County · Florida
ADU rules in Palm Beach County
These are the primary sources for accessory dwelling unit regulations in Palm Beach County: the county'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.
Unincorporated areas only
County zoning applies only outside city limits. If your property is inside a city or town, that municipality's own ADU ordinance governs instead, even though it sits within Palm Beach County.
Find your city's rules in FloridaRules at a glance
Detached Accessory Quarters are expressly contemplated: Art. 4.B.1.E.1.f requires a detached Accessory Quarters associated with a Townhouse or Zero Lot Line to be located in the rear of the lot. One Accessory Quarter (a complete, separate living quarter with kitchen, sanitation, and sleeping provisions) is Permitted by Right as accessory to a Single Family, Townhouse, or Zero Lot Line principal use, and it must be architecturally complementary in character and materials with the principal dwelling.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.E.1.b, .d, .f; Table 4.B.1.DThe ordinance does not expressly address an attached configuration. The definition covers any complete, separate living quarter equipped with a kitchen and provisions for sanitation and sleeping located on the same lot as the owner-occupied principal dwelling, without specifying attached or detached; the only configuration-specific rule applies to detached units on Townhouse or Zero Lot Line lots. Confirm an attached layout with the Palm Beach County Zoning Division before designing one.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.E.1.a, .fThe floor area calculation includes only the living area of the Accessory Quarters under a solid roof; additional solid-roof area used as a porch, patio, porte-cochere, carport, or garage may not exceed 500 sq ft.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.E.1.cOwner occupancy is built into the definition: an Accessory Quarter is located on the same lot as the owner-occupied principal dwelling. Accessory residential uses must also remain under the same ownership as the principal use and cannot be subdivided or sold as a condominium.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.E.1.a; Art. 4.B.1.D.3Table 6.B.1.B (Minimum Parking and Loading Requirements) lists Accessory Quarters, Caretaker Quarters, Groom's Quarters, and Guest Cottage at 1 space per unit, in addition to the 2 spaces per unit required for the Single Family, Zero Lot Line, or Townhouse principal dwelling.
ULDC Art. 6, Table 6.B.1.BOne Accessory Quarter is Permitted by Right as accessory to a Single Family, Townhouse, or Zero Lot Line principal use; Table 4.B.1.D marks it P (Permitted by Right) for those three principal uses and not allowed for all others, including Multifamily and Mobile Home Dwelling. A building permit is still required through the county Building Division.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.E.1.b; Table 4.B.1.DThe Accessory Quarters section is silent on renting the unit. Related standards read this session: the accessory use must remain under the same ownership as the principal use and may not be subdivided or sold as a condominium (Art. 4.B.1.D.3), no separate utility meters are allowed (Art. 4.B.1.E.1.e), and the accessory use may continue only as long as the principal use remains active (Art. 4.B.1.D.5). The separate Guest Cottage use is limited to non-paying guests, but no equivalent language appears for Accessory Quarters.
ULDC Art. 4.B.1.D.3, .D.5; Art. 4.B.1.E.1.eThe fine print: 5 caveats that can change the picture
- These rules apply only in unincorporated Palm Beach County; the county's municipalities (West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and others) have their own zoning codes.
- Palm Beach County uses the term Accessory Quarters, not ADU. The kitchen is the dividing line: a unit with a kitchen is an Accessory Quarter (Art. 4.B.1.E.1), while a kitchen-less unit for non-paying guests is a Guest Cottage (Art. 4.B.1.E.10) with the same 800/1,000 sq ft size limits but no kitchen facilities allowed.
- Accessory Quarters are allowed only as accessory to Single Family, Townhouse, and Zero Lot Line principal uses, and a principal use may have no more than one of each accessory use listed in Table 4.B.1.D (so one Accessory Quarter plus one Guest Cottage is possible, but not two of either).
- No separate utility meters are permitted; both the principal dwelling and the accessory dwelling must be connected to the same utilities (Art. 4.B.1.E.1.e).
- Accessory Quarters are subject to the property development regulations (setbacks, height, coverage) of the underlying zoning district (Art. 4.B.1.D.2), and are excluded from dwelling-unit density calculations under the Dwelling Unit definition (Art. 1.H.2, as amended by Ord. 2023-023).
Summarized from Palm Beach County'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.
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.
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