ADU Pass
Melbourne Beach
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Melbourne Beach, Brevard County, Florida navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Florida's ADU statute is enabling, not preemptive. Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) wind-design (per ASCE 7-22) governs structural review.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 200 | $3,000 | $60,000 | $63,000 |
| 600 | 600 | $3,000 | $180,000 | $183,000 |
| midpoint | 550 | $3,000 | $165,000 | $168,000 |
| maximum | 900 | $3,000 | $270,000 | $273,000 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of an ADU is generally permitted; Florida landlord-tenant law (Chapter 83 FS) governs.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions Florida § 509.032 partially preempts STR regulation; vacation rentals must register with FDBPR. Local rules on noise, parking, and density may still apply. HOA covenants frequently restrict STR independently.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental to non-resident requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation by owner is permitted with restrictions on signage, customer traffic, and outside employees.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio / workshop is a permitted accessory use in residential zones.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture is permitted in residential zones; livestock is district-dependent.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted; § 193.703 FS granny-flat assessment reduction available for qualifying senior-relative additions.
Incentives
Contacts
Utilities
- Water: City of Melbourne Utilities (water; regional supplier) · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: City of Melbourne Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Florida Power & Light (FPL) · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: TECO Peoples Gas (where available); LP otherwise · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 16mo
Modular pathway inspectors are experienced with modular
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Florida Chapter 720 FS does not preempt HOA ADU bans; covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- flood-zone
FEMA VE / AE flood zones extensive on barrier-island and near-coastal parcels; elevation certificates, flood-resistant construction, and (in VE) pile/breakaway-wall design required. - coastal-commission
Florida Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) per Chapter 161 FS / Chapter 62B-33 FAC governs Atlantic-front parcels; state DEP CCCL permit required seaward of the line in addition to local approval. Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) per § 163.3178 FS adds Comprehensive Plan scrutiny on residential intensification.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Town of Melbourne Beach Code of Ordinances — Accessory Use, adopted 2014-01-01, last amended 2022-01-01
- 2007-07-01 — Florida Statutes § 163.31771 enacted (state-statute)
Enabling statute authorizing local governments to adopt ADU ordinances on parcels zoned for single-family residential use.
Effect: Set the permissive Florida ADU framework still in force in 2026. - 2023-03-29 — Live Local Act (SB 102) signed (state-statute)
Affordability framework with by-right multifamily preemption on commercial / industrial / mixed-use parcels for projects with at least 40% affordable units.
Effect: Indirect ADU effect: shifts secondary-unit pressure toward larger preempted multifamily on non-residential parcels; does not directly compel ADU approvals in single-family zones.
Known issues (1)
- other — Atlantic-front parcels seaward of the CCCL require state DEP Coastal Construction Control Line permit (Chapter 62B-33 FAC) in addition to town approval; FEMA VE zones common.
Brevard County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Brevard County regulates accessory dwelling units on unincorporated parcels through the Brevard County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62 (Land Development Regulations), administered by Brevard County Planning & Development. Brevard is Florida's Space Coast — a long, narrow county stretching roughly 72 miles along the Atlantic from Titusville south to Micco, bracketed inland by the St. Johns River floodplain and eastward by the Indian and Banana River lagoons. The county hosts Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Space Force Base, both of which produce federal-overlay considerations. § 163.31771 FS is permissive only; Brevard's ADU framework is local.
- Brevard County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62 — Land Development Regulations
- Florida Statutes § 163.31771 — Accessory Dwelling Units
State-floor overlay: No Florida statewide ADU preemption floor exists as of April 2026. SB 48 / HB 313 (2026 session) is the active preemption bill. Brevard retains full discretion until enactment.
County regulatory overlays
Brevard County administers flood, coastal, lagoon-protection, airport/spaceport, and critical-habitat overlays that cut across jurisdictions. The Indian River Lagoon system is one of North America's most biodiverse estuaries and is protected by lagoon-setback and septic-upgrade ordinances following the Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) program. Barrier-island parcels face VE-zone flood mapping; mainland riverine parcels face AE-zone mapping along the St. Johns River.
- FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — AE and VE zones are extensive on the barrier islands, the Indian and Banana river shorelines, and along the St. Johns River floodplain on the western county boundary. ADU construction in SFHA requires elevation, flood vents, and flood-resistant materials; VE zones add pile-foundation or breakaway-wall requirements.
- Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) — Barrier-island and near-coastal mainland parcels fall within CHHA and face heightened Comprehensive Plan review on intensification of residential use. An ADU in CHHA is not prohibited but is more heavily scrutinized.
- Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — Atlantic-front parcels (primarily inside the incorporated beachside cities, but including some unincorporated pockets) are seaward of the CCCL and require a state DEP CCCL permit in addition to county approval.
- Indian River Lagoon Protection Overlay / SOIRL Program — Parcels along the Indian River Lagoon face enhanced septic-system review and, in some districts, mandatory sewer-connection or advanced-treatment septic requirements. An ADU adding bedroom count on a lagoon-adjacent septic parcel triggers SOIRL upgrade review.
- Patrick Space Force Base / Kennedy Space Center AICUZ — Air Installation Compatible Use Zones around Patrick SFB and Kennedy Space Center impose noise-attenuation and accident-potential restrictions on new residential construction. Affects a narrow slice of mainland-south-Brevard and north-Brevard parcels.
- Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) — Western-mainland Brevard tracts abutting pine-flatwoods and palmetto-scrub face moderate WUI exposure. Practical enforcement is maturing.
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Permits for ADUs on unincorporated Brevard County parcels are issued by Brevard County Planning & Development. The county combines zoning, building, and floodplain review under a single intake. Brevard's geography produces meaningful divergence between barrier-island and mainland parcels: barrier-island parcels (Merritt Island, South Patrick Shores) face extensive VE-zone flood mapping and hurricane-wind exposure, while inland-mainland parcels abutting the St. Johns River face AE flooding and in some cases agricultural-conservation overlay.
Florida state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Florida does NOT currently have a statewide ADU preemption law in effect. Florida Statutes § 163.31771 (enacted 2004, last amended 2020) is permissive — it authorizes local governments to adopt ADU ordinances but does not require them to. ADU rules are therefore set municipality-by-municipality: Miami-Dade, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and a growing set of Florida cities have their own ordinances; many smaller counties and cities still prohibit or restrict ADUs by default. A preemption bill (SB 48 / HB 313) is pending in the 2026 legislative session and is likely to pass given that its 2025 predecessor cleared the Senate 37-0 and House 97-10 before dying on a procedural amendment dispute.
- Florida Statutes § 163.31771 — Accessory dwelling units — Permissive (not mandatory) statute. Defines an ADU as 'an ancillary or secondary living unit, that has a separate kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area, existing either within the same structure, or on the same lot, as the primary dwelling unit.' Authorizes — but does not require — local governments to adopt ordinances allowing ADUs in single-family residential zones. Contains no size caps, no owner-occupancy rules, no HOA preemption. All substantive rulemaking is local.
State financing programs
Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) does not operate an ADU-specific state loan or grant program. FHFC's primary affordable-housing lever at the ADU tier is the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), which distributes state documentary-stamp-tax revenue to all 67 counties and 52 entitlement cities for locally-administered housing programs — some of which may fund ADU construction at the local level (notably Orange County's Affordable ADU Loan Program, run through the Orange County Housing Finance Trust). FHFC's FL Assist down-payment programs and HFA Preferred / HFA Advantage conventional loans apply to ADU-eligible primary residences but do not single out ADUs. Proposed CS/SB 1440 would create a state property-tax exemption of up to 100% of assessed value for an ADU rented at affordable rates.
State housing programs
Florida does not currently operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog (unlike California or Washington). State-level ADU implementation is driven by (a) the permissive § 163.31771 which lets willing jurisdictions adopt ordinances, (b) SHIP pass-through funding to local ADU programs (Orange County's Affordable ADU Loan Program is the model), and (c) the affordable-housing property-tax exemption under the Live Local Act (SB 102 / SB 328). The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) — now reorganized as the Department of Commerce — provides technical assistance to local governments but no statewide ADU-specific mandate or program. Major counties (Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Broward) have published their own ADU ordinances and guidance documents.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 32951
Post Office
- 504 Ocean Ave, 32951