Homestead, FL Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 16-19(4) defines a home occupation as a business conducted for limited activities as an accessory use to a principal residential use, and confines those activities to using the home as a location for a business telephone, a correspondence address, or storage of business records. Manufacturing, assembly or construction that disturbs or adversely affects the neighborhood's residential character is not permitted as a home occupation, and the section states that home occupations are allowed in any zoning district if they meet its requirements. Only family members residing on the premises may be engaged in the business, and the use must stay clearly incidental and subordinate to the home's residential character, with the space devoted to it capped at 20 percent of the home's floor area, counting the dwelling, garage and any accessory structure.

The applicant must file a form with the development services department listing the applicant's and homeowner's names and addresses, the property's legal description, the rooms or structures to be used and their square footage, and the nature of the business, along with the permit fee set in the city's fee schedule and a notarized statement certifying compliance and granting the city entry to inspect on probable cause. The development services director may attach conditions to the permit, and can revoke it on written notice if the permittee fails to meet them. Home occupation receipts are non-transferable and non-assignable.