Does my retaining wall count against my fence height?

In Sidney, Saanich, Central Saanich and View Royal, yes. In the City of Victoria, no — it is measured from the high side of the wall. Elsewhere the bylaw is silent, which is not the same as permission.

Can I at least put a railing at the top for safety?

In Saanich, yes: A fence or guard up to 1.07 m (42 in), regardless of the combined height. In View Royal, yes, but on narrower terms — A Code-required guard only, and only in clear glass or at least 50% unobstructed clear space. In Central Saanich the bylaw writes in no exception at all.

Why does this matter so much here?

Because much of Greater Victoria is built on rock and slope. Terraced lots with a retaining wall at the property line are ordinary here, and this clause is the difference between a legal fence and one that has to come down.

I have a retaining wall. How tall can the fence on top of it be?

A fence on top of a retaining wall

Direct answer · reviewed 2026-09-29

This is where the thirteen stop agreeing about method rather than about numbers. The City of Victoria measures a fence on a wall from the high side — the wall costs you nothing. Sidney, Saanich, Central Saanich and View Royal count the wall and the fence together against the fence maximum. In a Central Saanich residential rear yard a 1.2 m wall leaves you 0.7 m of fence. The same drawing is legal in Victoria and illegal in Sidney.

Conditions and exceptions

Read from the thirteen bylaws on 29 September 2026.
Where a municipality states no combined rule, that absence should be confirmed with the municipality before it is relied on as a permission.
A guard required by the BC Building Code is a separate question from a privacy fence, and two municipalities treat it separately.

Check your fence rules

Local evidence

Every figure below is quoted from the source shown or is our labelled estimate. Verified dates are the day we last checked the source; a figure whose check is overdue is withheld rather than shown.

A fence on top of a retaining wall in Victoria: measured from natural grade on the HIGH side of the wall — the wall itself does not count against the fence; City of Victoria · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Saanich: combined height of wall plus fence must not exceed the fence maximum — except that a fence or guard up to 1.07 m (42 in) is allowed on a wall regardless; District of Saanich · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Oak Bay: the bylaw caps a wall's exposed face at 1.2 m but states no combined wall-plus-fence rule; its fence definition includes "a wall", which is unresolved; District of Oak Bay · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Esquimalt: a retaining wall is capped at 1.2 m measured from the LOW side; no general combined wall-plus-fence rule is stated, except along the E&N right of way; Township of Esquimalt · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Langford: not addressed; City of Langford · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Colwood: not addressed for fences; the building bylaw treats a retaining wall over 1.2 m as a structure needing a permit; City of Colwood · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Sooke: not stated as a combined rule, but a retaining wall is a structure and fence additions count toward total height; District of Sooke · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Sidney: the combined height of the retaining wall AND the fence must not exceed the fence maximum for that location — the harshest version in the region, with no guard exception; Town of Sidney · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Central Saanich: combined height of wall plus fence must not exceed the fence maximum — and unlike Saanich there is no guard exception, so a 1.2 m wall in a residential rear yard leaves 0.7 m of fence; District of Central Saanich · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in North Saanich: "fence" expressly excludes a retaining wall; District of North Saanich · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in View Royal: measured from the base of the wall, so the wall counts; a Code-required guard may go above only in clear glass or largely open form; and two fences or walls less than 1 m apart are measured as one, from the base of the lower to the top of the higher; Town of View Royal · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Metchosin: not addressed; the bylaw does not use the phrase "retaining wall" at all; District of Metchosin · quoted · verified 2026-09-29
A fence on top of a retaining wall in Highlands: not addressed; District of Highlands · quoted · verified 2026-09-29

What each municipality does with the wall

Read the right-hand column as the answer to: does the wall come out of my fence height?

Fence on a retaining wall, by municipality
Municipality	Treatment
Victoria	measured from natural grade on the HIGH side of the wall — the wall itself does not count against the fence
Saanich	combined height of wall plus fence must not exceed the fence maximum — except that a fence or guard up to 1.07 m (42 in) is allowed on a wall regardless
Oak Bay	the bylaw caps a wall's exposed face at 1.2 m but states no combined wall-plus-fence rule; its fence definition includes "a wall", which is unresolved
Esquimalt	a retaining wall is capped at 1.2 m measured from the LOW side; no general combined wall-plus-fence rule is stated, except along the E&N right of way
Langford	not addressed
Colwood	not addressed for fences; the building bylaw treats a retaining wall over 1.2 m as a structure needing a permit
Sooke	not stated as a combined rule, but a retaining wall is a structure and fence additions count toward total height
Sidney	the combined height of the retaining wall AND the fence must not exceed the fence maximum for that location — the harshest version in the region, with no guard exception
Central Saanich	combined height of wall plus fence must not exceed the fence maximum — and unlike Saanich there is no guard exception, so a 1.2 m wall in a residential rear yard leaves 0.7 m of fence
North Saanich	"fence" expressly excludes a retaining wall
View Royal	measured from the base of the wall, so the wall counts; a Code-required guard may go above only in clear glass or largely open form; and two fences or walls less than 1 m apart are measured as one, from the base of the lower to the top of the higher
Metchosin	not addressed; the bylaw does not use the phrase "retaining wall" at all
Highlands	not addressed

The guard exception — and the condition attached to it

Where the wall is counted, a terraced lot can end up with no legal way to put anything safe at the top. Two municipalities wrote in an answer, and they wrote different ones.

