City · Florida

ADU rules in Jacksonville

3 sources

These are the primary sources for accessory dwelling unit regulations in Jacksonville: the city's own zoning code, planning department pages, and permit guides. Start here before talking to anyone: the rules below are what your permit reviewer will apply.

Rules at a glance

Detached (backyard) ADU

Allowed

Sec. 656.403(g)(7): ADUs shall be accessory to a conforming single-family dwelling and may be attached to or detached from the principal structure. ADUs are handled as an accessory use citywide (Sec. 656.403 intro: accessory uses and structures are permitted in all districts when incidental and subordinate to a permitted principal use); the homestead exemption prerequisite and siting rules in the caveats apply.

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403(g)(7)

Attached or internal ADU

Allowed

Sec. 656.403(g)(7) allows attached ADUs but requires that an attached ADU be physically separated from the principal structure so as to prevent direct, internal access between the primary structure and the ADU.

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403(g)(7)

Maximum size

Building footprint limited to 25 percent of the gross floor area of the principal structure on the lot, or 750 sq ft, whichever is less

Sec. 656.403(g)(3) caps the ADU's building footprint, measured against the principal structure's gross floor area. Height is limited per the accessory structure rules in Sec. 656.403(d): structures over 15 feet tall must meet the primary structure's setbacks and may not exceed the primary structure's height (except up to 35 feet in the RR-Acre district or on lots of at least one acre).

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403(g)(3) and (g)(5); Sec. 656.403(d)

Owner occupancy

Required

The ordinance does not use the phrase owner occupancy; the mechanism is a homestead exemption prerequisite. Sec. 656.403(g)(6) (added by Ord. 2022-448-E) allows ADUs only on property subject to an existing homestead exemption, or property that meets the requirements for a homestead exemption which the owner has applied for through the Duval County Property Appraiser's Office with the expectation it will be granted.

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403(g)(6)

Extra parking

No ADU-specific parking requirement; the off-street parking schedule requires two spaces for a single-family dwelling and lists no separate ADU category

Sec. 656.403(g) is silent on parking, and the residential parking schedule in Sec. 656.604(a) has no line item for accessory dwelling units (single-family dwelling: two spaces). A full-code search for the term accessory dwelling confirms it appears in no parking provision.

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.604(a)(1); Sec. 656.403(g)

Approval process

Permitted use

ADUs are allowed as an accessory use subject to the listed criteria, not as a conditional or discretionary use: Sec. 656.403 states accessory uses and structures are permitted in all districts, and subsection (g) says ADUs shall be allowed subject to the following criteria. Sec. 656.403(g)(8) requires the Planning and Development Department to include an HOA/deed-restriction certification in the permit application for an ADU.

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403 and Sec. 656.403(g), (g)(8)

Rental restrictions

No ADU-specific rental restriction; the Ordinance Code has no minimum lease term for ADUs and no short-term or vacation rental chapter

Sec. 656.403(g) sets no lease term, tenant rule or rental ban for an ADU, and a search of the whole Ordinance Code finds no short-term or vacation rental chapter: the phrase vacation rental appears only in the tourist development tax (Sec. 666.106), which taxes stays of six months or less. The Zoning Code's definition of a dwelling unit (Sec. 656.1601) says it 'may be for owner occupancy or for rental or lease on a weekly, monthly or longer basis.' The homestead requirement in Sec. 656.403(g)(6) means the owner must claim the property as a permanent residence, but it does not bar renting the ADU. Do not confuse an ADU with a guesthouse, which has no kitchen: the code says a guesthouse 'shall not be rented, leased or otherwise made available for compensation of any kind.'

Ordinance Code Sec. 656.403(g) (silent on rentals); Sec. 656.1601 (Dwelling unit and Guesthouse definitions); Sec. 666.106

The fine print: 8 caveats that can change the picture

ADUs must be located behind the primary structure and may not be located in a required yard (Sec. 656.403(g)(1), (g)(4)).
The ADU must be accessory to a conforming single-family dwelling; the term accessory dwelling unit does not appear in any zoning district use list, so eligibility follows the general accessory use rule wherever a conforming single-family dwelling exists (Sec. 656.403 and (g)(7)).
Property must have, or qualify and have applied for, a Duval County homestead exemption before an ADU can be built (Sec. 656.403(g)(6), added by Ord. 2022-448-E).
Attached ADUs must be physically separated from the main house with no direct internal access between the two (Sec. 656.403(g)(7)).
Design compatibility is required: a visual relationship to the main house through similar roof shape, porches, paint color and other physical characteristics for new structures, or similar paint color and physical characteristics for existing structures (Sec. 656.403(g)(2)).
At permit time the applicant must certify whether the property is in a deed-restricted community or subject to a homeowners, neighborhood or master association and, if so, that the association's rules allow an ADU (Sec. 656.403(g)(8)).
Accessory structures over 15 feet tall must meet the primary structure's setbacks and may not exceed its height, except up to 35 feet in the RR-Acre district or on lots of at least one acre (Sec. 656.403(d)).
The Springfield historic districts and the Riverside/Avondale Zoning Overlay have their own accessory-unit rules. There the code allows one free-standing garage apartment, plus interior apartments, 'in connection with single-family, owner-occupied properties'. Garage apartments use the same 25 percent or 750 sq ft footprint cap. In Riverside/Avondale the owner must live on the property, and an interior apartment is capped at 1,000 sq ft or 25 percent of the house's floor area and allowed only in structures over 1,600 sq ft (Secs. 656.368(b)-(c), 656.369(b), 656.399.18(b), 656.399.25(4)-(5)).

Summarized from Jacksonville's ordinance text, read September 2026; every row links the code section it came from. Rules often vary by zone and lot, so treat this as orientation, not a permit determination, and confirm with the planning department before you commit to a design.

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ADU regulations

Florida statewide law also applies

Florida sets baseline ADU rights at the state level. Where local rules are stricter than state law allows, state law usually wins, so both are worth reading.

See Florida statewide rules

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