Jupiter, FL Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 27-1140, the supplemental design regulations applying to every subdistrict of a Mixed Use Development District (MXD) master site plan, addresses auxiliary dwelling units and accessory buildings directly in subsection (a)(6). An auxiliary dwelling unit or accessory building cannot exceed the height of the principal building on the same lot. Unlike an ordinary accessory structure in a standard residential zoning district, which Sec. 27-1912(a) bars from being rented or used as a separate dwelling, an MXD auxiliary dwelling unit is expressly allowed to have kitchen and bathroom facilities and be rented or otherwise used as a separate dwelling unit.

That unit still has to satisfy every applicable development and building regulation required of any residential dwelling unit, including building code, fire code and parking code compliance. The maximum size of an auxiliary dwelling unit or accessory building is capped at 35 percent of the gross square footage of the principal building on the lot. The same Sec. 27-1140(a)(4) sets a 400-square-foot floor for an auxiliary dwelling unit built as an efficiency apartment. Individual MXD residential subdistricts layer on their own density rule: for example, the Residential, Low Subdistrict (RL) under Sec. 27-1104 permits one auxiliary dwelling unit per lot, counted within the overall approved density for the master site plan.