Florida has no statewide right to build an accessory dwelling unit. Section 163.31771 of the Florida Statutes says a county or city “may” adopt an ADU ordinance, and that wording has not changed. The 2026 bill that would have required every local government to allow ADUs, SB 48, passed the Senate 38–0 and then died in the House on March 13, 2026.
In practice, Florida ADU laws are three layers stacked on top of each other: your city or county zoning code, any HOA or deed restrictions on your lot, and the Florida Building Code’s wind and flood rules. A “yes” from one layer does not override a “no” from another. Before you pay for plans, run your address through the Zoning Information Lookup, then confirm with your local planning office, which has the final word.
What Florida ADU laws say at the state level, and what failed in 2026
The statute defines an ADU as a secondary living unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area, either inside the main home or elsewhere on the same lot. Subsection (3) lets a local government allow ADUs in single-family zones. It does not require one to. Subsection (4) adds a condition at the permit stage: the building permit application must include an affidavit that the unit will be rented at an affordable rate to an extremely-low-, very-low-, low- or moderate-income household. Some building departments treat that affidavit as a formality and others as a use restriction, so ask yours before you apply.
Several websites, including earlier versions of many guides, describe SB 48 as if it were law. It is not.
| Bill | What it proposed | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| SB 184 (2025) | Required local ADU ordinances | Did not become law |
| SB 48 (2026) | Required local governments to adopt ADU-by-right ordinances by December 1, 2026 | Passed the Senate 38–0 on February 4; died in House messages on March 13, 2026 |
| HB 1389 (2026), Chapter 2026-179 | Broader affordable-housing bill that became law | A late House amendment removed its ADU section; the ADU statute’s text is unchanged |
So the December 1, 2026 deadline you may see mentioned elsewhere does not exist, and no city must adopt an ordinance. A Florida homeowner’s rights start with whatever the local code says today.
Check your HOA before anything else
A homeowners association declaration is a private contract, and Florida’s ADU statute contains no language that overrides it. Florida appellate courts have repeatedly held that recorded covenants can be stricter than zoning. In Riviera-Fort Myers (Fla. 2d DCA 2020), the court restated that principle. If your declaration bars outbuildings, guest houses or a second dwelling, a city permit does not change that, and the association can fine you or sue.
Pull the recorded declaration from your county’s official records and search it for:
- “accessory,” “guest house,” “garage apartment” and “second residence”
- “single-family residential use,” which courts have read to bar a second household
- minimum lease terms and limits on renting any part of the lot
- architectural review rules and who approves exterior changes
Our guide to whether an HOA can stop an ADU covers what to do if your covenant blocks the project.
City and county rules: four examples of how far they differ
Florida ADU rules come from hundreds of local codes. The table below compares four common starting points. Rules change, so treat it as a map of the questions to ask, not a substitute for your jurisdiction’s current code.
| Where ADUs are allowed | Size limit | Rental and occupancy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Miami (Miami 21, Sec. 3.18) | Single-family lots in T3-L, T3-O and T4–T6 transect zones; not T3-R | 10% of lot area, up to 800 sq ft (500 sq ft if attached) | Rentable only while the property has homestead status; annual registration; must serve as permanent housing |
| Unincorporated Miami-Dade (Sec. 33-22) | AU, EU and RU districts inside the Urban Development Boundary | 400–800 sq ft in RU-1 | Certificate of Use renewed every year |
| Orlando (Ch. 58, Part 3A) | Residential, mixed-use and office districts, if the lot meets the minimum | 500 or 1,000 sq ft, depending on lot size | Standard lease allowed; stays under 30 days are restricted |
| Tampa | Designated areas, including Seminole Heights, Lowry Park, East Tampa, Tampa Heights and areas added in 2024; elsewhere only family-use “extended family residences” | Up to 950 sq ft | Owner may live in either the main house or the ADU |
Sources: City of Miami zoning code, Miami-Dade County, Orlando’s ADU fact sheet, and the City of Tampa ADU page.
A few details that decide real projects:
- Miami: Many single-family blocks are zoned T3-R, where the city’s rules do not allow an ADU. Check your transect on the Miami 21 atlas first. Our Miami ADU guide walks through city versus county rules.
- Orlando: Lot minimums depend on the zoning district. In R-1, for example, you need 6,000 sq ft for a unit up to 500 sq ft and 9,000 sq ft for one up to 1,000 sq ft. Floor area ratio is capped at 0.50, backyard coverage at 35%, and an ADU cannot be larger than the main house. Units of 500 sq ft or less need no extra parking; larger ones need one more space.
- Tampa: The city’s own pages are not fully in sync. The ADU page lists four areas, while the city’s August 2026 announcement says a 2024 change expanded the eligible area and removed the requirement that the owner live in the main home. Use the city’s GIS map viewer to check your parcel, and call Development & Growth Management at 813-274-3100.
- Setbacks: These vary by city, lot and whether the unit is attached. See our ADU setback requirements guide for how they work.
- Statewide comparison: If you are weighing Florida against other states, this overview of where ADUs are legal shows how little Florida mandates.
Gainesville is a useful outlier. The city allows ADUs by right in single-family neighborhoods and offers free city-designed ADU plans to speed approval. For unincorporated Miami-Dade, the county publishes pre-approved ADU Blueprint plans. Check your building department for similar programs before commissioning custom drawings.
