ADU rules in Largo

The ADU 'can be constructed within a primary structure on the property, an attached unit, or a freestanding unit on the same lot as the primary residence or business.' Detached ADUs must be placed in side or rear yards (never front yards, buffer areas, or recorded easements), take the principal use's side and rear setbacks, must match the principal structure's architectural style, may not exceed the principal structure's height or two stories (whichever is lower), and must meet Florida Building Code separation distances. In the two Community Redevelopment Districts, a property with alley access may place an ADU at a 5-foot rear setback.

Both internal (within the primary structure) and attached ADUs are expressly allowed alongside freestanding units; the city's ADU page lists 'inside the primary structure', 'on top of the primary structure' and detached as the three placements. An attached ADU's height calculation, including the garage or primary unit below, is capped at two stories, and every ADU needs a separate exit/entrance and its own street address.

Height is separately capped: a detached ADU may not exceed the principal structure's height or two stories, whichever is lower; an attached ADU counts the garage or primary unit below toward a two-story maximum. The 400 sq ft floor means a small house can still carry an ADU larger than half its own living area.

On residential lots, 'either the primary dwelling unit or the ADU must be occupied by the property owner,' and the notarized ADU affidavit includes an acknowledgment of owner occupancy requirements. The city's affidavit form adds that the unit 'is and shall remain owner-occupied' and that compliance 'shall be verified with the Homestead or Partial-Homestead Exemption status of the property'; the city's ADU page says an owner of a duplex, triplex or quadplex must live in one of the units. The parallel standards for ADUs accessory to non-residential uses (Sec. 16.14.4.B) contain no owner occupancy clause.

Table 9-2 (Vehicle Parking Requirements) lists 'Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU): No Min if property meets parking requirements for the primary use and if not then 1/ADU, No Max.' Sec. 16.14.4.A(13) and B(11) require that the ADU 'not reduce the number of parking spaces to the primary residential structure below the parking minimums established by Section 9.5.'

ADUs on residential and non-residential properties 'are permitted subject to' listed objective standards; required submissions are a boundary survey, building permit, related permit inspections, and (for residential lots) the notarized ADU affidavit. No conditional use or public hearing step applies, and Sec. 3.2.1 excludes ADUs from small scale site plan review; the city's ADU page routes applications through the building permit portal (permit type 'Accessory Structure', subtype 'ADU'). ADUs must be accessory to a use allowed under Tables 6-1 and 6-2.

The city's affidavit form must be recorded with the Pinellas County Clerk before the permit application, states that its obligations 'run as covenants with the land' binding later owners, and warns that the owner 'will be subject to code enforcement action if found in violation.' Short-term vacation rentals are governed separately by CDC Sec. 15.18, which permits them in every residential land use designation subject to occupancy, parking and responsible-party rules and says nothing specific about ADUs; how its rules combine with the affordable-rate affidavit is not addressed in the code. Ord. No. 2026-33 (passed on first reading 9-1-2026, public hearing 10-6-2026) would add annual short-term rental registration and life-safety inspections to Sec. 15.18.