ADU rules in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Pinellas County

The short answer

Every jurisdiction around Tampa Bay writes its own ADU rules, and the differences are big enough to decide whether your project works.

All checked against city and county pages in October 2026. Code changes; confirm before you design.

Florida law lets cities allow ADUs but doesn't require them (Fla. Stat. 163.31771). A 2026 push to require ADUs statewide (SB 48 and HB 313) died, so these local rules are what you work with. Background in are tiny homes legal in Florida.

St. Petersburg

St. Pete expanded ADU eligibility to more neighborhoods in July 2022 and is the easiest city in the bay to build one.

Eligibility

• NT zoning: lot at least 4,500 sq ft
• NS zoning: lot at least 10,000 sq ft, or on an alley or corner lot
• Verify your parcel with the city's ADU map lookup or by emailing DevRev@stpete.org

Size and design

• Max 800 sq ft or 67% of the existing home, whichever is less
• Must be a full unit with a kitchen and bathroom; may have its own meters and mailing address
• Must match the existing home's architectural style
• Modular buildings and shipping containers are allowed if they match the main house's materials, windows, roof and doors
• Must meet Florida Building Code egress rules and be permitted and inspected as an independent unit

Occupancy and rental

• Main house does not need to be owner-occupied or homesteaded
• If both units are rented, you need a Business Tax Certificate
• Rentals in residential districts must be at least 30 days; under-30-day stays are allowed up to 3 times in any 365 days

Parking: one additional space on the property.

Flood zones: new buildings in a flood zone must be raised above flood level; remodeling in a flood zone is limited to 49% of the home's value.

Permits and fees: submitted through the city's ePlan system; plan review takes 3 to 5 business days. The city's estimate for an 800 sq ft ADU with one bathroom is about $1,020:

New structures need architectural or engineered plans with energy calculations and a site plan or survey. A licensed contractor is generally required unless you qualify as an owner-builder under Florida Statute 489.

Grant: in the South St. Petersburg CRA, an Affordable Residential Property Improvement Grant can reimburse up to 40% of eligible improvements for owners under 120% of area median income.

Code: Chapter 16 of the city code, Section 16.50.010. Questions: eplanreview@stpete.org or (727) 893-7230.

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Clearwater

Clearwater adopted Ordinance 9758-24 in June 2024 to set ADU standards in its residential districts.

Where: Low Density (LDR), Low Medium Density (LMDR) and Medium Density (MDR) residential districts, plus Commercial, Tourist, Downtown, Office, Institutional and Industrial districts.

Size: residential districts allow up to 750 sq ft or 50% of the main house's gross floor area, whichever is less. In nonresidential districts the cap is 25% of the principal use's floor area. One ADU per parcel with conforming density.

Owner occupancy: the owner must live in the main house or the ADU, and an Owner Occupancy Affidavit is required before you apply for a building permit.

Rental: minimum 31 days or one calendar month, whichever is less. No short-term rentals in residential districts. A residential rental Business Tax Receipt is required if either unit is rented.

Parking: one off-street space in addition to the main house's requirement; a legal on-street space can substitute if the City Engineer approves.

Design: must resemble the main house; detached ADUs need matching windows, paint scheme and roof. Shipping containers and modular buildings are allowed if they meet the Florida Building Code and are architecturally compatible. Attached ADU entrances may not face the street.

Setbacks and lot size: set by district in Article 2 of the Community Development Code and the district ADU sheets. The LDR sheet's setback table didn't read cleanly for us, so get setbacks from the city.

Process:

1. Zoning approval first: Flexible Standard Development (Level One) application, $200, filed online through Accela
2. Administrative review by the Development Review Committee, no public hearing; applications due by noon on the first business day of the month
3. Building permit after zoning approval, fees based on construction value
4. Parks and recreation impact fees depend on whether the ADU is attached or detached

Tampa

The city's ADU page (updated July 2026) says Tampa's code allows ADUs in these areas:

• Seminole Heights
• The area around Lowry Park
• The East Tampa Overlay
• The Tampa Heights Overlay

Elsewhere in the city, a second unit can be built only as an Extended Family Residence for a family member, which the city says has slightly different requirements. Check your parcel on the city's ADU GIS map.

