Winter Park ADU Rules (2026)

Winter Park is inside Orange County but runs its own Land Development Code, its own permit office, and its own fee schedule. If your address is inside the city limits, the City of Winter Park governs your ADU — not Orange County. That distinction matters a lot, because Winter Park’s rules are meaningfully different from unincorporated Orange County’s in several ways, most of them unfavorable to ADU projects.

Florida’s SB 48 did not become law. The bill that would have set uniform statewide ADU rules failed in the House when the 2026 legislative session ended without a vote. Winter Park’s own local code governs. Any resource suggesting a new state ADU law overrides local rules is wrong.

The most important thing to know first: no short-term rentals

Winter Park prohibits renting any residential dwelling for less than one month. This is written into the city’s code (Section 22-177) and has been on the books long enough that it is legally protected from state preemption. The city enforces it. Airbnb and VRBO hosts in Winter Park have been required to set minimums of 27–30 nights.

If short-term rental income is part of your ADU plan, Winter Park is the wrong location. This is not a gray area or a zoning question — it is a flat citywide prohibition. For ADU projects where long-term rental income at 30+ days works for your numbers, read on.

How Winter Park differs from unincorporated Orange County

Owner-occupancy. Orange County requires you to live on the property — in either the primary house or the ADU. Winter Park’s updated code does not appear to include an owner-occupancy requirement. Confirm this directly with the Planning Division before relying on it.

Impact fees. Winter Park adds its own city-level impact fees on top of Orange County’s fees, which still apply inside city limits. The combined burden is higher than unincorporated Orange County. See the fees section below.

No incentive program. The City of Orlando runs a 2026 ADU incentive program offering permit fee rebates and up to $10,000 in construction rebates. Winter Park has no equivalent program. If you are weighing a Winter Park lot against an Orlando lot, factor this in — the fee difference can run $10,000–$14,000.

Approval path. Winter Park’s ADU applications go through administrative review — no public hearing required, unlike Kissimmee. This is a meaningful advantage over some other jurisdictions.

What the code currently says

Winter Park’s Land Development Code is hosted on the city’s EncodePlus platform and was last substantially updated in 2024. The dedicated ADU section is live, but several of the key dimensional standards — maximum square footage, setbacks, height limit — were not publicly available in searchable form at the time of this writing.

What is confirmed:

• ADUs are allowed in single-family residential zoning districts
• Full kitchens (independent kitchen facilities) appear to be permitted in the updated code — but confirm this directly
• One ADU per lot
• Owner-occupancy requirement: not confirmed; verify with Planning

What to confirm before designing anything:

• Maximum ADU size. Florida’s rules for cities generally allow up to 1,000 sq ft, but Winter Park may set its own lower cap. Get the current number in writing before you scope your plans.
• Setbacks specific to ADUs. Primary structure setbacks in R-1A run 35 ft front / 9 ft side / 25 ft rear; ADUs typically receive reduced rear and side setbacks. Call Planning for the ADU-specific numbers — they are different from the primary structure setbacks.
• Height limit for detached ADUs. Not confirmed from public documents.
• Eligible zoning districts. Confirm that your specific district (R-1AAA, R-1AA, R-1A) allows ADUs under the current code.

Call the Planning Division at (407) 599-3290 and ask specifically about ADU standards. This is a five-minute call that answers all of the above.

Impact fees

Winter Park properties pay two layers of fees — city fees and Orange County fees.

City of Winter Park fees (as of the Oct. 2025 fee schedule):

• Multi-modal transportation impact fee: approximately $6,425 per new residential unit (for units under 1,200 sq ft; higher for larger units)
• Parks impact fee: approximately $2,000 per new residential unit (the current schedule should be confirmed — there is some discrepancy in published figures)

Orange County fees (collected by the county, still apply inside city limits):

• School impact fee: approximately $8,829–$12,015 depending on ADU size
• Orange County also collects fire, law enforcement, and parks fees on top of the school fee

ADU-specific note: Orange County assesses ADU impact fees at the multi-family rate rather than the single-family rate. This is lower than what you would pay on a new standalone home, but the combined city + county total still lands in the $15,000–$25,000+ range for a typical ADU. Run the Orange County Impact Fee Calculator with your specific ADU size for a current estimate, then add Winter Park’s city fees.

This is the main reason Winter Park projects are significantly more expensive than comparable projects in Marion, Polk, or Brevard counties.

HOA warning

A large share of Winter Park’s residential neighborhoods are deed-restricted communities. Neighborhoods with active HOAs include many of the city’s most desirable streets. HOA covenants are private contracts — no city permit overrides them.

Before you do anything else on a Winter Park property, pull the recorded deed restrictions from the Orange County Comptroller’s records and read them end-to-end. If the covenants prohibit detached accessory structures, second dwellings, or separate occupancies, the zoning code is irrelevant.

Permit process

1. Confirm your address is inside Winter Park city limits — not all Winter Park zip-code addresses are. Check the Orange County Property Appraiser parcel record and look at the municipality field.
2. Call Planning & Zoning at (407) 599-3290 to confirm your zoning district is ADU-eligible and to get the current dimensional standards.
3. Pull your deed and HOA covenants from the Orange County Comptroller before proceeding.
4. Order a current survey if you don’t have one. Winter Park plan review will reject site plans drawn from outdated surveys.
5. Submit your permit application through the city’s self-service portal at cityofwinterpark.org/self-service. All permits are submitted online after registering. Payment accepted online by credit/debit card or in person.
6. Plans must include a signed-and-sealed site plan and construction documents from a Florida-licensed architect or engineer.
7. Allow approximately 21 days for initial plan review. Expect at least one correction cycle.
8. After permit issuance, impact fees are billed and paid before construction begins — city and county fees are billed separately.

Permit and Planning contacts:

• Planning & Zoning: (407) 599-3290
• Building & Permitting Services: (407) 599-3324
• Online permit portal: cityofwinterpark.org/self-service
• Address: 401 S. Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789

Is Winter Park the right location?

Winter Park’s combination of high impact fees, a strict short-term rental ban, and several unconfirmed dimensional standards makes it a harder ADU market than many neighboring jurisdictions. The strongest case for a Winter Park ADU is a long-term rental situation — a detached unit for family, or a 30+ day rental on a lot with good geometry, no HOA restriction, and a homeowner who has already confirmed the zoning standards.

If you are comparing Winter Park to Orlando city limits just a few miles south, the difference is meaningful: Orlando has lower effective impact fees after rebates, no STR ban (though STRs in residential zones require a separate process), and no city-level transportation impact fee stacked on top of the county fees.

Our zoning and lot check guide walks through the parcel, survey, setback, and flood zone verification process step by step. Once you have confirmed your parcel is eligible, the costs, financing, and builders pages apply to your project.