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Dunedin, FL

Dunedin Backyard Cottages, Written for Older Residents

Plan for your parent's Dunedin cottage to share the main house's utilities, because the city does not allow a separately metered connection.

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62The age at least one parent or grandparent must have reached for the living quarters reduction in Florida Statute 193.703
50%Of a structure's market value, the cost at which 44 CFR 59.1 makes an addition a substantial improvement
16 townsCovered across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, each with its own local rules set out on its page
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Detached ADUs quote in Dunedin

Who the space is for, whether it needs a kitchen, and the address. With those three answers we can say which city or county rules govern the lot before a contractor draws anything.

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Five short questions about who the space is for and what it needs to hold, then where to reach you. Most people finish in about a minute.

Question 1What are you thinking of building?

Pick the closest. If you are not sure yet, that is exactly what we help sort out.

Question 2Who will live in it?

This matters more than it sounds. In Florida the answer can change the property tax on what you build.

Question 3Does the new space need its own kitchen?

In Florida law a space with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom is a second dwelling, and each city and county decides whether one is allowed on your lot.

Question 4Is the house in a flood zone?

In a flood zone, a large enough addition can mean the whole house has to meet today's flood rules. Your insurance declarations page or the county flood map will say.

Question 5When does the space need to be ready?
About you, and the house the space would join

Who should we ask for?

How can we reach you?

We call to confirm the details before anyone is sent out.

Where is the property?

The contractor match is by property, not by person, so the street line matters.

Anything else we should know?

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Your details are used only to respond to this request and arrange the service.

Deciding

Dunedin's occupancy limit and recorded affidavit

Two more conditions belong in the family conversation. No more than three people may live in the ADU, two of them of immediate family relation, which leaves room for a parent couple and one more. The owner must also occupy either the house or the cottage as a homesteaded residence, under a notarized affidavit that is recorded. Four in ten Dunedin residents are 62 or older, and when the homeowner is the parent, moving into the cottage while family takes the house meets the rule as well.

  1. Share the utilities

    A separately metered connection is prohibited, so the cottage's power and water come through the main house.

  2. Count who will live there

    Three occupants at most, two of immediate family relation. A live-in helper takes the third place.

  3. Record the affidavit

    The owner occupies one unit as a homesteaded residence, under a notarized affidavit that is recorded.

How detached adus works →

Local Detail

Dunedin's ADU code, Sec. 107-21

Floor plan drawings for a small home addition beside a tape measure

Dunedin's ADU code (Sec. 107-21) states its purpose as small dwellings to meet the housing needs of elderly persons of modest income. It permits one ADU of up to 800 square feet on any single-family lot, attached or detached, prohibits a separate metered utility connection, limits occupants to three (two of immediate family relation), and requires the owner to occupy either unit as a homesteaded residence under a recorded notarized affidavit.

Source: City of Dunedin (Municode), accessed 2026-09-23

The 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates Dunedin's median age at 58.0, with 35.3 percent of residents aged 65 or older and 40.8 percent aged 62 or older, compared with 26.4 percent aged 65 or older in Pinellas County. Of its 21,305 housing units, 61.2 percent were built before 1980 and 12.0 percent in 2000 or later.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, accessed 2026-09-23

OpenFEMA's redacted NFIP claims data (as of September 2026) records, by NFIP community, with records beginning in 1978: St. Petersburg 16,189 claims (8,670 in 2024, $1,266.6 million paid in total); Clearwater 2,951 claims (1,472 in 2024, $231.5 million paid in total); Dunedin 1,601 claims (791 in 2024, $123.0 million paid in total); Tarpon Springs 1,415 claims (717 in 2024, $56.3 million paid in total); Largo 781 claims (497 in 2024, $78.6 million paid in total); Pinellas Park 895 claims (228 in 2024, $15.9 million paid in total); Oldsmar 776 claims (454 in 2024, $40.5 million paid in total); Seminole 223 claims (180 in 2024, $13.9 million paid in total); Safety Harbor 147 claims (61 in 2024, $5.2 million paid in total).

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency (OpenFEMA), accessed 2026-09-23

The Pinellas County Property Appraiser publishes a FEMA/WLM letter for each parcel, reached from the Quick Pick Tool box on the parcel page, showing the structure value used for 50 percent or 49 percent determinations.

Source: Pinellas County Property Appraiser, accessed 2026-09-23

Licensed and insured Florida contractorsVetted local contractors licensed by the State of Florida and insured for the work, who price and contract it themselves
The three rules checked for your addressThe kitchen, the flood line and the county tax rule looked at before any contractor is asked for a number
Told when an addition is not the answerIf a first-floor room or a bathroom change inside the house would do, you hear that before anyone draws a suite
In The Field

What detached adus involves in Dunedin

Floor plan drawings for a small home addition beside a tape measure
A wide doorway with no threshold and a lever door handle
Local Context

What Dunedin's elderly-housing ADU code allows

A cottage in the backyard is often the answer when a parent wants independence and you want them near. Dunedin's code is on your side: its ADU section states its purpose as small dwellings to meet the housing needs of elderly persons of modest income, and it permits one ADU of up to 800 square feet on any single-family lot. What it asks in return shapes the practical side. The cottage cannot have its own metered utility connection, so power and water run through the main house and the bills are shared. Settle how the family will split them before the job starts.

A quiet Tampa Bay street of single-story ranch houses near a canal
Next Step

Who would live in the Dunedin cottage?

Tell us, and send the address. We will check the occupancy rule and the flood zone before a contractor sizes the unit.

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Questions

Dunedin parent cottage questions

Does flooding limit where a Dunedin cottage can go?

It can. Dunedin's NFIP record holds 1,601 claims, 791 of them in 2024, so check the parcel's flood zone before choosing a spot. If the job also touches the main house, the Property Appraiser's FEMA/WLM letter shows the structure value it is measured against.

Can a Dunedin ADU be attached to the house instead?

Yes. Dunedin permits one ADU on any single-family lot, attached or detached, under the same 800 square foot cap, shared utilities and occupancy rules.

Next Step

A Dunedin cottage your parent can settle into

Send who it is for and where the house is. We pass it to a vetted Florida-licensed contractor, and nothing you send commits you.

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