Cape Coral, FL Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

4 requires every single-family detached and semi-detached home, plus each unit of a duplex, to include a garage measuring at least 14 feet by 20 feet of unobstructed interior space, and it bans carports on any residential property that is required to have a garage. 6 protects that required parking by prohibiting the use of a garage or storage area as living quarters unless the owner builds another garage before converting the old one; simply finishing the existing garage and calling it a bedroom or den without replacing the parking is not allowed.

Where the garage is attached to the house through a roofed breezeway (a covered walkway at least 4 feet by 8 feet with its own access doors), converting that garage and breezeway to living space triggers full compliance with the Florida Building Code and every other regulation that applies to habitable rooms, not just a cosmetic build-out. The converted garage cannot be counted as part of the home's living area unless it meets these standards, and the exterior materials of any garage, attached or detached, must match the exterior of the principal structure both before and after a conversion.

Detached garages face their own limits: a maximum height of 14 feet, no plumbing beyond a utility sink and single bathroom, and a footprint capped at the living-area square footage of the principal structure's first floor, except in the RE and Agriculture districts, where the size and height caps don't apply.