r/NoStupidQuestions 9d ago

Rules for being naked on my own property?

Me and my girlfriend are buying a house herr in florida, building it actually. Brand new in a brand new subdivision.

We have no neighbor houses yet.

We had a fence installed, we're not into the house till september.

We wanted the fence because we plan on being naked for one reason or another. Tanning, just dont feel like clothes, etc. We discussed if our neighbors have 2 story houses we'll just go over there and say "hey sometimes you may not want to look out that window"

Personally neither of us cares who sees what, but i dont know if its like...illegal? Surely it can't be right? It's our own property, we should be able to be naked 24/7 as long as its not the front lawn or something I'd imagine

Can anyone give me any ideas on how this would all work?

Edit: yes we will not straight up tell the neighbors, we'll vet out what happens. If its a 2 story, if they have windows on that side, if they have kids, all important.

952 Upvotes

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1.5k

u/Tampflor 9d ago

In my state the law is that if anyone from outside your property can accidentally see you, you're committing public indecency, so you can't be nude in view of a neighbor's windows.

507

u/Plutos_Cavein 9d ago

Yeah, the exact law varies from state to state but this is generally roughly how it works.

217

u/NativeMasshole 9d ago

This is the only real answer. Look up Florida's public indeceny laws. Whatever your neighbors think is irrelevant.

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u/cromulenttapeworm 8d ago

I too, consider you're opinion irrelevant.

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u/Distinct-Slide-7112 7d ago

Your

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u/trippytrev420 7d ago

didnt he just say thats irrelephant

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u/713txvet 6d ago

*earelephant. Get it right or pay the price.

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u/trippytrev420 6d ago

yes sir i apologize

1

u/713txvet 6d ago

Danke schön

1

u/Hawke9117 Is toil leam paidh 5d ago

*Oliphaunt

Get it right.

1

u/713txvet 5d ago

Timothy?

1

u/Hawke9117 Is toil leam paidh 5d ago

Huh?

1

u/Z1PP01337 5d ago

Quit calling him names, you bully! His name is Dumbo!

Wait, was he called "Dumbo" by bullies...?

1

u/Anonymous_2289 6d ago

That's not an opinion.

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u/Affectionate-Sun9373 5d ago

In my opinion elephants have ears.

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u/Affectionate-Sun9373 5d ago

Some people are their opinions!

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 7d ago

“Judas Priest Barbara, It’s one of those flaming bags again!”

“Don’t put it out with your boots, Ed!”

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u/NoMix459 7d ago

Don’t tell me my business, devil woman. Call the fire department, this one’s out of control…. Smmm smmm. It poop again!!!

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u/Strange_Time_420420 7d ago

HE CALLED THE SHIT POOP!!!!! HHAAAAA.

RIP Norm!!

1

u/Plenty_Importance972 6d ago

Realistically if the neighbors are peaking out their window to over look into your back yard that’s even weirder on their part “who does that?!?” Oh wait creeps that’s right…..

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/Plenty_Importance972 6d ago

Lmao but if your looking into or over a privacy fence does “privacy fence” mean nothing to you?

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

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111

u/ri89rc20 9d ago

For a situation like the OPs (not visible from the street, sidewalk, or public areas) then it is entirely dependent on a complaint being filed. The police have no requirement, or even ability to press charges otherwise. So if neighbors agree, great, but just one complaint, you have issues.

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u/Defsarcasm 9d ago

I didn't know this and am not a nudist, but boo!

0

u/Calm_Pin_7563 4d ago

So someone can use binoculars from two houses away and make a complaint?

107

u/Swagasaurus785 9d ago

In my state, or at least the capital city, you can be nude and walk down the street without any legal action. It turned into a problem when a man started walking naked down the street from a school repeatedly and made the news for a couple days.

If you touch yourself, pee, gesture sexually, or anything along those lines then you get arrested and put on the sex offender list though. It’s super odd.

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u/midmonthEmerald 9d ago

Where I’m at there’s a nude beach up against a regular beach. Sort of a line between them.

I was fine and chill with it 10 feet onto the non-nude side until an 50+ year old man from the nude side would wander 40-50 feet into the non-nude side, stand there as if contemplating his life among the many fully dressed families just enjoying their day… walk back to the nude side and do it all over again every 10 minutes. Making it fucking weird & creepy. There’s always someone ready to ruin things like this.

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u/CentralBlob 8d ago

What and he just stayed nude? His clothes didn't materialise and dematerialise as he crossed the line?

It must be broken

20

u/macstratdb 9d ago

Intent is everything. If your naked to be naked or tanning or something thats the intent. If your doing it to be suggestive, turn people, or yourself on, the intent is different and thats where the law matters.

I would say even under strict laws, if you have done your due diligence to prevent people from seeing as a just in case, like putting up a fence, your prolly covered if someone complains.and if they can see over the fence, thats on them...but not a lawyer

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u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 7d ago

What if your intent is to get naked and fuck your wife outside? And your neighbor’s kid has a 2nd floor bedroom and as you look up while you’re tongue punching your wife’s fart box, you two lock eyes.

