Vaughan’s fence guidance summarizes Fence By-law 189-2020, whose height table changes with location, land use and distance from the street. In a front yard within 2.4 m of the road allowance, the basic fence limit is 1.2 m, while a segment farther back can reach 2 m under the table. A street-facing side, a transit abutment and a corner visibility area have their own entries or restrictions. Reading only “two metres for a residential fence” is therefore inadequate for a corner townhouse or a boundary beside a bus route. Sketch the front lot line, two street edges, driveway and distance of each segment from the road.
The bylaw regulates construction, materials and maintenance as well as height, and Vaughan provides an exemption application where a proposal cannot comply. A neighbour’s willingness to share a taller fence is not a municipal exemption. The City separately addresses the division-fence cost process under By-law 175-93. Before invoking either process, establish the survey line and whether a stretch is on private land or a road allowance. A privacy fence at the back of an interior lot poses a different question from a screen that extends into the corner sight triangle; the latter can impede drivers even if the total height of the rear run is otherwise permitted.
Vaughan requires a swimming-pool grading and enclosure permit before installing a qualifying pool, including many above-ground or seasonal installations. Its enclosure must be at least 1.22 m high, avoid climbable projections on the outside and use the gate controls in Schedule A of the bylaw. Temporary protection during excavation and inspection before filling are part of the sequence. Show the pool, house doors, elevations and every gate before a contractor treats the existing boundary fence as the safety barrier. A plausible violation is filling a new pool behind a shared fence that lacks a compliant self-closing gate or has climbable rails outside; a simple height measurement would miss it.
Last verified: September 28, 2026. This Vaughan guide summarizes the linked municipal sources for planning; the property’s zoning, survey and any required approval decide the actual design. How we research fence rules →
