Broward County, FL Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Broward's accessory dwelling standard sits in Article XV, Rural and Estate Districts, and doubles as an affordable-housing tool for unincorporated land. Section 39-272(a) sets the size band: an ADU cannot exceed fifty percent of the principal structure's floor area, but must be at least five hundred square feet, so a small main house can't be paired with a token unit. Subsection (b) caps density at one accessory dwelling per single-family lot, ruling out a second or third unit on the same parcel. Subsection (c) sets a livability floor requiring at least one bedroom, one bathroom, and an entrance separate from the main house's, so the ADU functions as an independent dwelling rather than an interior room addition.

Parking is scaled to bedrooms, not units: subsection (d) requires one off-street parking space per bedroom in the accessory dwelling, stacked on top of whatever Section 39-228 already requires for the principal home. 0004, Florida Statutes. That statute ties eligibility to area median income bands, so the affordable-rate commitment moves with published AMI figures rather than a fixed dollar cap written into the county code. Because the affidavit is a condition attached to the building permit itself, it becomes part of the permit record the county can check if a complaint alleges the unit is being rented as market-rate or short-term housing instead of to a qualifying household.