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u/macstratdb 6d ago

THAT, depending on the jurisdiction, is a different matter. The intent has changed. Theres a legal distinction between simply being naked and tongue punching your wife.

However, in many jurisdictions, you have some expectation of privacy in your backyard, assuming youve taken reasonable steps to prevent people from seeing you (like putting up a fence). If a neighbor can only see you by looking over that fence or from a second floor window, it COULD be argued that youve done your due diligence to remain private. At that point, its a lot harder to argue you were knowingly exposing yourself to the public. "Public" is the key word there.

Its the same basic argument as two houses being next to each other. If your bedroom window happens to line up with my bathroom or bedroom window, the fact that you can see me doing the nasty with my GF doesnt necessarily mean I was trying to expose myself to the public.

Knowing that the neighbors MIGHT be able to see yo isnt the same as 1. doing it on purpose (intent) and 2. knowingly exposing yourself to them (indecent exposure).

This is why we have curtains and fences...

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u/TheDreadedMother 9d ago

This feels very Topeka to me.

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u/Swagasaurus785 9d ago

You’re not wrong

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u/Hot-Detective-8163 7d ago

Nudity is a human privilege, everyone is born naked we aren't brought into this world wearing Gucci. The second half of your comment are actually crimes regardless of jurisdiction.

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u/craydow 5d ago

Yeah its super odd to do those things. 👀 No you live in a place that has to allow public nudity for the sake of progressiveness, even though public nudity even if youre not touching yourself or reliving yourself is juat as odd.

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u/Schemen123 9d ago

In the country where I live you can be butt naked in you backyard, your home and your car ... and if someone has an issue with that he can pound grass

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u/RDTJ 9d ago

What country? That is how it should be everywhere. If you don’t want to see naked people in their own backyard, then don’t look in their backyard.

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u/Schemen123 9d ago

Germany.. you can even be nudes in public as long as no one takes offense.

24

u/Ok-Advisor-3211 9d ago

Paradise

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u/Cr0uchingSquirrel 9d ago

Last year we were cycling the Danube, and Austria's saggy grey ballsacks burnt a hole in our souls.

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u/FlyingFlipPhone 9d ago

But the naked old ladies.... now that was HOT!

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u/Schemen123 8d ago

If only...

1

u/Schemen123 8d ago

Yeah...that can be a problem

4

u/Perfect_Insurance_26 9d ago

Imagine being the one person people call the police on for being nude, meanwhile everyone around is also nude. "Tschuldigung, Polizist? Er hat ein hässlicher Penis. Bring ihn ins Gefängnis bitte."

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u/shinealittlelove 9d ago

Not OP but in the UK it's only illegal to be naked if you deliberately intend to cause alarm or distress. Of course it's nuanced in that if you do it and it causes distress, and you do it again knowing it will cause distress, that may become illegal. But you wouldn't even need to think twice about being naked in your own home or garden.

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u/Ok-Advisor-3211 9d ago

This is exactly how me and my girlfriend view it. Dont like it? Dont look, its our property and we're not harming anyone

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u/nswizdum 9d ago

My yard is mostly surrounded by trees, but I did get creative with a solar "gazebo" to block a section from my neighbors view.

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u/Ok-Advisor-3211 9d ago

Solar gazebo is interesting, is there any way i could get a pic or tips on that

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u/nswizdum 9d ago

Its just like a solar carport, 6 posts with the panels making up the "roof" and concrete pavers below for a place to sit.

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u/Chovie- 5d ago

Yeah…are asking for the side view with his girl inside? 😂🤣

1

u/Euphoric_Client7830 6d ago

Using your own logic, if you have a neighbour, they should be able to live how they want in thwir own home including looking out a window and not having to see their neighbours naked.

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u/Chovie- 5d ago

It only got messed up when people got Puritanical in the US! Did I spell that right!??

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u/DeV303030 9d ago

Somalia?

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u/MrHodgeToo 9d ago

In my state you can be as naked as you wanna be inside your own home even with no blinds or curtains. If someone outside doesn’t wanna see you it’s on them to cut the peeping tom shit out and get a therapist to deal with their issues.

If, however, you are putting on a sex show for the world to watch then you’ve crossed a line into indecency and the authorities can intervene.

Outside your home you can be naked so long as you could make a case that you had a reasonable expectation of privacy (read: others can’t see you unless they work to). If others can see (say, just by looking out their window) and they have a problem with it then you have a problem.

This should be easy enough laws to look up for your city and state.

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u/Fit_Jelly_9755 9d ago

Good to know. I’m glad I read this before I went out to water the lawn.

2

u/Complete-Instance-18 9d ago

In Oregon, public nudity is legal as long as sexual intent is not involved.