Short-term rentals under Florida ADU laws
Long-term rental is allowed almost everywhere ADUs are. Short-term rental is where plans fall apart.
Under Florida Statute 509.032(7)(b), a local government may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented. The statute exempts rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. That is why some older cities can enforce minimum stays and newer ones generally cannot.
ADU rules complicate this. Many cities set rental terms inside their ADU codes, and those codes are newer than 2011. Whether a minimum lease term written into an ADU ordinance survives the state preemption has not, as far as we found, been settled by a court. Miami’s rule that an ADU serve as permanent housing, and Orlando’s restrictions on stays under 30 days, are examples. Do not build a financial plan around winning that argument. Underwrite the unit as a long-term rental, and treat any short-term income as upside you have cleared with your city in writing.
Hurricane code and flood zones: what they do to the build
Every Florida ADU must meet the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023). The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone covers Miami-Dade and Broward counties. There, windows, doors and other exterior products must be tested to Miami-Dade protocols, and a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance is the usual proof. Elsewhere in the state’s wind-borne debris regions, openings still need impact-rated glass or approved shutters.
Concrete block is common in South Florida, but the sources we reviewed do not show a statewide rule that a detached ADU must be block. Your structural engineer and plan reviewer set the wall system for the design wind speed at your address, so ask for a wood-frame and a block option before assuming the more expensive one.
Check these site conditions early, because each can change or end a project:
- FEMA flood zone. Look up your parcel on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. In zones such as AE and VE, the finished floor generally has to sit above base flood elevation, which means a raised foundation.
- Coastal Construction Control Line. Property seaward of the CCCL needs a Florida DEP permit review in addition to city permits.
- Impervious surface and floor area limits. Pools, patios and driveways can use up the allowance. Orlando, for instance, typically caps impervious surface at 0.55 of the lot.
- Protected trees. Cutting or building near a protected tree can trigger mitigation fees or a denial.
- Septic capacity. If the lot is on septic, ask the county health department whether the system can serve another dwelling. You cannot build over a drain field.
Insurance deserves a call before you draw plans. A detached unit rented to a separate tenant may fall outside your homeowners policy, and flood coverage is separate. Ask your agent how a rented ADU would be insured.
What an ADU costs in Florida
No single price applies statewide. These published estimates show the spread, and each comes from a contractor or industry source rather than a government survey.
| Estimate | Market | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| $200–$350 per sq ft, detached | Florida | Protech Construction, 2026 |
| $111,750–$186,750 for 600 sq ft | Orlando | LotCheck, 2026 |
| $150,000–$220,000 for 500 sq ft | Jacksonville | AP Advanced, Nov. 2025 |
| $30,000–$60,000, garage conversion | Central Florida | J&N StructureWorks, Sept. 2025 |
Fees outside construction can be larger than expected. Miami-Dade’s county impact-fee schedule lists mobility fees of $9,275–$10,625 for a single-family unit and has no separate ADU line, so request a written estimate. Orlando exempts ADUs of 500 sq ft or less from school impact fees, and Orange County exempts ADUs up to 1,500 sq ft from several county impact fees. Water and sewer connection charges are set by each utility, so get a quote for your address.
Model your numbers with the ADU Cost Calculator and the ADU Loan Calculator before you settle on a budget.
Property taxes and homestead after you build
Under Florida Statute 193.155, an addition to a homestead property is assessed at full market value as of the first January 1 after it is substantially complete. Your existing home keeps its capped value. The ADU is added on top.
Renting the ADU affects the exemption too. The homestead exemption covers the part of the property you use as your residence, so a rented unit can lose it. Tell your county property appraiser when you build, and ask them how a rented ADU on your parcel will be classified.
Before you hire anyone: a Florida ADU checklist
- Get your HOA declaration and read it.
- Confirm zoning eligibility, lot size and the setbacks that apply to your parcel.
- Check flood zone, CCCL status and septic or sewer service.
- Ask the building department whether it has pre-approved plans or a fast-track program.
- Explore layouts with the AI ADU Design Advisor, and read whether you need an architect.
- Verify any contractor’s state license with the Contractor License Lookup before you sign, then compare bids from Florida ADU contractors.
Frequently asked questions
Are ADUs legal in Florida?
Yes, where your city or county has adopted an ordinance allowing them. Under Florida ADU laws, that local ordinance is the source of the right. State law lets local governments allow ADUs in single-family zones but does not require it, so legality depends on your jurisdiction, your zoning district and your HOA.
Did Florida SB 48 pass?
No. SB 48 passed the Senate 38–0 on February 4, 2026, but the House let it die on March 13, 2026. The housing law that did pass, HB 1389 (Chapter 2026-179), dropped its ADU section.
Can an HOA stop me from building an ADU if my city allows it?
Yes. Florida’s ADU statute does not override recorded deed restrictions or HOA covenants, and courts have enforced covenants that are stricter than zoning.
Can I rent my Florida ADU on Airbnb?
Possibly, but verify it first. State law limits local bans on vacation rentals, with an exception for rules adopted by June 1, 2011. Many ADU codes set their own rental terms, and how those interact with state law is unsettled. Get your city’s position in writing.
Do I have to live on the property?
It depends on the city. Tampa lets the owner live in either the main house or the ADU, and Miami allows rental only while the property has homestead status. Check your local code rather than assuming.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Florida ADU laws and local codes change, so confirm current requirements with your city or county planning office and a Florida attorney before you build.
