ADU rules in Tampa

An ADU may be located within a conforming accessory structure (or a nonconforming one per Article VII), i.e. detached, but only through an S-1 special use permit and only inside the mapped ADU-eligible areas listed in the Sec. 27-156 use schedule footnote (Seminole Heights and Lowry Park area boundaries, East Tampa Overlay District); in the Tampa Heights Overlay District ADUs, including in accessory structures, are a permitted use in all residential districts.

An ADU may be located within the single-family dwelling with a separate entrance, under the same S-1 special use permit and geographic limits; permitted use in the Tampa Heights Overlay District. Outside the eligible areas, the only internal option is an Extended Family Residence (S-1 in nearly all districts) restricted to family members.

Sec. 27-132: an accessory dwelling unit shall be limited to a maximum of nine hundred fifty (950) square feet of living space; an extended family residence is limited to six hundred (600) square feet. In the Tampa Heights Overlay, accessory structures are separately capped at 1,100 sq ft.

Sec. 27-132: an ADU may only be approved when the property owner resides on the property; an Extended Family Residence may only be approved when the property is homesteaded. Exception: in the Tampa Heights Overlay District, where ADUs are a permitted use, the listed conditions in §27-244(e) do not include owner occupancy.

The citywide off-street parking schedule (§27-283.7) has no accessory dwelling unit row (single- or two-family dwelling is 2.0 spaces per dwelling unit). Tampa Heights Overlay §27-244(e)(i): one parking space per ADU on-site, required only for ADUs greater than 600 sq ft; tandem parking permitted. NMU-16/24/35 districts (§27-212.4 Table 212-2 note K): no additional parking spaces above those required for the associated dwelling unit.

Table 4-1 lists 'Dwelling unit, accessory' as X/S1 in the RS and RM residential districts plus CN and CG: permitted use (X) in the Tampa Heights Overlay District per §27-244, and an S-1 special use permit (zoning administrator administrative review, §27-127(b)(1)) in the other mapped ADU-eligible areas (Seminole Heights/Lowry Park areas and the East Tampa Overlay District). Seminole Heights SH districts (§27-211.8 Table SH-25.1) and NMU districts (§27-212.4) also list accessory dwelling as S1. The S-1 permit is reviewed annually by staff; if conditions change a new permit is required. Outside the eligible areas ADUs are not available at all.

Chapter 27 is silent on ADU lease terms, and a full-text search of the Code of Ordinances for 'short-term rental' returns zero hits. §27-132 limits an ADU to no more than two (2) unrelated occupants and requires annual staff review of the special use permit. For an Extended Family Residence, occupants must be family members related by marriage, blood, adoption, or legal guardianship and 'may not pay rent for the use of the residence or property'.