary fence at a similar height and in a similar material is usually exempt development, provided the conditions in the relevant code are met. Changing the height, the material or the position is where it becomes worth checking.

Does my neighbour's agreement count as approval?

No. They are two separate things. Your neighbour's agreement deals with the cost and the work under the dividing fences rules. Council approval deals with the planning controls. A fence can be fully agreed with your neighbour and still breach a council control.

What about a fence on a corner block?

Corner blocks attract extra attention because a solid fence close to an intersection or driveway can obstruct sight lines. Councils commonly require the fence to be lower, set back, or partly open near the corner. Check before you commit to a design.

Do I need approval for a retaining wall under my fence?

Retaining structures have their own height thresholds and usually bring in drainage and structural requirements, so they are far more likely to need approval than the fence sitting on top. Our guide to retaining walls in Sydney explains what is involved.

Who can give me a definitive answer?

Your council, for anything specific to your address. The NSW Planning Portal is the starting point for zoning and overlays, and NSW Fair Trading covers the separate dividing fences side. We are fencing contractors rather than planners, so treat this article as general background, not approval advice for your property.

Talk to us before you finalise the design

We build fences right across the Sydney areas we service, and we would far rather have the height and material conversation at quoting stage than after the posts are in. Have a look at our fencing services, then get in touch for a quote and tell us your suburb and whether the fence is front or rear. We will flag anything that looks like it needs a call to your council.

Read next: Wondering what height you can build to? See Colorbond fence heights in Sydney. Also worth reading: how long fence replacement takes in Sydney.

Also worth reading: Front Picket Fence Heights: A Sydney Guide

Also worth reading: Replacing a Fence Without Upsetting Your Neighbour