Sheet A-1 ยท Tampa Bay
A suite for your parent, checked against your lot first
Planning around a house in Tampa Bay? Take $100 off your first job, credited at booking.
Maybe your mother cannot manage the stairs, or you want your own bedroom on the ground floor. Either way, send your address before anyone draws a plan. The rules for your lot in Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco decide what can be built, so learn them first. Call or send the form.
- Counties
- Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco
- Phone
- (315) 640-3590
- Offer
- $100 off your first job
Three rules
What decides your lot, before anyone draws
Three rules shape every suite, cottage and garage conversion in Tampa Bay. Each one gives you a question to answer and a step to take.
Kitchen or no kitchen
Will the suite have its own kitchen?
A suite with its own kitchen is a second dwelling. Your city or county decides if it fits your lot.
Flood zone, half value
Is your home in a flood zone?
In a flood zone, half your home's value is the trigger. Past it, the whole house meets current flood rules. Most places use half (50 percent). Unincorporated Pinellas, St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor and unincorporated Pasco use 49 percent.
Parent aged 62 plus
Will a parent or grandparent live there?
New space is assessed on top of your capped value. A county reduction may apply. The parent must be 62 or older.
Basis: Florida Statutes section 163.31771, Hillsborough County Land Development Code
We find out what your lot allows, then put you in touch with a contractor near you, who does the building.
Tell us about the space
Send the address and what you have in mind. The rules for that lot come first.
- Your request is in Keep your phone close. A call comes from (315) 640-3590.
- The lot comes first We look at what your city or county allows at that address.
- Then a contractor You meet a local contractor and see the price in writing.
$100 off your first job We credit $100 on the first job you book with our help.
- We pay the $100, so the contractor's price stays as quoted.
- One credit per customer for each home.
- Your job must be booked by December 31, 2026.
- Say you want the credit when you book.
The Senior Home Additions promise
- 1 Your first call and your request are free.
- 2 Planning with us costs you nothing.
- 3 We check the rules at your address before anyone quotes.
Start with the kitchen. Tell us whether your parent will cook in the suite. That one choice can turn an ordinary addition into a second dwelling, and then your city or county decides if the lot can take it.
Next, tell us whether your street floods. If it does, price the addition against the value of the house before you commit. Last, tell us who will live in the new space. A parent or grandparent who is 62 or older can change how the county assesses it.
Each rule has its own guide, with the sources behind it. Read the one that matches your question, then call or send your address. You get the three answers for your lot in one call, so you plan with facts instead of guesses.
Four spaces
Pick the space that fits your family
Each space has its own page with the rules, the paperwork to hold and the questions to ask.
Read the table first. It starts from what the space must do, not from the type of building. A bedroom and bath for your mother is one job. A cottage for a grown child who looks after you is another.
If two rows fit, send both. We will say which one your lot supports. Then open the page that matches your plan and call when a question comes up.
An in-law suite addition attaches to your house. A ground-floor primary suite puts your bedroom and bath on the main level. A backyard cottage stands alone in the yard. A garage conversion reuses a slab and walls you already own. Each one meets different rules, and none is the default for your street.
- A bedroom and bath on the ground floorStairs are the problem. The suite goes beside the main floor. Read the plan
- A suite for a parent next to your homeYour parent gets a door, a bath and room to settle. Read the plan
- A cottage in the back yardA separate small home, with the lot rules to match. Read the plan
- Space from a garage you already ownThe slab and the walls are there. The rules still apply. Read the plan
- A place for a live-in helper or visiting familyA bath and a bedroom that join the main house. Read the plan
- A main floor you can live on for goodBedroom, bath and laundry on one level, wide doors included. Read the plan
General notes
Plain answers, in the order families ask them.
N1 Is Senior Home Additions the contractor?
No. We look up the rules for your address and introduce a local contractor. Your contract, your price and the building work are between you and that contractor.
N2 Do I need approval before building a suite for my mother?
Plan on it. A suite is building work, so your city or county building office will be involved. Give us your address on the phone and we will name the office that covers it.
N3 How is a suite with a kitchen different from one without?
Florida law names a second unit that has a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom of its own an accessory dwelling unit. Add the kitchen and your city or county may treat the suite as a second home on the lot.
N4 My house is in a flood zone. Can I still add on?
Often yes, but the cost matters. Federal flood rules count an addition at half the home's market value as a substantial improvement. Most places use half (50 percent). Unincorporated Pinellas, St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor and unincorporated Pasco use 49 percent. Send your address, and ask where your lot stands before you pick a size.
N5 Does a suite for a parent change my property assessment?
It can raise it. A Florida county may reduce the assessed value of new living quarters for a parent or grandparent who is 62 or older. The property appraiser decides, and you apply before March 1.
N6 What will it cost?
A contractor sets the price, in writing, for your plan. Size, a kitchen, flood height and utility work move it most. Ask two contractors to price the same plan.
N7 Can I plan this from another state?
Yes. Many families call from far away. Send the address, say who the space is for, and ask for a call at a time that suits your parent.
N8 Which areas do you cover?
Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, including sixteen towns from Tampa and Plant City to Clearwater, Dunedin and New Port Richey. Tell us your address if your town is not listed.
