Sun City Center In-Law Suites and Hillsborough's Parent Reduction
When the Sun City Center suite is for your parent rather than for you, Hillsborough's parent or grandparent reduction comes into play, so keep the permit paperwork from day one.
In-Law Suites quote in Sun City Center
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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When a Sun City Center suite is for a parent aged 62 or older
In Sun City Center the person who needs the new suite is sometimes the homeowner's own mother or father, and that changes the tax picture from the one a homeowner building for themselves faces. Hillsborough County adopted the parent or grandparent reduction in 2004, for all taxing authorities in the county, and it is granted only where the construction complies with the Land Development Code and the Florida Building Code. The state application, form DR-501PGP, asks whether a building permit was obtained and when the work was completed, so an unpermitted suite starts at a disadvantage.
What in-law suites involves in Sun City Center
Hillsborough's one-kitchen rule in a Sun City Center parent suite
Whether your parent cooks in the suite decides what you are applying for. Hillsborough allows a dwelling only one kitchen, meaning a sink, stove and refrigerator, and says a second one inside the home needs special use approval in all cases and may not be designed to create a second unit. A suite with its own kitchen is an accessory dwelling under county rules, capped at 900 square feet of living space on a lot of at least 7,000 square feet with the principal home owner-occupied.
Keep the permit record
Form DR-501PGP asks whether a building permit was obtained and when the construction was completed.
Decide on cooking
A second kitchen inside the home needs special use approval and may not be designed as a second unit.
Check the lot for an ADU
An accessory dwelling needs a lot of at least 7,000 square feet and caps living space at 900.
Hillsborough's parent reduction and kitchen rule in Sun City Center
Hillsborough County has adopted the parent and grandparent reduction by ordinance (Ord. No. 04-35, 2004, Code Chapter 46, Division 3). It applies to construction after January 7, 2003, applies to the tax levies of all taxing authorities in Hillsborough County, and is granted only where the construction complies with the Land Development Code and the Florida Building Code.
Source: Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (Municode), accessed 2026-09-23
The Florida Department of Revenue application for the parent or grandparent reduction is form DR-501PGP (revised 08/25). It asks for a description of the construction, its completion date, whether a building permit was obtained, and the names of the parents or grandparents, at least one of whom must be 62 or over.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-09-23
Hillsborough County defines an accessory dwelling as a second dwelling unit with its own sleeping, individual kitchen, bathing and toilet facilities, and says occupancy by members of the same family has no bearing on that definition. A dwelling may have only one kitchen (sink, stove and refrigerator); a second, accessory kitchen inside the home requires special use approval in all cases and may not be designed to create a second unit.
Source: Hillsborough County (Municode), accessed 2026-09-23
Unincorporated Hillsborough County's Land Development Code (Sec. 6.11.02) limits accessory dwelling living space to 900 square feet, requires a lot of at least 7,000 square feet and an owner-occupied principal home, allows attached or detached units, and allows one per lot. A variance to go larger is available only on lots of at least 14,520 square feet, and then to no more than 1,200 square feet or 25 percent of the main home's living space, whichever is less; living space includes storage and laundry.
Source: Hillsborough County (Municode), accessed 2026-09-23
The F.S. 193.703 reduction is granted only on an application filed with the county property appraiser before March 1, applies only to construction on an existing homestead, and applies only in years when at least one qualifying parent or grandparent keeps his or her primary residence in the living quarters. If the appraiser finds the reduction was taken without entitlement in any of the previous 10 years, the statute provides for a tax lien for the unpaid taxes plus a 50 percent penalty per year and 15 percent annual interest.
Source: The Florida Senate (Florida Statutes), accessed 2026-09-23
Who will live in the Sun City Center suite?
A parent aged 62 or older changes the tax side. Tell us who it is for, and we will lay out what applies before a contractor prices it.
Other Sun City Center suites and cottages
Sun City Center parent suite questions
Does it matter that the suite is for family if it has a kitchen?
Not under Hillsborough's definition. The county says occupancy by members of the same family has no bearing on whether a unit with its own sleeping, kitchen, bathing and toilet facilities is an accessory dwelling.
When do we apply for the parent or grandparent reduction?
Before March 1, with the county property appraiser, for construction on an existing homestead. It applies in years when at least one qualifying parent or grandparent, aged 62 or older, keeps their primary residence in the quarters. The appraiser decides.
A Sun City Center suite for your mother or father
Send the address and whether they will cook. We connect you with a vetted Florida-licensed contractor, and the request binds you to nothing.