Homestead, FL Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Section 15-207 bars any dwelling unit from housing more than one family and sets the baseline gross floor area every unit must provide: at least 150 square feet for the first occupant, 100 square feet each for the next two occupants, and 75 square feet for each occupant beyond that. Every habitable room must carry a ceiling at least 7 feet high over half its floor area, and any part of a room under 5 feet of ceiling height does not count toward the required floor area at all.

Companion sections in the same Article XI fill out the standard for other unit types: Sec. 15-208 lets an efficiency apartment occupied by two or more people subtract 100 square feet from the Sec. 15-207 baseline if it has a properly equipped kitchenette and convertible sleeping furniture. Sec. 15-209 sets sleeping-room minimums, 80 square feet for one occupant, 50 square feet per occupant when shared, 35 square feet per child under six when two or more children share, with an 8-foot minimum room width, and bars kitchens and porches from being used as permanent sleeping quarters.

Sec. 15-211 confines living, sleeping, eating and cooking to rooms that qualify as habitable rooms in the first place, and Sec. 15-213 requires the owner or operator to tell each occupant in writing, or in the lease itself, the maximum number of occupants the unit is permitted to hold, with a copy kept available to the code enforcement director.