How high can a garden fence be?

In England you can put up a garden fence, wall or gate up to 2m high without planning permission. Where it is next to a road used by vehicles, or the pavement of one, the limit is 1m. Anything on top of the fence, such as trellis, counts towards the total height. Go over those limits and you need planning permission, which you can apply for in advance or, riskily, after the fence is up.

Most garden fences are 1.8m, which leaves room for a short trellis topper. This guide covers the details that cause arguments. It is general information, not legal advice.

Where the 2m rule comes from

Fences, walls and gates are "means of enclosure" under Class A of Part 2 of the permitted development rules (the General Permitted Development Order 2015). Class A allows you to put up, maintain, improve or alter them without planning permission as long as the height does not exceed:

• 1m above ground level where it is adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic, and
• 2m above ground level anywhere else.

The rule applies to houses and, unlike many permitted development rights, also to flats. See our separate guide on the 1m rule for fences next to a road for what "adjacent to a highway" means.

Trellis, toppers and anything else on top

The limit applies to the whole structure, so trellis, lattice, spikes, screening or extension arms fixed to the fence all count. A 1.8m panel with a 30cm trellis on top is 2.1m and needs planning permission. The same is true of fence panels fixed on top of a garden wall: measure to the top of the highest part.

Freestanding planting is different. Shrubs and climbers are not a means of enclosure, so they do not count towards the fence height, although very tall evergreen screens can lead to complaints under other rules.

If you want more privacy than 2m allows, the usual answers are a 1.8m fence with a 20cm trellis, or planting a little way inside the boundary. Our trellis and screening page covers the options.

How height is measured

Height is measured from ground level at the base of the fence. The difficulty is sloping or terraced gardens, where the ground is higher on one side than the other.

• The planning guidance measures from the natural ground level, not from a raised patio, raised bed or pile of soil you have added next to it.
• Where ground levels differ on each side, councils have taken different views on which side to measure from. Some take the higher side, some the side where the fence appears tallest.
• On a slope, panels are usually stepped. Each step should stay within 2m at its highest point, measured at the post.

If your fence will be close to 2m on the lower side, speak to the council before it goes up or ask the installer to keep panels slightly lower.

Replacing an existing tall fence

Class A also allows you to maintain, improve or alter an existing fence, as long as it ends up no higher than its former height or the normal limit, whichever is greater. So if a boundary already has a lawful 2.4m fence, you can usually replace it like for like. Keep photos and measurements of the old one.

When the 2m allowance does not apply

• Listed buildings. A fence within the grounds of a listed building may need listed building consent.
• Planning conditions. Many estates were built with conditions removing permitted development rights for fences, particularly on open-plan fronts. Check the original permission.
• Article 4 directions. These can remove the right, usually in conservation areas.
• Covenants in your deeds may restrict fence heights or types, even where planning law does not.

Retrospective planning permission

If a fence is already over the limit, the council can ask you to apply for planning permission afterwards. You apply with a householder planning application, the same form as for an extension. The fee is set nationally and is several hundred pounds.

If permission is refused, or you do not apply, the council can serve an enforcement notice requiring you to reduce the fence. Enforcement usually starts with a neighbour's complaint. In practice, a 2.2m fence at the bottom of a back garden that no one objects to is rarely pursued, but it can surface when you sell, when a buyer's solicitor asks about work done without consent. Cutting a fence down to 2m is usually cheaper than arguing about it.

What a fence costs at different heights

Rates are quoted at 1.8m. Lower fences cost less and fences over 2m cost more, as the posts must be longer and deeper. Indicative West Midlands prices, supply and fit, waste included:

A 15m run of featheredge at 1.8m on concrete posts, with the old fence removed, typically costs £1,700–£2,400. See the fence cost per metre guide and our new fence page. Fences over 2m, or over 1m next to a road, always get a free site visit rather than a range, because permission and design need checking.

We pass your enquiry to one local specialist, who confirms a fixed price. If you are not sure the boundary is yours to fence, read who owns the fence? first.