Orlando, FL Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Chapter 58, Section 58.901 sets Orlando's dimensional standards for detached accessory structures, sheds, detached garages, workshops and similar buildings, placed anywhere but the required front or street-side yard. No accessory structure may sit in the front or street-side setback, or, on a one- to five-family lot, in front of the principal building's facade line.

Rear-yard setbacks scale with size and height. A shed of 100 square feet or less may sit right on the rear property line if it is under 8 feet tall, but needs a 5-foot setback once it reaches 8-12 feet and a 15-foot setback above 12 feet. A shed over 100 square feet needs at least a 5-foot rear setback even under 8 feet tall, rising to 15 feet once it tops 12 feet; the code measures by 'the height of the taller portion of the building,' so a shed with a rooftop deck is treated as exceeding 12 feet regardless of its wall height.

Side setbacks must match whatever the principal house's side-yard setback is for that lot. Detached sheds must also keep their distance from other buildings on the property: 5 feet if the shed is 12 feet tall or less, 10 feet if taller, measured wall to wall (eaves may close that gap to no less than 3 feet apart). Combined, no accessory structure, sheds included, may cover more than 35% of the area between the rear property line and the principal structure, though pools, hot tubs and spas are exempt from that cap. Section 58.900 separately requires a Building Permit before any accessory structure, including a shed, is built.