City · Florida

ADU rules in Miami Beach

2 sources

These are the primary sources for accessory dwelling unit regulations in Miami Beach: 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

An ADU may be located in a detached accessory building, subject to the accessory building requirements for single-family districts in Sec. 7.2.2.3.b.11.A, which expressly lists Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) among permitted accessory building uses. Accessory buildings must sit in the rear yard, cover no more than 25% of the required rear yard, be separated from the main home by at least 5 feet open to the sky, and are capped at 2 stories (12 feet for 1 story, 20 feet for 2 stories, measured from BFE plus 1 foot freeboard).

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.V and Sec. 7.2.2.3.b.11.A

Attached or internal ADU

Allowed

An ADU may be attached to the primary residence with a separate entrance that is secondary to the main home's entrance, subject to any limitations on the primary structure in the land development regulations; the entire site must maintain the external appearance of a single-family home.

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.V

Maximum size

Greater of 600 sq ft or 10% of the main home's size, with an absolute maximum of 1,500 sq ft; minimum 200 sq ft. The ADU's area counts toward the site's overall unit size calculation (RS districts cap unit size at 40% of lot area). Accessory structures built before January 1, 2019 are exempt from the minimum and maximum areas unless expanded.

One ADU maximum per single-family lot.

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.I-IV; unit size cap in Sec. 7.2.2.3

Owner occupancy

Depends

The code does not impose an explicit owner-occupancy requirement to build an ADU, but by default the ADU may only be used by the family occupying the primary dwelling, their temporary guests, or servants of the occupants. Owner occupancy becomes an express requirement in the only situation where leasing an ADU to an unrelated family is allowed (the two mapped exception areas), with evidence of ownership submitted to the planning director each year; if the property ceases to be owner-occupied, lease renewal is prohibited.

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.VIII

Extra parking

No ADU-specific parking requirement found. The general accessory use provisions require off-street parking for accessory uses to comply with Chapter 5, but the Chapter 5 parking tables list no separate line item for accessory dwelling units; the underlying single-family detached dwelling requirement in Parking Tier 1 is two spaces.

The ADU subsection itself (Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C) imposes no parking condition. Only the dune overlay district and waterway district 1 are exempt from parking requirements (Sec. 5.2.1).

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.a.3 and Sec. 5.2.4.1 (Tier 1 residential parking table)

Approval process

Permitted use

An ADU is listed as a permitted accessory use in single-family districts ('An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is permitted pursuant to the following requirements'); no conditional use or public hearing approval is required for the ADU itself. Owners seeking to lease an ADU in the eligible areas must additionally obtain all applicable fire and building permits and a certificate of use.

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C

Rental restrictions

Renting an ADU is prohibited nearly citywide: use is limited to the family occupying the primary dwelling, temporary guests, or servants of the occupants. Leasing to an unrelated family is allowed only in two small mapped areas, and only on owner-occupied properties: (1) an ADU issued a certificate of occupancy on or before October 26, 2019 located between Dade Boulevard and Pine Tree Drive Circle, or (2) an ADU in the Palm View Historic District. Even there, leases shorter than 6 months and 1 day are prohibited, annual proof of ownership must be filed with the planning director, and fire/building permits plus a certificate of use are required. Violations carry the enhanced penalties for short-term rental of single-family homes, including escalating fines and reporting to the county property appraiser and tax collector.

The planning director maintains a database of all approved ADUs, including certificates of use issued and violations.

Resiliency Code Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.VIII and 7.5.4.13.d.2.E

The fine print: 6 caveats that can change the picture

ADUs are an accessory use in single-family (RS-1 through RS-4) districts; the provisions read here apply to single-family lots, and the ADU must be on the same lot as the main permitted use.
An ADU may contain a full kitchen and may have a separate electric meter (Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.C.VI-VII); this is an express carve-out, since other accessory buildings in RS districts may not have full kitchens (Sec. 7.2.2.3.b.11.A).
The separate 'second set of cooking facilities' allowance for homes of 3,600 sq ft or more (one electric meter, no rental) is a distinct provision whose restrictions expressly do not apply to ADUs (Sec. 7.5.4.13.d.2.B).
The ADU's floor area is included in the site's overall unit size calculation, so a large main home can shrink the buildable ADU envelope; RS districts cap total unit size at 40% of lot area.
Detached ADUs inherit all RS accessory building standards: rear yard location, 25% max coverage of the required rear yard, 5-foot separation from the main home, setbacks, and 2-story/20-foot height cap measured from BFE plus 1 foot freeboard.
Accessory structures built before January 1, 2019 are exempt from the ADU minimum and maximum area limits unless the unit is expanded.

Summarized from Miami Beach's ordinance text, read July 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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Zoning codes change. If a link is dead or Miami Beach has updated its ordinance, report it and we'll verify against the official source.

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