Fences on Rental Property in Jackson: Landlord, Tenant and Permit

A fence on a rental sits in an awkward spot. The landlord owns the dirt and the permit. The tenant lives behind the fence and usually wants it more than anybody. Neither one is wrong to want it, but if they never talk about it in writing, somebody ends up paying for something they thought the other person was handling.

This page is not legal advice, and I am not a lawyer. What I can do is lay out what the City of Jackson permit paperwork asks for and what the state landlord and tenant act says, so you know who has to sign what before a crew comes out. If a real dispute is already brewing, talk to an attorney.

Start With the Permit, Because the Owner Owns It

The City of Jackson requires a permit for every fence, and the Planning Department approves it. The application has a signature line for the property owner and another for the contractor, if that is someone else. There is no line on that form for a tenant.

That one fact settles most of the "can a tenant just do it" question. A tenant who hires a crew and skips the permit has built an unpermitted fence on somebody else's property. The permit paperwork also asks for a certified boundary survey or a signed agreement from each neighbor who shares a line with the lot, so the owner needs to be part of that step too. Our property line guide walks through that part.

Outside the city limits it is different. Madison County's list of work exempt from a building permit includes fences not exceeding seven feet, but the owner still decides whether a fence goes on the property at all. See the permits and rules guide for how the two jurisdictions compare.

What the State Landlord and Tenant Act Does and Does Not Say

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties above a population line set by the 2010 census, and a published compilation of the act lists Madison County. Other counties fall under a different set of rules, and this page does not cover them.

The act never uses the word fence. Nothing in it assigns fence repair or fence replacement to the landlord or to the tenant. So there is no statute you can point to that says the landlord has to fix a leaning fence, or that the tenant has to. Your lease and your own written agreement fill that gap.

The act does say a few things that bear on a fence:

• The landlord keeps the premises fit to live in and has to comply with building and housing codes that affect health and safety. Whether a failing fence falls under that wording is a question for an attorney, and I would not assume it either way.
• The two sides may agree in writing that the tenant will do specific repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations or remodeling, as long as it is done in good faith and not to dodge the landlord's own duties. That sentence is the legal footing for a tenant-built fence, and the word that matters is writing.
• A tenant may not deliberately or negligently damage or remove any part of the premises. A tenant who rips out an existing fence on a whim is on the wrong side of that line.
• Access for repairs. A tenant may not unreasonably refuse the landlord entry to make repairs or to let contractors in, and the act limits when the landlord can come in without consent. A fence crew needs the yard open on the right days, so the access arrangement is worth spelling out.

If You Are the Landlord

You are the one who pulls the permit, hands over the survey or the neighbor sign-offs, and picks what gets built. A few things to settle before you collect bids.

If You Are the Tenant

Do not buy a fence and then ask for forgiveness. Ask for permission first, and ask for it on paper.

• Get a signed addendum before any work starts. It should say what gets built, where, how tall, who pays, who maintains it, and what happens to it when you move out.
• Ask whether the owner will pull the permit. In Jackson the form has a line for the owner, and you are not the owner.
• Settle the move-out question. Does the fence stay, or do you take it down and patch the holes? Post holes do not disappear on their own, so agree on who fills them.
• Do not remove or alter an existing fence without a written okay. That is the "damage or remove any part of the premises" language in the state act.

If the owner says no, that is the end of it. A tenant can still ask for a repair of a fence that is already there. The state act does not mention fences, so I would not count on it to make a landlord add one.

What About Pools, Hot Tubs and Property Upkeep?

If the rental has a pool or hot tub, the barrier rules apply to it no matter who lives there. Madison County and the City of Jackson both enforce the barrier section of the adopted 2018 residential code, and Tennessee has a separate pool alarm law that covers residential pools installed or substantially altered on or after the start of 2011 but not public or multi-family pools. The pool fence requirements guide sorts the two apart.

Jackson also adopts the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, with local changes for things like weeds and open storage. I can tell you it exists. I cannot tell you what it says about a sagging fence, because I could not pull that part of the text. If code enforcement has sent a rental owner a letter about a fence, call the city and ask exactly which section they are citing.

Common Questions About Rental Property Fences

The Short Version

On a rental, the owner decides, the permit form is built for the owner, and the lease carries everything else. Get the agreement on paper first, then get the survey or neighbor sign-offs the city asks for, then call a contractor. If you are the owner and ready to price it, fence installation is the place to start, and the estimate guide will help you read what comes back. Questions on a specific rental? Reach out to Greg.

More plain-English answers on cost, permits, materials, and repairs are in all of our fence guides.