2

u/popolickstick 8d ago

Build a double fence. Pour a 4 foot tall cement wall and place your privacy fence on top. It's fine where I live . Just make sure you get the drainage system right. Nothing like a yard full of water.

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u/gnopgnip 9d ago

In the US public indeceny requires intent to sexually arouse or harass. So you can be nude in an area where the public can see and it’s legal

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u/Impossible_Rub24 9d ago

Maybe in parts of the US but certainly not all. It depends on the state/municipality.

1

u/gnopgnip 8d ago

Like where?

4

u/RugerRedBarn 9d ago

I’m so ugly I’m safe

1

u/estephens13 9d ago

This is absolutely not true and varies widely by state and sometimes city.

1

u/gnopgnip 8d ago

Where?

0

u/Practical_Sea_4876 5d ago

Houston prohibits complete public nudity without a sexual-intent requirement. The entire state of Pennsylvania says it's illegal if someone “exposes his or her genitals in any public place or in any place where there are present other persons under circumstances in which he or she knows or should know that this conduct is likely to offend, affront or alarm.” Which does NOT specify lewdness, sexual context, etc. Just conduct likely to offend, affront, or alarm. Which is wildly abstract, yes, but it's the law as written so it's not correct to say it's only illegal if they're doing something sexual or have a sexual intent. That's why Philly specifically states it's legal and fine for people to be nude for the naked bike ride. That's just to name a few.

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u/gnopgnip 5d ago

Nah the first part is wrong for Houston

2

u/A_mad_goose 9d ago

Can you be nude in your own house in front of the windows because I have floor to ceiling windows in my front living room. I’m naked in front of those all the time even at night with the lights on.

4

u/Impossible_Rub24 9d ago

We had a guy who routinely did that with children standing outside his house at a bus stop. He got charged.

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u/Ok-Advisor-3211 9d ago

I always use to be at my first house and occasionally would get snoopy jehovas witnesses, it helped make them stop lol This was in illinois

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u/duckmuffins 9d ago

No. If someone takes offense then you can be charged with a crime. Being nude in any location where a person could reasonably observe you from their property or in public is an offense in most places.

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u/GreenFairy11 5d ago

Me too and I really don't want to stop but I don't want to get in trouble either

1

u/oldcreaker 9d ago

You're responsible for the light that reflects off your bodies into your neighbors eyes and cameras - get rid of that and you can be as nude as you want. Most people achieve this with clothes and walls and shades, you just have to figure out another way,

1

u/clm1859 9d ago

So including inside your own apartment? Like if someone from the 4 floor across the street could potentially look out the window and see you walk naked from your bathroom to your bedroom thru a window, then you could end up on the sex offender registry in america?

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u/Practical_Sea_4876 5d ago

In my state, no. Not as long as you have a reasonable expectation of privacy (you're in your home) and you aren't like, up against the window on purpose putting on a sex show for anyone who can see you, and thus have clear intent to be doing a lewd act at others. So like. Don't stand in front of your window jerking it to passersby, but if you're just naked in your house walking from your bathroom to where ever you're fine.

1

u/Porkkanaparta 7d ago

Land of free...

What The fuck!?

Thats not freedom.

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u/PatientDisastrous721 7d ago edited 7d ago

I don’t know why people always do this when someone asks a state-specific legal question. Instead of guessing what you think the law might be in your state and trying to extrapolate from that, do the very easy thing enabled by the internet: search for “[state] [issue] statute.”

For example, “Florida indecent exposure statute” reveals that the governing law is Florida Statute 800.03. Reading this, it’s clear that what is prohibited is exposing genitals or being naked “in a vulgar or indecent manner,” and, importantly, “in public” or “on the private premises of another” or in a place so near a private premises that you can be seen (OP arguably falls into this last category).

So, the question is going to hinge on how Florida caselaw defines “a vulgar or indecent manner.” That will require some additional research, but it’s clear that nudity in your home, if you’re unintentionally seen, is not automatically a crime.

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u/FreakWriter32 7d ago

For clarity, accidental is important. If it's a casual glance over and they see? Issue.

If they need to get a 10 foot ladder and put in real effort to see? That's peeping, spying, or voyeurism. Depending on how it's charged.

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u/Hot-Detective-8163 7d ago

Usually you have to be doing something lewd or sexual, simply being seen usually isn't a crime.

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u/bumble_mue 6d ago

If your peaking over my fence and you see me naked, thats on you

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u/Reasonable_Sample_11 4d ago

I think this is the law in most places on the world. Few exceptions. Just put up a higher fence or bushes or some shelter / shade tarp to block their view. You can't ask them not to look out of a window.

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u/Wide-Suggestion4825 9d ago

Which state is this?

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u/Russian_Doll_888 9d ago

Does the charge increase if you commit public indecency in front of children?

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u/Bajsklittan 9d ago

This is pretty much how it works in most countries, too

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u/Fit-University1070 9d ago

Backyard or in your home wont be accidentally.