State ADU law
Florida ADU laws: a local option, not a mandate
Florida’s ADU statute is permissive. Local governments decide whether to allow ADUs at all.
What to do next: use this research to check your own lot and bids, then tell us about your project. Matching is not live yet, so we reply with information, not a quote.
Get ADU optionsWritten by HyreADU Research Desk Primary-source statute research
The short answer
Florida ADU laws let local governments allow accessory dwelling units in single-family zones, but no state law requires them to. Fla. Stat. § 163.31771 says a local government “may adopt an ordinance” allowing ADUs.
Whether you can build one depends on your city or county code. Where an ordinance is adopted under this section, the building permit application must include an affidavit that the unit will be rented at an affordable rate to a low- or moderate-income person.
Those units count toward the local affordable housing goals. Many Florida cities allow ADUs under their own zoning powers instead, with their own rules. Read your local code first.
What Florida law requires of cities
Each row is from Fla. Stat. § 163.31771 as published by the Florida Legislature.
| Question | What the Florida statute says | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Must cities allow ADUs? | No. A local government “may adopt an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units in any area zoned for single-family residential use.” | § 163.31771(3) |
| What counts as an ADU? | A secondary unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area, inside the main structure or on the same lot. | § 163.31771(2)(a) |
| Affordability condition? | A building permit application for an ADU under such an ordinance must include an affidavit that the unit will be rented at an affordable rate to an extremely-low, very-low, low or moderate-income person. | § 163.31771(4) |
| Housing element credit? | Each ADU allowed under the ordinance counts toward the affordable housing part of the local comprehensive plan. | § 163.31771(5) |
| Owner-occupancy, size, parking? | Not set by this section. Local code decides. | § 163.31771 (silent) |
Florida ADU rules set by state law, as read on the official statute page on October 27, 2026.
Who the law covers and when it took effect
The section applies to any Florida county or city that chooses to use it. The history note lists amendments through chapter 2020-27, Laws of Florida.
Because the statute is optional, Florida has no statewide ADU floor of the kind California, Washington or Montana set. Two lots in two Florida cities can face completely different answers.
What is still up to your city or county
Everything about the unit is local: whether ADUs are allowed, size, parking, owner-occupancy, setbacks and rental rules. Some cities allow ADUs under general zoning powers without using this section, and then the affidavit rule may not apply.
Flood zones matter in much of Florida. See our ADUs in flood zones research before you design.
How to check your own city
Answer these in order, in writing, before you pay for drawings.
- 1 Ask whether your city or county allows ADUs
Ask which ordinance authorizes them and whether it was adopted under § 163.31771.
- 2 Ask whether an affordable-rent affidavit is required
It is required for ADUs under a § 163.31771 ordinance.
- 3 Check the flood zone
Floodplain rules can set elevation and limit ground-floor living space.
- 4 Read your HOA documents
Deed restrictions are common in Florida subdivisions and are not overridden by this section.
What this page does not cover
This page covers the Florida statute only. It does not cover building codes, septic and well rules, HOA covenants, flood or wildfire overlays, or your city’s fee schedule. Those can still stop a project the statute allows.
We read the statute on October 27, 2026. Laws change, and courts read them.
If your project depends on one clause, have a land-use attorney or the planning department confirm it for your parcel.
For the national picture, see which states have ADU laws; for what to ask at the counter, see the ADU permit guide.
Questions
Are ADUs legal in Florida?
Does Florida require ADUs to be rented affordably?
Is there a statewide ADU size limit in Florida?
Can my HOA stop me building an ADU in Florida?
Written and audited by
HyreADU Research Desk
Primary-source research, data analysis and fact checking
We are a research desk, not a builder. We read the permit extract, the statute, the HCD return or the fee schedule ourselves, and publish each figure with its source and retrieval date.
Where a number cannot be traced to a primary source, we leave it out and say what we could not verify. Our store-based claims cover California only.
- CA
- the only state this desk will make store-based claims about
- 5
- jurisdictions with extracted ADU permit evidence
- 735
- CSLB-verified companies in the California store
- 0
- national claims from a one-state store
How this desk works
- Primary sources only. Permit counts come from the city or county that issued the permit. Production counts come from HCD’s Annual Progress Report. Rents come from HUD or the Census. We do not cite an article that cites a source; we download the source and compute the figure ourselves.
- This is a California site. The company store is 734 California firms and one New Mexico firm. Permit evidence exists for five named jurisdictions: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, San José and unincorporated Marin. A number from that store is titled to those places, never to the United States.
- A permit is not a completion, and a license is not an ADU grade. California licenses no ADU classification. Being named on an ADU permit is evidence of engagement in that jurisdiction, not of quality, completion, or work anywhere else. Owner-builder permits are excluded from contractor counts.
- Calculation is labeled as calculation. Figures we derive are never presented as something HCD, HUD, the Census or a city published. Terner Center research is cited as Terner’s, never restated as ours.
- We do not design, permit or build ADUs, and we take no payment for placement, ranking or a favorable mention. Pages that look like rankings are not: they publish public-record counts and let the reader decide.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Zoning, underwriting and appraisal practice vary by jurisdiction, lender and appraiser. The useful next step on a specific lot is the planning counter and a licensed professional.
Data as of Fla. Stat. § 163.31771 read on leg.state.fl.us, retrieved 2026-10-27.. Authorship on this site is organizational: the analysis belongs to the desk rather than to a named individual, and we do not publish credentials we do not hold. Our editorial policy sets out how we source, date and correct what we publish.
Sources & retrieval dates
- Fla. Stat. § 163.31771, Accessory dwelling units , Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine Retrieved October 27, 2026.
Planning an ADU in Florida?
Tell us about your lot and what you want to build. Matching is not live yet, so this is not a quote. We will send ADU options and the next questions to ask your city.
HyreADU is a publisher. It does not design, permit or build ADUs, and matching with builders is not live yet. This page describes state statutory text as published on the retrieval date.
It is not legal advice. Your city or county applies the rules to your lot, and its planning department is the authority for your parcel.