Saanich allows a guard on top of a retaining wall even where the combined height exceeds the maximum: A fence or guard up to 1.07 m (42 in). That is the BC Building Code guard height. So you may always have a guard; you may not have a privacy fence.

View Royal allows the Code-required guard only on the terms in A Code-required guard only, and only in clear glass or at least 50% unobstructed clear space. Same safety problem, a different answer about what you may put there.

Central Saanich counts the wall and writes in no exception at all.

Stacking two short walls does not work

View Royal measures two or more fences or retaining walls less than 1 m apart as a single height, from the base of the lower to the top of the higher. Central Saanich requires 1.2 m of horizontal spacing between tiers, caps each tier at 1.2 m and allows at most two tiers to a combined 2.4 m. Oak Bay treats walls separated by 1.8 m or less as one combination capped at 1.2 m of exposed face.

Esquimalt measures a retaining wall from the low side, which is the strict reading — it counts the full exposed face.

Importing fill does not buy height either

Sidney and Saanich both measure from the original grade directly below where the fence meets the ground where fill has been placed. Highlands says the same thing in different words: from the natural ground level of the land before the fence was built or the land was altered.

Questions homeowners ask

Does my retaining wall count against my fence height?: In Sidney, Saanich, Central Saanich and View Royal, yes. In the City of Victoria, no — it is measured from the high side of the wall. Elsewhere the bylaw is silent, which is not the same as permission.
Can I at least put a railing at the top for safety?: In Saanich, yes: A fence or guard up to 1.07 m (42 in), regardless of the combined height. In View Royal, yes, but on narrower terms — A Code-required guard only, and only in clear glass or at least 50% unobstructed clear space. In Central Saanich the bylaw writes in no exception at all.
Why does this matter so much here?: Because much of Greater Victoria is built on rock and slope. Terraced lots with a retaining wall at the property line are ordinary here, and this clause is the difference between a legal fence and one that has to come down.

Your next step

Tell it there is a wall and it will apply your municipality's rule.

Check your own lot

Sources

Zoning Regulation Bylaw, Schedule S — Fences (Bylaw No. 23-025, adopted July 27, 2023) — City of Victoria, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 (consolidated, amendments to Bylaw 10299, 2026) — District of Saanich, accessed 2026-09-29
Swimming Pool and Liquid Storage Tank Fence Bylaw, 1988, No. 6016 (consolidated) — District of Saanich, accessed 2026-09-29
Screens and Fences Bylaw No. 3536, 1986 (amended by 3546, 3602, 4282) — District of Oak Bay, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (consolidated) — District of Oak Bay, accessed 2026-09-29
Building and Plumbing Bylaw No. 4247 — District of Oak Bay, accessed 2026-09-29
Fence Heights bylaw handout (2024) — District of Oak Bay, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw, 1992, No. 2050 (consolidated September 3, 2026; fences amended by Bylaw 3183, 2026) — Township of Esquimalt, accessed 2026-09-29
Langford Zoning Bylaw No. 300, 1999 (consolidated 2024-04-15) — City of Langford, accessed 2026-09-29
Land Use Bylaw No. 151, 1989 (consolidated) — City of Colwood, accessed 2026-09-29
Building Bylaw No. 977, 2008 (consolidated) — City of Colwood, accessed 2026-09-29
Sooke Zoning Bylaw No. 600, 2013 (unofficially consolidated; amendments to Bylaw 910, February 18, 2025) — District of Sooke, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 2275 — Town of Sidney, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 2270, 2026 — District of Central Saanich, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 1255 — District of North Saanich, accessed 2026-09-29
Building and Plumbing Bylaw No. 1150 (consolidated March 18, 2019) — District of North Saanich, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 900 (with amendments including 944, 1000, 1034) — Town of View Royal, accessed 2026-09-29
Land Use Bylaw No. 259 (consolidated March 2021) — District of Metchosin, accessed 2026-09-29
Building Permits and Inspection — District of Metchosin, accessed 2026-09-29
Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998 (consolidated June 15, 2026) — District of Highlands, accessed 2026-09-29

Every figure on this site is read from the bylaw or statute itself, with the date it was read and a link to the document. Bylaws are amended at council meetings, so confirm the current rule for your exact address before you build. Report a correction.