Broward County, FL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Broward's residential setback grid runs by district family rather than a single countywide number. Section 39-285 sets front yards at fifty feet in RS-2, twenty-five feet in RS-3 through RS-6 and RD-4 through RD-6, and eighteen feet in RD-7 through RD-10 and the RM-5 through RM-25 multifamily districts; nonresidential uses on residential land must keep a larger fifty- or thirty-foot street setback, and multifamily buildings of three or more units need a twenty-five-foot street setback. Section 39-286 sets side yards from twenty-five feet in RS-2 down to five feet in RS-6, RD-6 through RD-10, and RM-5 through RM-25, with a separate, larger street-side-yard table for corner lots, plus a zero-lot-line option letting one-family homes sit on a side plot line if the full combined side yard is preserved on the opposite side.

Section 39-287 sets rear yards from twenty-five feet in RS-2 down to five feet in RD-10 and RM-10 through RM-25. These numbers aren't absolute: Section 39-275(3) allows sills, chimneys, eaves and awnings to project thirty-six inches into any required yard, lets an unenclosed patio come within five feet of a non-street plot line (or fifteen feet of the front line), and allows side and rear yards on a one- or two-family lot to shrink to five feet for accessory buildings and uses. An owner who still can't meet the table has two administrative options: Section 39-48 lets the Director waive a setback by up to ten percent, capped at one foot, without a hearing, while Section 39-39(a)(2) authorizes the hearing officer to grant a full variance from the yard tables after weighing the six criteria in Section 39-40, including whether the hardship is self-created and whether the variance is the minimum necessary for reasonable use of the property.