Price of a fence
per linear metre.

With us, the fence most often comes at the end of a renovation, with the access, the gate and the reworking of the garden. Our 2024-2026 quotes in Savoie and Haute-Savoie therefore price only a handful: two quotes for the fence itself, a few others for a low wall, a hedge or the removal of the existing one. The figures below are real prices, excluding tax, supply and installation included, not an average: each line comes from a single quote.

The two panel prices are close: €255 and €300 excl. VAT per metre, i.e. €280 to €330 incl. VAT at 10% VAT. The base, for its part, ranges from €170 to €750 excl. VAT per metre, i.e. roughly €190 to €825 incl. VAT. This is the line to look at first when two fence quotes do not look alike.

The per-metre price on our quotes covers the supply and installation of the panels and, when a fence is being replaced, the removal of the old one. Everything else is priced on other lines: the base or low wall that carries the panels, the render on that base, the removal of a hedge, the repair of a damaged corner, and of course the gate and wicket gate, which we cover in our guide to the price of a gate.

A quote that advertises a very low price per metre without mentioning what lies under the panels is not necessarily cheaper: it may only price the visible part. Before comparing, check that both quotes cover the same length, the same height and the same support.

On bare ground, our quotes provide for a trench dug below frost depth, a reinforced concrete foundation and a 0.50 m high ground beam that receives the panels. Over a long run, without render, these three lines come to around €170 excl. VAT per metre. Over a short run of 6.5 m, with asphalt to strip before digging and a render to finish, the same work was priced at €750 excl. VAT per metre.

The difference is explained by three things that can be seen on site: what has to be demolished before digging (asphalt, old low wall, post), the finish (raw concrete or render), and the length, since the site set-up is spread over fewer metres. An entrance fence of 5 m, with the demolition of a corner and three posts, was thus the subject of a lump sum of €6,000 excl. VAT.

On sloping ground, common around the lakes, the base sometimes retains earth. It is then no longer a simple low wall: it is a retaining wall, which has to be calculated and drained, and whose price bears no relation. For a low wall in masonry blocks, our guide to the price of a concrete block wall gives the detail per m².

The existing low wall is sound. The old fence is removed and new panels are installed on it: 20 m × €255 = €5,100 excl. VAT, i.e. €5,610 incl. VAT at 10%.

The ground is bare. A plain base is needed, then the panels: 20 m × (€170 + €300) = €9,400 excl. VAT, i.e. around €10,300 incl. VAT.

If the base has to be rendered or if asphalt has to be broken up, allow considerably more: on the short run mentioned above, the base alone exceeded the price of the panels. These calculations give an order of magnitude; the price of your fence is set after measurement.

Rigid panels. This is the solution priced on our two fence quotes, at 1.60 m high. Installed on a 0.50 m ground beam, they make a fence of around 2.10 m in total: a point to check against the commune's local plan (PLU), which sets fence heights.

Simple wire mesh on posts. None of our quotes prices it: we therefore have no price to give you, and we prefer to say so rather than copy a tariff found elsewhere.

Hedge. An evergreen privacy hedge, supplied and planted, was priced at €240 excl. VAT per metre. It falls under the standard rate of VAT, because living hedges are excluded from the reduced rate, i.e. around €290 incl. VAT. The planting rules are those of the Civil Code: at least 0.50 m from the boundary for a hedge of 2 m or less, at least 2 m beyond that.

Every owner has the right to enclose their land, and most fences require no formalities. A prior declaration (déclaration préalable) becomes necessary in four cases: land in a protected area (listed or classified site, surroundings of a historic monument, remarkable heritage site), an area defined by the local plan (PLU), a commune that has made fences subject to declaration, and, for a boundary wall, a height of 2 metres or more. Processing takes one month in the general case.

Around Lac du Bourget, a listed site, a simple fence may fall under this procedure, and the Loi Littoral governs development along the shore: we detail the rules on our page outdoor landscaping in Aix-les-Bains. In the old centre of Chambéry, a fence requires a prior declaration, with the opinion of the ABF heritage architect.

In a natural or forest zone of the local plan (PLU), the environmental code additionally requires fences that let wildlife through: set 30 cm above the ground, limited to 1.20 m in height, with no wall on foundations, with exceptions provided for by the text. A housing development or a co-ownership may also impose its own rules on appearance and height. We check the zoning of the plot before pricing.

Set on your land, back from the boundary, the fence is private: you pay for it and maintain it alone, without asking anything of the neighbour, provided it does not encroach on his land. Set on the boundary, it becomes shared (mitoyenne), which requires the neighbour's agreement; you then decide together how the construction and maintenance costs are split.

In both cases, the fence must neither cut across a right of way nor block the natural flow of rainwater. When the boundary is not certain on the ground, it is better to have it established before pouring a foundation: a badly placed base cannot be moved.

The tax authority classes the construction and repair of a boundary wall, whatever the type of fence, among works at the 10% rate, provided they relate to the land or garden of a dwelling completed more than two years ago. It does not matter whether you bought the land recently: it is the age of the house that counts.

Two exceptions: living hedges, excluded from the reduced rate, and the fence of a house less than two years old, invoiced at the standard rate of 20%. The detail of the rates and of the certificate to sign is in our guide to VAT on renovation work.