---
title: "Duncan fence rules: permits and height limits"
question: "Do I need a permit to build a fence, and how high can it be?"
place: Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/duncan
category: Building, renovating and your property
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Duncan
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/fence-rules/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/fence-rules.json"
---

# Duncan fence rules: permits and height limits

**Question:** Do I need a permit to build a fence, and how high can it be?

**Short answer:** In the City of Duncan a residential fence may be 1.2 m high in the front or exterior side yard and 2 m in the rear or interior side yard. A building permit is not needed within those heights in single family areas, but pool fences always need one.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Duncan, https://duncan.ca)  
**Cost:** No permit fee for a fence within the limits. A pool fence or a retaining wall over 1.2 m needs a building permit; see the building-permit-fees answer.  
**How long:** Not applicable for a fence within the limits.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Development Services, 250-746-6126
- Email: Development Services, developmentservices@duncan.ca
- In person: City Hall, 200 Craig Street, Duncan, BC V9L 1W3

## Key facts

- **Permit:** No building permit for fences under 2 m in rear and side yards or under 1.2 m in the front yard setback in single family residential areas; taller fences need one, but zoning caps fences at 2 m and 1.2 m (a variance is needed). Pool fences always need a building permit.
  - Source: [Do I Need a Building Permit?](https://duncan.ca/download/do-i-need-a-building-permit/)
  - Official wording: "Construct fences higher than 2 m in rear and side" … "yards or higher than 1.2 m in the front yard setback" … "Fences under 2 m in height or 1.2 m in front yard" … "setback in single family residential areas except pool" … "fencing"
  - Source: [Do I Need a Building Permit?](https://duncan.ca/download/do-i-need-a-building-permit/)
  - Official wording: "Build any pool fences"
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.8.4](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "The maximum fence height is as follows:"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Height, front yard:** Residential zones: 1.2 m in the front yard or exterior side yard. Commercial zones: fences not permitted between the building's front or exterior side face and the parcel line. Community Use zones: 1.2 m. In Centennial Heights (Plan 12568) no fence in the front yard.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.8.4, 3.8.8](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "Front Yard or Exterior Side Yard" … "Residential" … "1.2 m" … "Not permitted in either yard or" … "no fence shall be located within any portion of the front yard"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Height, side and rear yards:** 2 m in the rear yard or interior side yard in Residential, Commercial and Community Use zones. In any part of a parcel not defined as a yard, no fence over 2 m in Residential and Commercial zones.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.8.4, 3.8.7](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "Rear Yard or Interior Side Yard" … "Commercial" … "no fence shall" … "exceed a height of 2 m in any portion of the parcel not otherwise defined as a yard"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Corner lots and sightlines:** At street intersections nothing (buildings, structures or vegetation) may block the line of vision between 1 m and 3 m above grade in the corner area bounded by the parcel lines and a line joining points 6 m from where they meet.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.15.1](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "there must" … "be no visual obstruction, either by buildings, structures or vegetation" … "between 1 m and 3 m above grade" … "6 m from their"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Other rules:** Height is measured from the lower of natural or finished grade to the top of the fence; post caps up to 0.1 m and entrance arbours are excluded. Retaining walls count as fences. No barbed, razor or electric wire or similar deterrent materials in residential, commercial, community or park zones. Pools must be fenced 1.5 m to 1.8 m high with self-closing gates.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.8.1-3.8.3, 3.8.9, 3.7.1](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "Fence height is determined by measuring vertically from either natural grade or finished" … "grade, whichever is lower, to the highest portion of the fence" … "Decorative fence post caps with a height not greater than 0.1 m" … "Retaining walls, or portions thereof, are considered fences" … "must not include barbed wire, razor wire, electric wire, ultra-barrier" … "Swimming pools must be enclosed by a fence between 1.5 m and 1.8 m in height"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017, s. 3.8 (Fence Height), s. 3.7 (Swimming Pools), s. 3.15 (Visibility at Intersections)
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15, s. 3.8](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
  - Official wording: "City of Duncan Zoning Bylaw No. 3166" … "Fence Height"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

The City of Duncan limits fence height in section 3.8 of the [Zoning Bylaw](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322). Height is measured from the lower of natural or finished grade to the top of the fence; decorative post caps up to 0.1 m and entrance arbours are excluded. Retaining walls count as fences.

## Steps

1. Work out which yard the fence is in: front or exterior side yard, or rear or interior side yard.
2. Keep to the heights below. In single family areas the City's checklist says a fence under 2 m (1.2 m in the front yard setback) needs no building permit, except pool fences.
3. For anything taller, a pool fence or a retaining wall, phone Development Services at 250-746-6126 before building. Taller fences also exceed the zoning limits, so a variance would be needed.

## Good to know

- Residential zones: 1.2 m in the front or exterior side yard, 2 m in the rear or interior side yard. Community Use zones: 1.2 m in the front or exterior side yard. Rear and interior side yards in Commercial and Community Use zones: 2 m.
- Commercial zones: fences are not permitted between the front or exterior side face of the building and the parcel line.
- Pools must be fenced 1.5 m to 1.8 m high with self-closing gates, and pool fences need a building permit.
- Retaining walls over 1.2 m need a building permit.
- No barbed, razor or electric wire or similar materials in residential, commercial, community or park zones.
- No front-yard fence is allowed in Centennial Heights (Plan 12568).
- On corner lots, nothing (buildings, structures or vegetation) may block the line of sight between 1 m and 3 m above grade in the corner area, measured 6 m from where the parcel lines meet.
- An unlawful fence is a $400 bylaw notice ($375 if paid early); insufficient pool fencing is $200.

## Official forms and pages

- [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166 (PDF), section 3.8 Fence Height](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322)
- [Do I Need a Building Permit? (PDF)](https://duncan.ca/download/do-i-need-a-building-permit/)

## Related questions

- [Duncan building permits: when you need one and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/building-permit.md)
- [Duncan permits for decks, sheds, carports and garages](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/deck-shed-garage-permit.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Fence height limits in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/fence-rules.md)
- [North Cowichan](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-cowichan/fence-rules.md)
- [Ladysmith](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/ladysmith/fence-rules.md)
- [North Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-saanich/fence-rules.md)
- [Lake Cowichan](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/fence-rules.md)
- [Sidney](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/sidney/fence-rules.md)
- [Central Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/central-saanich/fence-rules.md)

## Sources

- [Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, 2017 (PDF, consolidated to August 24, 2026), sections 3.7, 3.8 and 3.15](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/175322) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Do I Need a Building Permit? (PDF), City of Duncan](https://duncan.ca/download/do-i-need-a-building-permit/) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw (PDF), City of Duncan](https://duncan.civicweb.net/document/181059) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Duncan. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/fence-rules/_