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ADU Options in The Villages and Surrounding Communities

What Villages residents actually need to know about adding a caregiver cottage or secondary dwelling — deed restrictions first, county rules second, and the surrounding communities that offer more flexibility.

By Andy West 8 min read

Most people come to The Villages by choice. They spent years imagining a retirement community built for active living, researched it carefully, and then moved here deliberately. The rules — the CDDs, the architectural standards, the 55-plus requirement — were part of the appeal, not despite it. They are part of what makes the neighborhood work.

This guide is written with that in mind. It is not a guide to working around The Villages’ rules. It is a guide to understanding what those rules actually say about secondary dwellings, how they interact with Sumter, Marion, and Lake County ordinances, and where realistic pathways exist for keeping family close — whether that means a caregiver cottage, an in-law suite, or a property in one of the surrounding communities where more options are available.

Your Declaration of Restrictions comes before everything else

The Villages is not governed by a traditional homeowners association. It is governed by a network of Community Development Districts — seventeen of them, each with its own board of supervisors and its own Declaration of Restrictions. Those Declarations are recorded legal documents with the force of private contract, and they govern what you can build, modify, or add to your property.

Before looking at any county ordinance, find your Declaration. Go to districtgov.org, navigate to your district, and download the current Declaration. Read the sections that address exterior modifications and accessory structures. That document — not this guide, not anything you read on a forum — is what governs your project.

If the Declaration prohibits detached accessory structures, the county ordinance is irrelevant. A Sumter County Family Accessory Cottage permit cannot override a deed restriction. The Architectural Review Committee must approve any external modification before a county permit can issue, and an ARC denial ends the process.

For questions about a specific proposal, Community Standards answers directly: (352) 751-3912 or DeedCompliance@DistrictGov.org.

Three counties, three sets of rules

The Villages census-designated place spans Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties. The master-planned community — including newer expansion neighborhoods — reaches across roughly 57 square miles of all three. Which county your parcel sits in determines which county code applies once you get past the deed restriction question.

Pull your parcel record from the appropriate county property appraiser and confirm the county field before any other analysis. The addresses can be misleading — a “Lady Lake” address may be in Lake County, and newer expansion parcels marketed as “The Villages” may be in Marion County.

  • Sumter County parcels: governed by Sumter’s Family Accessory Cottage program (LDC §13-611)
  • Marion County parcels: governed by Marion County’s guest cottage (§4.2.6) or accessory apartment (§4.3.18) framework
  • Lake County parcels: governed by Lake County’s guest house rules, which currently prohibit independent kitchens
  • Incorporated city parcels (Wildwood, Lady Lake, Leesburg): governed by that city’s own LDC

What Sumter County’s ordinance actually allows

Sumter County’s framework for secondary dwellings is called the Family Accessory Cottage, and the name is a precise description of what it permits. These are the rules that apply to Sumter County parcels that are not separately prohibited by deed restrictions:

Who can occupy it. The cottage must be occupied by a member of the family residing in the principal structure. The ordinance defines the qualifying relationships narrowly: parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the owner or the owner’s spouse. Everyone else — including in-laws beyond parents-in-law, extended family, close friends, and any rental tenant — is excluded. A signed affidavit of family relationship is required at permit application.

Lot size. Minimum half-acre. Aggregated lots can qualify if a legal document prohibiting subdivision is recorded.

Cottage size. At least 400 sq ft, maximum 1,200 sq ft or 40% of the primary dwelling’s gross floor area, whichever is less. The cottage and primary structure must both be site-built (no manufactured homes, park models, or RVs).

Shared access. The cottage and primary dwelling share the same driveway and access point. A separate entrance drive is not permitted.

What it cannot be. The cottage cannot be sold, rented, or transferred separately from the primary parcel. It is multigenerational housing, not an income property.

See the Sumter County page for the full permit process and fee range.

