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Pinellas County

Seminole Guest Houses and In-Law Suites, Metered Separately

A Seminole parent cottage can have its own electric and water meters and needs no extra parking space, two things that complicate the same job in several neighboring cities. Seminole allows accessory apartments, garage apartments and guest houses up to 750 square feet on single-family lots in every residential district, with one of the two units owner-occupied.

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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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Request a quote in Seminole

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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$100 off your first job

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  • One credit per customer per property, on your first booked job.
  • Valid through December 31, 2026.
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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.

Planning

Seminole's 750 sq ft guest house rule, meters and parking

Seminole runs its own building department, and its accessory unit section is one of the simplest in Pinellas. Units are exempt from district density and parking requirements, which on a tight lot can decide whether a cottage fits at all, and separate meters mean a parent can carry their own utility bills. What remains is the 750 square foot cap and owner occupancy of one unit. A third of Seminole's residents are 65 or older. The city's NFIP record is light for this county, 223 claims in a record that starts in 1978, so flood is less likely to shape the design, though the parcel still needs checking. Seminole homesteads are not covered by the county's parent or grandparent reduction.

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

Would a separate meter help your family in Seminole?

The city allows one. Tell us how the bills should be split and we will make sure it is part of what the contractor prices.

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Availability

Guest houses, garage apartments and suites arranged in Seminole

In-Law Suite Additions

Add a bedroom, a bathroom and a sitting room onto the house so a parent can live with you and still close a door of their own, planned so the kitchen decision does not turn it into a second dwelling by accident.

In-Law Suites in Seminole →

Detached ADUs and Backyard Cottages

Put a small, separate home in the backyard for a parent, close enough to help and far enough for their own front door, under the rules that actually govern the lot.

Detached ADUs in Seminole →
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
Local Detail

Seminole's accessory unit code and light flood record

A wide doorway with no threshold and a lever door handle

Seminole permits accessory apartments, garage apartments and guest houses of up to 750 square feet on single-family lots in all residential districts, allows separate utility meters, requires one of the units to be owner-occupied, and exempts ADUs from district density and parking requirements (Sec. 70-891).

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

St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Seminole and Tarpon Springs each operate their own building departments, per the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board's directory updated January 2025.

Source: Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board, accessed 2026-09-23

The 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates Seminole's median age at 55.3, with 33.5 percent of residents aged 65 or older and 38.6 percent aged 62 or older, compared with 26.4 percent aged 65 or older in Pinellas County. Of its 10,843 housing units, 54.1 percent were built before 1980 and 18.0 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

Because the Pinellas County parent or grandparent reduction requires the property to be in unincorporated Pinellas County, homesteads inside St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Seminole, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs and Oldsmar do not qualify under the county program as the Property Appraiser describes it.

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

Next Step

Send the Seminole address and the space you picture

A garage apartment, a guest house or a wing off the kitchen. We match the job to a licensed contractor with the 750 square foot limit written into the brief.

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