Licensed and insured Florida contractorsKitchen, flood and tax rules checked first
$100 off your first job, credited by us. Terms apply.

Tampa Bay, in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties

A Backyard Cottage for Your Parent, Under Your City's Own ADU Code

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.

Start Your Quote
A small detached backyard cottage with its own front door and porch
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
Get In Touch

Detached ADUs quote

The address matters more than anything else on this page. Add who will live in the cottage and whether it needs a full kitchen, and we can tell you which rules apply.

$100credit

$100 off your first job

Credited by us on your first booked job.

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

Mention this offer when you book. Full terms.

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.

Overview

What a detached ADU is, and why the address decides it

A detached ADU is a second, smaller home on your lot with its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area. Families call it a backyard cottage, a granny flat or a guest house, and the prefabricated units sold as granny pods belong in the same conversation: in unincorporated Hillsborough, a detached structure that is not a permitted accessory dwelling may not be used for sleeping at all. A cottage gives a parent the most independence of any option here, and it is the one most shaped by local law, because each city and county sets its own size cap, lot minimum, occupancy rule and flood zone limits. We find out which rules govern your address, then connect you with a vetted Florida-licensed contractor who designs, prices and builds it.

  • Site-built backyard cottages with a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom
  • Prefabricated and modular units, including the small ones sold as granny pods, set on a permitted foundation
  • Garage apartments beside or above a detached garage, where the local code allows them
  • Water, sewer or septic, and electric service to the cottage, including whether a separate meter is allowed
  • Covered walkways and step-free paths between the cottage and the main house
  • Turning an existing detached workshop or pool house into a permitted accessory dwelling
Hurricane straps and a new window in the framed wall of an addition
Assessment

What decides whether a detached ADU is allowed on your lot

Around Tampa Bay the first question about a backyard cottage is not what it costs. It is whether your city or county allows one on your lot at all, and how big it can be.

Which city or county the lot is in

The rules change at every line. Pasco County allows up to 1,200 square feet of living space, St. Petersburg caps an ADU at 800 square feet of floor area, and New Port Richey allows an accessory apartment only inside the main house.

The flood zone

Largo does not permit ADUs in the Special Flood Hazard Area or the Coastal High Hazard Area, and unincorporated Pinellas cuts its size limit from 1,000 to 750 square feet in flood hazard areas.

Tampa's four ADU neighborhoods

The City of Tampa allows ADUs only in Seminole Heights, around Lowry Park, and in the East Tampa and Tampa Heights overlays. Elsewhere in the city, a second unit is possible only as a 600 square foot Extended Family Residence for relatives.

Lot size and access

Unincorporated Hillsborough needs a lot of at least 7,000 square feet. Safety Harbor allows a detached unit outside its E-1 district only on a corner lot or a lot with improved alley access.

Whether you live there, and the homestead

Most codes here require the owner to live in one of the units, and Dunedin and Zephyrhills tie it to a homestead exemption. The parent or grandparent assessment reduction also applies only to construction on an existing homestead.

Septic, well and deed restrictions

Pasco requires Health Department approval where the home relies on septic and well, and its code warns that private restrictive covenants may prohibit ADUs even where the county allows them.

Size and impact fees

Pasco charges no impact fees other than school on an ADU under 500 square feet, reduced mobility and library rates from 500 to 900, and full single-family fees above that.

Next Step

Does your city allow a cottage on your lot?

Send the address. We will tell you the size cap, the occupancy rule and whether the flood zone rules it out, before you pay anyone to design it.

Start Your Quote
Process

How a backyard cottage gets approved and built

  1. Send the address and the idea

    Who will live there, roughly how big, and where on the lot. The address alone tells us which code applies.

  2. Check what the lot allows

    Size cap, lot minimum, occupancy, flood zone and deed restrictions, before any design. In Tampa outside the ADU neighborhoods, an Extended Family Residence is a Special Use 1 application with public notice, decided no sooner than 15 days after the notice affidavit.

  3. A vetted contractor designs and prices it

    We connect you with a Florida-licensed contractor suited to the build, whether site-built or prefabricated. St. Petersburg's guidance says a new structure needs architectural or engineered plans with energy calculations.

  4. Approval, permit and utilities

    The contractor applies for the permit and arranges the utility connections. Some codes require a recorded affidavit or deed restriction; Pinellas Park records one against selling the ADU separately from the house.

  5. Build, inspect and move in

    Foundation, framing, utilities and finishes are inspected in turn, and your parent moves in once the building department issues the certificate of occupancy.

Recent Work

Detached ADUs work we have arranged

Draft placeholder for work-detached-adus-01. Replace with a real description.
In The Field

What detached adus looks like

A small kitchenette with a sink and under-counter refrigerator in a suite
Floor plan drawings for a small home addition beside a tape measure
Scope

When a cottage is the wrong fit, and what sits outside the job

When you may not need this at all

  • If your parent needs help at night, a cottage across the yard may be farther than it looks. An attached suite with an interior door keeps help one room away.
  • If the lot is in Largo's flood hazard area, or in New Port Richey, a detached unit is not permitted. An attached suite or an internal apartment is the route to look at instead.
  • If a prefab unit appeals because it seems simpler, check the code before you shop. The permit, the foundation and the utilities are the same questions either way.
  • If the unit might be rented later, read the local rule before you build. Largo requires a notarized affidavit that any rental will be at an affordable rate.

What is out of scope

  • Selling or delivering prefabricated units. The manufacturer or the contractor does that.
  • Rental management, leasing, or advice on short-term rental rules.
  • Subdividing the lot or selling the cottage separately from the house.
  • Pricing, contracting or permit applications, all of which belong to the contractor.
  • A ruling on what your HOA or deed restrictions allow. Read your covenants or ask the association.
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
Coverage

Detached ADU rules town by town

Questions

Questions about ADU rules in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco

Is a granny pod legal in Tampa Bay?

It depends on the address, not the product. In unincorporated Hillsborough, a detached structure that does not meet the accessory dwelling rules may not be used for sleeping, even by guests. A prefab unit someone will live in has to meet the same ADU rules as a built one, so the lot has to allow an ADU first.

Do I have to live on the property to build an ADU?

Usually, yes. Unincorporated Hillsborough, Largo, Seminole and Tarpon Springs all require the owner to live in one of the units. St. Petersburg is the exception: it does not require the main house to be owner occupied or homesteaded.

How big can a backyard cottage be?

Each code sets its own cap. Tampa allows 950 square feet in its ADU neighborhoods, unincorporated Hillsborough 900, Clearwater 750 or half the main house, whichever is less, and Pinellas Park 600 square feet of air-conditioned space.

Can a detached ADU get the parent or grandparent tax reduction?

It can be considered where the county has adopted the reduction and the construction is on an existing homestead. In Pinellas that means an unincorporated address, and the quarters need their own bathroom and kitchen, which a detached ADU has. The property appraiser makes the decision.

Can the cottage have its own electric meter?

Some codes allow it and some forbid it. Tampa's ADU standards permit a separate meter, while its Extended Family Residence rules, Dunedin and Tarpon Springs do not.

Next Step

Their own front door, a few steps from yours

Tell us who the cottage is for and where the lot is. A person reads each request, and there is no obligation.

Start Your Quote
Start Your Quote