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St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg In-Law Suites as Accessory Living Space

In St. Petersburg a parent's suite without its own stove, laundry or meter is accessory living space, and that category keeps the job an extension of your home.

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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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In-Law Suites quote in St. Petersburg

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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  • 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?

Your $100 credit is attached to this request. Mention this offer when you book. See terms.

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

Local Context

What keeps a St. Pete parent suite part of the house

Many families moving a parent in want the suite to feel private without being a separate home: their own bedroom, bath and sitting room, with meals shared. St. Petersburg has a category written for exactly that. Accessory living space must operate as an extension of the principal home, so separate cooking and laundry facilities, a separate mailing address and separate utility meters are all prohibited. The lot minimums in the city's ADU section are written for a new ADU, which is the category a stove would put you in. The size ceiling is 800 square feet or 67 percent of the main home's floor area, and on a smaller house the 67 percent figure is reached first.

A quiet Tampa Bay street of single-story ranch houses near a canal
In The Field

What in-law suites involves in St. Petersburg

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

Laundry, mail and meters in a St. Pete accessory suite

The line in St. Pete is drawn by fixtures, so decide them before the plan is drawn. Separate laundry facilities are on the city's prohibited list alongside cooking, so plan where your parent's washing gets done. A second mailbox address or meter is prohibited too. If your parent does want a kitchen, the project becomes an ADU and the lot has to qualify: at least 4,500 square feet in the NT districts, and in the NS districts 10,000 square feet, an alley lot of 4,500 or a qualifying corner lot.

  1. Share the laundry

    Separate laundry facilities are prohibited in accessory living space. Put the suite near the existing laundry rather than adding a second one.

  2. One address, one meter

    The suite cannot have its own mailing address or utility meter, so your parent's utilities stay on the household bill.

  3. Measure the main house first

    The cap is 800 square feet or 67 percent of the principal dwelling's floor area. Measure the home before choosing the suite's footprint.

How in-law suites works →

Local Detail

St. Petersburg's accessory living space and ADU lot rules

St. Petersburg separately regulates accessory living space, which must operate as an extension of the principal home: separate cooking and laundry facilities, a separate mailing address and separate utility meters are all prohibited, and floor area is capped at 800 square feet or 67 percent of the principal dwelling.

Source: City of St. Petersburg (Municode), accessed 2026-09-23

St. Petersburg (Sec. 16.50.010, amended 7-10-2025) caps an ADU at 800 square feet of gross floor area, with all areas under roof no more than 67 percent of the principal dwelling's floor area. A new ADU needs a lot of at least 4,500 square feet in NT districts, and in NS districts a lot of at least 10,000 square feet, an alley lot of at least 4,500 square feet, or a qualifying corner lot.

Source: City of St. Petersburg (Municode), 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

Under Florida's Save Our Homes statute, F.S. 193.155(4)(a), changes, additions or improvements to a homestead are assessed at just value as of the first January 1 after they are substantially completed.

Source: The Florida Senate (Florida Statutes), accessed 2026-09-23

Next Step

Will your parent share the St. Pete kitchen?

If yes, the suite can stay accessory living space. Send the address and we will check the 67 percent figure before a contractor sizes it.

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Related

Cottages and one-floor suites in St. Petersburg

Questions

St. Pete accessory living space questions

Can we get the county's parent or grandparent tax reduction for a St. Pete suite?

Not under the county program as the Property Appraiser describes it. Pinellas adopted the reduction for the 2025 tax year, but only for property in unincorporated Pinellas, so a homestead inside St. Petersburg is outside it. Plan the budget on the new space being assessed at just value.

Could a kitchenette be added to the suite later?

Not while it is accessory living space, which prohibits separate cooking facilities. Adding one later changes the category to an ADU, and the lot has to meet the ADU lot rules at that point, so if a kitchen is likely, plan for it now.

Next Step

Tell us about the St. Petersburg house

Who the suite is for and how big the house is. We match it to a vetted Florida-licensed contractor, and a request binds you to nothing.

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