{"id":152791,"date":"2026-02-12T09:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152791\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:40:11","slug":"florida-granny-flat-bill-could-expand-backyard-housing-in-tampa-bay-area-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152791\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida \u2018Granny Flat\u2019 bill could expand backyard housing in Tampa Bay area"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

Florida senators unanimously approved a bill which would require cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units on single-family lots.<\/p>\n

Supporters say ADU’s could expand affordable housing, while critics raise concerns about parking and infrastructure strain.<\/p>\n

The bill now heads to the Florida House for consideration.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida Senate<\/a> bill unanimously approved last week would require cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods, potentially expanding backyard housing throughout the Tampa Bay area.<\/p>\n

What we know<\/p>\n

Supporters say the measure could help address Florida\u2019s affordable housing<\/a> shortage by creating smaller, lower-cost rental options.<\/p>\n

Critics warn it could strain infrastructure and alter the character of quiet neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying<\/p>\n

In Seminole Heights, Jeremy Vanderloop has already built a two-story ADU in his backyard.<\/p>\n

“Helps offset a bit of cost because of the rise of insurance and taxes,” he said. “It\u2019s also a blessing to the less fortunate.”<\/p>\n

READ: Pinellas leaders, developer opens affordable senior housing community in Largo: ‘We celebrate stability’<\/a><\/p>\n

Vanderloop originally built the 790-square-foot structure to help house his family members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That changed when he met Kathy Williams, a widow from his church who was struggling to find an affordable place to live.<\/p>\n

“She ended up becoming homeless six months after her husband died,” he said. “She was born and raised in Seminole Heights.”<\/p>\n

Local perspective<\/p>\n

Williams says rising rent made it difficult to stay in the neighborhood she had called home for decades.<\/p>\n

“I looked at multiple apartments but by the time you added your rent and all fees, I just couldn\u2019t afford it,” she said.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Williams moved into Vanderloop\u2019s backyard ADU.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She says moving into the smaller space gave her stability and helped her regain financial footing.<\/p>\n

READ: Lakeland Habitat for Humanity launches ‘legacy’ home program for seniors to help prevent homelessness<\/a><\/p>\n

“After going through the loss of my husband, I needed something where I felt comfort,” she said.<\/p>\n

Williams is now living in another granny flat in her brother\u2019s backyard, at her childhood home, only a few doors down from Vanderloop\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

“After living here for two years, this helped me,” she concluded. “I realized that I could live in this amount of space.”<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

The so-called “granny flat” bill is headed to the Florida House, where lawmakers will decide whether it ultimately reaches Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

Information for this story came from statements from the Florida Legislature, interviews with residents who built ADU\u2019s and reporting from previous coverage on FOX 13 News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief Florida senators unanimously approved a bill which would require cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[8645,8646,1571,20352,73710,9129,4215,73711,73709,4439,135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-152791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-accessory-dwelling-units","9":"tag-adu","10":"tag-affordable-housing","11":"tag-backyard","12":"tag-backyard-adu","13":"tag-florida-house","14":"tag-florida-senate","15":"tag-jeremy-vanderloop","16":"tag-kathy-williams","17":"tag-seminole-heights","18":"tag-tampa","19":"tag-tampa-headlines","20":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}