Front fences in Maitland Quotes from licensed fencers for picket, slat and heritage-style front fences and gates

Front fences: the common styles

A front fence is the part of the house the street sees first, so the style is chosen to suit the house as much as for privacy. The quote depends on the frontage length, the height, the material and the gate.

Timber pickets

Spaced timber pickets on rails, painted or stained, with pointed, rounded or flat tops and a matching pedestrian gate. The traditional front fence for cottages and Federation homes.

Steel and aluminium slats

Horizontal or vertical slats with gaps between, powder-coated, on steel posts: common on newer homes, with matching pedestrian and driveway gates.

Low fences with piers

Infill panels between brick or rendered piers. The piers are bricklaying or masonry work; ask whether the quote covers both.

Front fence costs in Maitland

Front fence prices

Checked 28 October 2026. No Maitland business publishes front fence prices. The Quote Yard's NSW guides (8 September and 14 August 2026) don't state GST. North Shore Fencing and Gates' Sydney guide (2025) includes GST.

A short frontage with a gate costs more per metre than a long boundary run, because the gate, its posts and hardware are a large part of the price.

Front fence height and approval rules in Maitland

Under the NSW Codes SEPP (cl 2.34(2)), a fence along a road frontage or in the front setback is exempt development only if it's no higher than 1.2 m above existing ground and at least 20% open above 400 mm, with no solid part wider than 350 mm and gaps of at least 25 mm. Masonry is limited to 1.2 m, and the gate must not open outwards. On a corner block, the front-fence limit applies to half the length of the side street boundary, measured from the corner.

Maitland City Council summarises it as front fences up to 1.2 m of an open style, such as pickets, slats or wire mesh, and side fences forward of the building line up to 1.2 m. None of this applies as exempt development on a flood control lot, or in a heritage conservation area.

Front fences in Maitland's heritage conservation areas

The Maitland LEP 2011 has seven heritage conservation areas: Aberglasslyn House, Bolwarra, Central Maitland, East Maitland, Lorn, Morpeth and Regent Street. There, a front fence or any fence along a road isn't exempt development, so it needs approval, and removing the old fence isn't exempt demolition.

For those fences, the Maitland DCP 2026 says front fences "must be no higher than 1.2m in height, unless there is evidence that the original heritage fencing was higher", should be "open or transparent, not solid", and should suit the house and street: "timber picket, low masonry, and low hedges etc.", avoiding "faux historic styles". Original fences are to be kept and repaired where possible, and painted steel or clip-lock fences aren't supported on street frontages.

Some areas add their own detail. In Bolwarra, new front fences should be at least 25% transparent. In Morpeth, the DCP lists the fence types that match each period of house: painted timber pickets (c1840–1925), a simple steel rod palisade (c1860–1900), woven wire or chain mesh (c1900–1925), and hedges.

What to send us

• The frontage length, and the height you'd like
• The style: pickets, slats or panels between piers
• A pedestrian gate, a driveway gate, or both
• Whether the house is in a heritage conservation area or is a heritage item
• Photos of the house front and the existing fence

Questions about front fences in Maitland