Florida ADU Law in 2026: What the State Requires and What Your City Decides

If you've heard that Florida passed a new statewide ADU law in 2026, it didn't. The Legislature came close two years in a row, but the bills that would have required cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units died both times. The housing bill that did pass in 2026, HB 1389, deals with Live Local Act multifamily projects and doesn't touch ADUs. For homeowners and investors, that means the same rule applies as before: whether you can build an ADU depends on your city or county, not on Tallahassee.

Here's what state law actually says, what happened to the 2025 and 2026 bills, and how to check your own lot.

What Florida law says about ADUs today

Florida's only ADU statute is section 163.31771 of the Florida Statutes. It was last amended in 2020, and the 2026 Florida Statutes carry the same text. It's short, and it does four things:

• Defines an ADU as an ancillary or secondary living unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area, either inside the same structure as the main home or on the same lot.
• Says a city or county may adopt an ordinance allowing ADUs in any area zoned for single-family residential use. "May" is the key word: it's an option, not a requirement.
• Says a building permit application for an ADU must include an affidavit that the unit will be rented at an affordable rate to an extremely-low-, very-low-, low- or moderate-income person.
• Lets ADUs allowed under such an ordinance count toward the affordable housing part of the local comprehensive plan.

That's all of it. The statute doesn't set statewide rules for ADU size, height, setbacks, parking, owner occupancy or impact fees. Those come from your local land development code.

The bills that didn't pass

2025: SB 184 and HB 247

In 2025, SB 184 and its House companion HB 247 would have required local governments to adopt, by a set date, an ordinance allowing ADUs in certain areas. HB 247 was laid on the table on April 30, 2025. SB 184 passed the Senate, went back and forth with the House over amendments, and officially died in returning messages. Neither became law.

2026: SB 48 and HB 313

In 2026 the Senate tried again with SB 48, which passed the Senate 38–0 on February 4, 2026. As it passed the Senate, it would have:

• Required every city and county to adopt an ordinance by December 1, 2026, allowing ADUs in areas zoned for single-family use, with some exceptions.
• Required ADUs to be approved administratively, with no public hearing, variance or special exception, if the site plan met zoning.
• Barred owner-occupancy requirements, barred replacement parking for garage conversions, and limited added parking requirements.
• Barred bans on renting ADUs, while letting local governments prohibit rentals shorter than one month.
• Removed the affordable-rental affidavit requirement.

None of that is law. SB 48 died in House messages on March 13, 2026, and the House version, HB 313, died in subcommittee the same day. If you read a summary of SB 48 online, treat it as a proposal, not a rule your city has to follow.

What HB 1389 (2026) actually does

HB 1389 (chapter 2026-179, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026) is often confused with an ADU law because it's a 2026 housing bill and it picked up a few unrelated pieces of SB 48. Its main job is amending the Live Local Act. It doesn't amend s. 163.31771 or mention accessory dwelling units. Among other things, it:

• Revises when counties and cities must allow qualifying affordable multifamily and mixed-use developments, including on commercial, industrial and mixed-use land, and limits how they can restrict height, setbacks and stepbacks for those projects.
• Changes the Live Local property tax exemption rules for multifamily projects.
• Adds housing that is affordable to the state's fair-housing protections against discrimination in land use and permitting decisions.
• Allows density bonuses for land donated for affordable housing for military families.
• Directs the state's OPPAGA research office to study mezzanine financing and the potential of tiny homes.

If you're developing apartments or mixed-use projects, HB 1389 matters; see our Florida zoning guide at /resources/florida-zoning-residential-development. If you're adding an ADU behind a single-family home, it doesn't change anything.

What's still up to your city or county

Because state law leaves ADUs to local option, the rules differ a lot from one jurisdiction to the next. A January 2026 Florida Senate staff analysis cited Florida Housing Coalition research finding that 16 of Florida's 67 counties didn't address ADUs at all in their land development codes, while 11 of the state's 15 most populous cities explicitly allowed them in single-family districts. Your local code decides:

Private rules can be stricter than zoning. If your home is in an HOA, read the covenants before you design anything; they may limit or prohibit secondary units or rentals even where the city allows them.

How to check whether your lot can take an ADU

1. Confirm who regulates your property. City limits mean city code; unincorporated land means county code. Your property appraiser's parcel record shows the jurisdiction and zoning district.
2. Find your zoning district's ADU section in the local land development code. Search the code for "accessory dwelling", "guest house" or "accessory apartment", since cities use different terms.
3. Check the numbers against your lot: lot size, setbacks, lot coverage, maximum ADU size and height, and parking.
4. Check utilities. Find out whether a detached unit can connect to existing water and sewer or septic, and whether the electrical service has capacity.
5. Read your HOA covenants and any recorded deed restrictions.
6. Call or meet with the zoning department to confirm your reading before paying for full plans.

Permitting steps for a Florida ADU

1. Zoning review or ADU approval, where your city requires a separate step. Some jurisdictions approve ADUs administratively; others require a hearing.
2. Site plan and construction drawings showing the unit, setbacks, utilities and drainage.
3. Building permit application to the local building department, with any forms the jurisdiction requires (ask about the affordable-rental affidavit).
4. Impact and utility fee payments and utility connection permits.
5. Construction with required inspections at each stage.
6. Final inspections and certificate of occupancy before anyone moves in.

Converting an existing garage is often the fastest route because the structure is already there. Our garage conversion guide at /resources/garage-conversion-adu-guide covers the permit issues specific to conversions, and our checklist at /guides/florida-adu-cost-permit-checklist walks through each document you'll need.

Costs to plan for

• Design and engineering: site plan, architectural drawings and structural engineering.
• Permit, plan review and inspection fees.
• Impact fees and utility connection fees, which vary widely by jurisdiction and can be significant for a detached unit.
• Site work: foundation, utility trenching, drainage and any tree removal.
• Construction itself, which depends on size, type (detached, attached or conversion) and finishes.
• Insurance and property tax changes once the unit is complete.

For current Florida price ranges by ADU type, see our ADU cost guide at /resources/adu-cost-florida-2026.

Renting your ADU

No state law currently guarantees your right to rent an ADU. SB 48 would have barred local rental bans, but it didn't pass. Whether you can rent, and for how long, depends on your local code and your HOA. Check three things before you count on rental income:

• Local rental rules: minimum lease terms, short-term rental limits, and any requirement that the owner live on site.
• The affordable-rental affidavit: if your building department requires it, it affects who you can rent to and at what price.
• Property taxes: Florida's homestead exemption doesn't cover any portion of a property used for commercial purposes, so a rented ADU can be assessed differently from the part of the property you live in. Talk to your county property appraiser before you rent.

Building an ADU with Hivesta

Hivesta Construction is a licensed Florida general contractor (CGC1531741) based in Orlando. We build single-family homes, townhomes and ADUs anywhere in Florida, and we have an ADU underway in Winter Garden now. Our projects are phased with costs set upfront, and we handle the work in-house so costs stay controlled. Because ADU rules are local, every project starts with your parcel: request a free feasibility report at /feasibility-report and we'll tell you what your lot allows before you commit.