What changed in Tampa

A City of Tampa news release dated August 19, 2026 says rule changes made in 2024 expanded where ADUs can go, north to Sulphur Springs and Temple Crest and west to Wellswood and parts of Riverside Heights. It also says the owner no longer has to live in the main home: the owner "may either live in the principal structure (main home), or the accessory dwelling." The city counted 28 homeowners who had started the process and seven who had finished building (City of Tampa, August 2026, checked October 2026).

The city's ADU page still says the main residence must be owner-occupied, so the two city sources don't fully match. Either way, an owner has to live on the property. Confirm your area and occupancy rule with the city before you design.

The city's ADU General Standards sheet (2025), which cites code sections 27-290 and 27-132, lists:

• Maximum size 950 sq ft; the sheet also ties size to 15% of lot area, and an ADU structure over 15% of the lot needs at least a 20 ft rear and 7 ft side setback
• Rear and interior side setbacks of 3 ft
• Separation from the main house of 10 ft in RS-75, RS-100 and RS-150 districts, 5 ft in others
• 1 parking space per unit
• Maximum occupancy of two unrelated adults
• A separate utility meter is permitted

The sheet gives two different height rules (22.5 ft and 2 stories in one place, the district's principal-structure limit in another) and its street setback figures are hard to read, so confirm height and front setback with the city. Neighborhood overlays and historic districts have their own standards.

Questions: Development and Growth Management, (813) 274-3100.

Unincorporated Pinellas County

Pinellas County updated its ADU rules in 2024 (county announcement dated September 9, 2024):

• Max size raised from 750 to 1,000 sq ft; stays 750 sq ft in the Coastal Storm Area and other flood hazard areas
• Garages and storage serving the ADU count toward its size
• Detached ADUs can't be taller than the main home
• Up to 20% over the max: staff-level review if criteria are met; beyond that, a variance from the Board of Adjustment and Appeals
• ADUs over 750 sq ft need at least one off-street parking space
• Owner occupancy is normally required; it's waived if both units are rented at or below 80% of area median income under a 20-year restrictive agreement
• Development review fees for ADUs are waived
• An ADU needs a separate entrance, its own sleeping area and bathroom, and a full kitchen

The county also approved a multigenerational tax exemption (adopted July 30, 2024): if a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older lives in a newly built ADU as their primary residence, the property's assessed value can be reduced by the lesser of the ADU's added value or 20% of the property's total assessed value. Apply through the Property Appraiser.

Building Services: buildingservices@pinellas.gov, (727) 464-3888.

Unincorporated Hillsborough County

Hillsborough's ADU rules are in its Land Development Code. We could not open the current code text during our October 2026 check, so we're not publishing size, setback or occupancy numbers for unincorporated Hillsborough. Call to confirm with a zoning counselor at (813) 272-5600, option 3, or use the county's online zoning information request.

Tiny houses as ADUs

All four jurisdictions we verified treat an ADU as a permitted building, not a parked vehicle. In practice:

• A tiny house on a permanent foundation, permitted and inspected, can be an ADU if it meets the local size, setback and design rules.
• A tiny house on wheels is an RV, and none of the city ADU programs above describe accepting one as an ADU.
• Clearwater and St. Pete explicitly allow modular buildings and shipping containers if they meet the Florida Building Code and match the main house.

The difference is explained in tiny house on wheels vs foundation. If your house is on wheels, the legal options are RV parks, tiny home communities and some rural land; see where to park a tiny house in Tampa Bay.

ADU checklist for Tampa Bay

1. Confirm your parcel is eligible (city ADU map or zoning counselor).
2. Check the size cap against your main house's floor area; the "whichever is less" rule bites on small houses.
3. Check flood zone status; it can lower the size cap (Pinellas) and require raising the building (St. Pete).
4. Decide whether you'll live on site; Tampa, Clearwater and unincorporated Pinellas generally require it (in Tampa and Clearwater, in either unit).
5. Plan the parking space.
6. Get plans drawn; St. Pete requires architectural or engineered plans with energy calculations.
7. Price it all, including impact fees (tiny house cost) and how you'll pay (tiny house financing).
8. Design for wind (tiny homes and hurricanes) and for small-space living (tiny house furniture).