The spaces
Four spaces, four plans
In-Law Suite Additions
Plan an attached in-law suite in Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco.
First-Floor Primary Suite Additions
Move your bedroom and bath to the ground floor.
Detached ADUs and Backyard Cottages
Find out if a backyard cottage can go on your Tampa Bay lot.
Garage Conversions to In-Law Suites
Turn a Florida garage into a suite for a parent or for yourself.
Two readers
Written for you, and for the daughter or son who helps you
Planning for your own later years is not the same as planning for a parent. The questions change, so the pages change too.
If you are planning for yourself, you set the pace. Start with where you sleep and bathe each day, then work outward to the rest of the house.
If you are planning for a parent, you carry more questions: distance, money, and who lives where. Tell us which reader you are and we will start there. Your parent can join the call whenever they like, and you can call from another state.
Both readers share three worries: will it be allowed, what will it cost, and who do I deal with. The three rules answer the first. A written price answers the second. One introduction answers the third, so you are not chasing five phone numbers.
Planning for yourself
- You want your bedroom and bath on the ground floor.
- You want to stay in the home you know.
- You want the rules checked before you spend.
- You want to hear every price in writing.
Planning for a parent
- You want a place close by, with a door of their own.
- You need to know if a kitchen changes the rules.
- You want a call you can take from another city.
- You want the tax question asked before the build.
How it runs
From your first call to a contract you have read
Three sheets, in order. You can stop after any of them.
- A-1
Check the address
You send the address. We find the rules for that lot, including flood zone and county.
- A-2
Define the space
You tell us who it is for. Kitchen or no kitchen is the first choice.
- A-3
Meet the contractor
We introduce a local contractor. The price comes from them, in writing.
Where
Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco, county by county
The county sets the rules in unincorporated areas. Each city sets its own inside its limits.
A house in Apollo Beach follows the county. A house in Tampa follows the city. Palm Harbor and Wesley Chapel are not cities, so the county decides there too.
Find your town in the columns below. If you are not sure which government covers your street, tell us the address and we will name it.
Each column lists what the unincorporated area decides and what the cities decide. Read your own, then call about the town beside it. Many families have a parent in one town and a home in another, and the two can follow different rules.
Hillsborough County
Pinellas County
The houses
The houses you are adding to
Tampa Bay homes differ by county and by decade, and the age of your house shapes the job.
Many older Pinellas homes are one-story block and stucco houses on a slab, often with a carport or a screened lanai at the back. Pinellas County's median home was built in 1977. Ask each contractor how the new roof joins the old one, and ask to see that detail drawn.
Pasco and Hillsborough have more newer subdivisions, where the median home dates from the early 1990s. A homeowners association may have its own say there, so read your covenants before you pick a space.
A lanai or a carport can be the easy place to start, since the slab is often already poured. The flood line and the roof tie-in still decide the job. Tell us the kind of house you have, and ask what it means for the space you want.
Price
What moves the price of your space
We do not set prices. Contractors do. Knowing what moves the number lets you compare two prices fairly.
- Size, and whether the space has a kitchen.
- The height of the floor, if your lot is in a flood zone.
- Utility runs, and whether the house uses sewer or a septic tank.
- How the new roof ties into the old one.
- Plan, survey and permit fees, which some prices leave out.
- Finishes, doors and fixtures you choose.
Ask every contractor to price the same plan, so you compare like with like. Send us the plan and we will introduce a local contractor who can price it. Read the price at your own pace, and close the conversation whenever you want.
A price given before the lot was checked can change. A plan that ignores flood height or the kitchen rule may need redrawing, and a redraw costs money too. That is why the address check comes before the price, and why you should ask any contractor what their number assumes.
The Senior Home Additions promise
- 1 Your first call and your request are free.
- 2 Planning with us costs you nothing.
- 3 We check the rules at your address before anyone quotes.
- 4 We credit the $100 the way our Terms describe.
Your agreement with the contractor you hire covers the building.
Senior Home Additions, (315) 640-3590 Read the full terms
$100 off your first job We credit $100 on the first job you book with our help.
- We pay the $100, so the contractor's price stays as quoted.
- One credit per customer for each home.
- Your job must be booked by December 31, 2026.
- Say you want the credit when you book.
Ask any contractor
Three questions for each contractor you meet
- What is your Florida license number? Look it up on the state license search before you sign.
- What does the price leave out? Ask about plan fees, utility work and site prep, in writing.
- When do you apply for the permit? Florida sets deadlines when a large deposit is taken.
Basis: Florida DBPR license search (myfloridalicense.com), Florida Statutes section 489.126
Guides
Read before you decide
- Second dwellingCan an In-Law Suite Have Its Own KitchenKitchen or no kitchen: what each choice means for your lot.
- Flood zoneDoes the FEMA 50 Percent Rule Apply to a Home AdditionHalf the home's value is the flood-zone line.
- Second dwellingIn-Law Suite and ADU Rules Across Hillsborough, Pinellas and PascoSize caps and owner rules for sixteen Tampa Bay towns.
- HomesteadFlorida's Property Tax Reduction for a Parent or Grandparent SuiteHow a parent's suite is assessed, and when to ask.
- ContractorHiring a Florida Contractor for a Home AdditionWhat to check before you sign with any contractor.
Tell us who the space is for.