Updated about 5 years ago on . Most recent reply

Zoning Question - House Hacking Palm Beach & Broward
I am looking to house hack my first investment property in Palm Beach or Broward county. I have been looking for small multifamily property or a single family house with a detached unit or mother in law suite.
I was about to make an offer on a single family home in Palm Beach county with a detached 1/1 unit (unit is a legal structure with permits). My realtor called the zoning office & they said after I moved out of the property, it would be considered an illegal rental if I had 2 separate lease agreements on the house & detached unit because the house is zoned single family. I had a very hard time believing this.
Is this true? Or did the zoning office employee misunderstand the question?
Most Popular Reply

Zoning codes and ordinance codes govern separate aspects of properties and their use. Zoning covers land use whereas there can be some ordinances that limit otherwise legal uses under zoning. This seems to be the case in your situation; the structures may follow all density limits, setbacks, height restrictions, parking requirements, lot coverage ratios, etc. of the single-family zoning code, but the use of the structures may be governed further by the ordinances of the municipality, disallowing absentee owners from renting out each structure under a separate lease. They likely want to discourage absentee owners.
Another common ordinance that restricts the use of a compliant structure is one that limits the number of non-related or non-family individuals in the same dwelling unit. This is something to give a particular look at when considering renting out a property by the bedroom.
Keep in mind the municipality you're in. If you're in unincorporated Palm Beach County, all you need to look into is the county's zoning code and ordinances. If you're within an incorporated city, the city's codes will supersede.