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Tampa, FL

Backyard Cottages in Tampa's Four ADU Areas

Look up whether the lot sits in one of Tampa's four ADU areas first, because outside them a separate home for a parent is a family residence, not an ADU.

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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 Tampa

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

Planning a Tampa ADU: owner residence, parking and the meter

Inside the ADU areas the conditions are about the lot and who lives on it. Tampa requires the property owner to reside on the property, so an ADU works when you live in the main house or move into the cottage yourself. Each unit needs one parking space, which on a narrow Seminole Heights or Tampa Heights lot can decide where the cottage goes. Unrelated occupants are limited to two. Settle those three points on the survey before paying for a design.

  1. Confirm the area on the parcel

    The four ADU areas are named in the code. A lot just outside them falls under the Extended Family Residence rules instead.

  2. Place the parking before the cottage

    Tampa asks for one parking space per unit. Mark where it goes on the survey before the footprint is fixed.

  3. Decide who will own and live where

    The owner must reside on the property. If the family plans to sell the main house or move away, raise it before the design is paid for.

How detached adus works →

Local Detail

Tampa's ADU areas and the 950 square foot standard

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

The City of Tampa allows accessory dwelling units only in Seminole Heights, the area around Lowry Park, the East Tampa Overlay and the Tampa Heights Overlay; everywhere else in the city a second unit may only be created for a family member as an Extended Family Residence.

Source: City of Tampa, accessed 2026-09-23

Tampa's ADU standards (Sec. 27-132) cap an ADU at 950 square feet of living space, require the property owner to reside on the property, limit unrelated occupants to two, permit a separate utility meter, and require one parking space per unit.

Source: City of Tampa, accessed 2026-09-23

Tampa's Extended Family Residence standards (Sec. 27-132) limit an EFR to 600 square feet of living area, require the property to be homesteaded, prohibit separate electric or water meters, limit occupants to family related by marriage, blood, adoption or legal guardianship, cap occupants at two, and prohibit rent.

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

A Tampa Extended Family Residence requires a Special Use 1 (SU1) application filed online in Accela with a notarized owner affidavit, a to-scale site plan and a survey; it requires public notice, a determination is made no less than 15 calendar days after the notice affidavit, and the approved site plan binds later owners.

Source: City of Tampa, 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 Tampa

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

Where a detached ADU is allowed in Tampa

A cottage in the backyard gives a parent their own front door and keeps you close enough to help. Tampa makes that easiest in four places: Seminole Heights, the area around Lowry Park, the East Tampa Overlay and the Tampa Heights Overlay. On a lot there, a detached ADU can have up to 950 square feet of living space and a separate utility meter, so your parent can carry their own bills. Elsewhere in the city a second unit can only be created for a family member as an Extended Family Residence, which is smaller, cannot be rented and may not have its own meter.

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

Is your Tampa lot in an ADU area?

Send the address. We check the four areas and the parking before a contractor draws a cottage, so the size you plan for is one the city allows.

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Questions

Tampa backyard cottage questions

Can my father have his own electric meter in a Tampa ADU?

Inside the four ADU areas, yes: Tampa's ADU standards permit a separate utility meter. An Extended Family Residence elsewhere in the city may not have a separate electric or water meter, so the answer depends on where the lot is.

What if our Tampa lot is not in one of the ADU areas?

A second unit is still possible for a family member as an Extended Family Residence: up to 600 square feet of living area, on a homesteaded property, with two occupants at most and no rent. It needs a Special Use 1 approval with public notice, a zoning step that comes before the building permit.

Next Step

A Tampa cottage with your parent's own front door

Tell us who it is for and where the lot is. We pass a clear brief to a vetted Florida-licensed contractor, and nothing you send is a commitment.

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