The caregiver case

For many Villages residents, the realistic question is not about a family member moving in — it is about keeping a caregiver close. As residents age in place, a live-in nurse or health aide who can be on-site quickly becomes more valuable than one who commutes.

Federal HOPA law (the Housing for Older Persons Act) includes a specific carve-out here: units occupied solely by persons who are necessary to provide medical, health, or nursing care services may be excluded from the community’s 55-plus occupancy calculation. A dedicated caregiver cottage does not threaten the community’s HOPA qualification — it is explicitly contemplated by the statute.

That removes one federal-law barrier. The deed restriction barrier remains. ARC approval is still required for any detached structure, and your Declaration may or may not permit one regardless of the occupant’s purpose. The practical first step is a conversation with Community Standards before spending anything on design — describe the specific proposal and ask whether it can proceed to ARC review.

Important: “caregiver” in the HOPA context means someone providing medical or nursing care. A family member or adult child who is simply there to help around the house does not qualify for this exemption under HOPA. The distinction matters for age-compliance purposes even though Sumter County’s family-occupancy test is a separate question.

Surrounding communities with more flexibility

Properties just outside The Villages’ deed-restricted footprint often have the same rural character, the same proximity to the community’s commercial areas and amenities, and meaningfully fewer covenant constraints.

Lady Lake (Lake County). Lady Lake sits directly on The Villages’ eastern boundary — many streets blend seamlessly from one into the other. Properties inside Lady Lake’s city limits are governed by the city’s own LDC rather than The Villages’ deed restrictions, and Lake County rules apply to unincorporated parcels. Lady Lake has historically permitted accessory structures with standard setback compliance. Call Lady Lake’s Building & Zoning at (352) 751-1502 with your parcel ID to confirm current rules.

Leesburg (Lake County). About ten miles east, Leesburg is a larger city with its own long-standing ADU provisions and no 55-plus covenant layer. Properties here are outside The Villages entirely and subject to Leesburg and Lake County rules. Lake County’s guest house framework currently prohibits independent kitchens, but Leesburg’s own code may differ — confirm directly with Leesburg’s Community Development Department at (352) 728-9786.

Unincorporated Sumter County (Oxford, outside CDD boundaries). Sumter County has unincorporated properties that sit outside The Villages’ CDD deed-restriction footprint — particularly in the Oxford and Bushnell areas. These parcels are governed only by the Sumter County LDC, not by any Villages Declaration of Restrictions. The Family Accessory Cottage program applies with no additional covenant layer. Half-acre minimum lot, family occupancy required. Confirm your parcel’s CDD status at the Sumter County Property Appraiser.

Marion County expansion parcels. Newer Villages expansion neighborhoods in Marion County carry their own deed restrictions separate from the Sumter CDDs. Marion County’s underlying code is somewhat more flexible — it has dedicated guest cottage and accessory apartment provisions without the rental prohibition that Sumter’s ordinance imposes. Review the specific covenants for any Marion County parcel; the expansion neighborhoods may have newer, less settled deed restriction language than the original Sumter core.

What to know before you start

The Villages works because its residents chose it and continue to choose it — the community standards are upheld by neighbors, not just by a distant management company. Any project that touches the exterior of your property is visible to those neighbors, and the ARC process reflects that.

That is not an obstacle to working around. It is the environment you are working in. The projects that succeed here are the ones that are proposed transparently, designed to be compatible with the surrounding homes, and pursued with patience for the ARC review timeline. A caregiver cottage that looks like it belongs there, proposed by a homeowner who has read their Declaration and talked to Community Standards first, has a real path forward. A project that treats the ARC as bureaucratic friction to minimize rarely ends well.

The deed restriction question and the county ordinance question are two separate steps — and the deed restriction question always comes first.

Key contacts:

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Last reviewed: April 23, 2026. This guide is informational. Deed restrictions are legal documents — consult a Florida-licensed attorney before relying on any interpretation of your specific Declaration of Restrictions.