Sheet A-3 · New Port Richey · Backyard cottages
A backyard cottage is not allowed in New Port Richey. Here is what is.
Looking at an apartment inside your New Port Richey house? Get $100 off your first job, credited once booked.
You may have pictured a small house behind yours for a parent. The city does not allow one. Tell us the address and we will show you what it does allow, an apartment inside your house.
- County
- Pasco
- Phone
- (315) 640-3590
- Offer
- $100 off your first job
City of New Port Richey, Pasco County
Here in New Port Richey
Basis: New Port Richey Land Development Code, New Port Richey Land Development Code Sec. 11.05.00
We find out what your lot allows, then put you in touch with a contractor near you, who does the building.
Tell us about the space
Send the address and what you have in mind. The rules for that lot come first.
- Your request is in Keep your phone close. A call comes from (315) 640-3590.
- The lot comes first We look at what your city or county allows at that address.
- Then a contractor You meet a local contractor and see the price in writing.
$100 off your first job We credit $100 on the first job you book with our help.
- We pay the $100, so the contractor's price stays as quoted.
- One credit per customer for each home.
- Your job must be booked by December 31, 2026.
- Say you want the credit when you book.
The Senior Home Additions promise
- 1 Your first call and your request are free.
- 2 Planning with us costs you nothing.
- 3 We check the rules at your address before anyone quotes.
General notes
Questions about this space in this town.
N1 Is there any way to get a detached cottage approved?
The city grants no variances for an accessory apartment, and the apartment must be inside the main structure. We see no path, so ask the city if you want it in writing.
N2 Why is it different from nearby cities?
Each city writes its own code. Some neighbors allow detached units, and New Port Richey does not.
N3 What can I add instead for my parent?
An apartment inside your house, up to 25 percent of its floor area. The in-law suite page covers it.
N4 What if the property is in another town?
Then the answer changes. Tell us the address and we will check the right city or county.
This fits when
Signs this suits your New Port Richey home
- You pictured a separate little house A cottage with its own porch is the usual picture, and it is the one thing the city says no to.
- Your yard is large A large yard does not change the answer, but it can make an interior apartment easier to reach through a side door.
- Privacy is the point Your parent wants her own front door and a bath nobody else uses, and an apartment inside the house can have both.
- You thought of income from a guest unit The city's accessory apartment limits shape that plan too, so ask the building office before you count on a second household.
The one thing New Port Richey allows in place of a cottage
New Port Richey permits one accessory apartment per residential lot, and only inside the main structure. It cannot take more than 25 percent of the house's gross floor area, and the city grants no variances to fit one. That is the whole menu.
A separate building in the yard is not on it. If someone has told you otherwise, ask the city for the answer in writing, and send us a copy so we can help you plan around it.
The same limit covers a unit over a detached garage, because that is also a separate building. Ask us if you are unsure which of your buildings count as the main structure.
Ask the building office before you pay for drawings, so you do not buy plans for something the city will not approve.
How to give her a door of her own anyway
A side entrance, a bedroom and a private bath can sit inside the house and still feel like a separate home. The kitchen can be a small run of cabinets with a sink. Tell the contractor your parent's daily routine and let the layout follow it.
Choose the part of the house with the most outside wall. It makes a private door easier, and it keeps the apartment away from your own living space.
If a bedroom with a window onto the yard is available, use it. Light matters to a person who spends more time at home, and a view of the garden is easier to arrange on an outside wall.
Think about the walk from her door to the car and from her door to yours. Those two paths decide how independent she feels, more than the number of square feet.
Your yard still has a job
The city bans parking in the front or side yard of a single-family lot except on the main driveway or in an accessory space that meets its standards. If your parent drives, plan where the car goes before you plan the room.
Flood is the other early question. OpenFEMA lists 1,232 claims in the community since 1978. Send us the address and we will check whether your lot sits in a flood zone. Then ask each contractor for one written price for the whole apartment.
Nothing about the yard needs to change for an interior apartment. Your garden, your shed and your fence can stay exactly as they are, which is one more reason this route suits a family that loves its yard.
The Senior Home Additions promise
- 1 Your first call and your request are free.
- 2 Planning with us costs you nothing.
- 3 We check the rules at your address before anyone quotes.
- 4 We credit the $100 the way our Terms describe.
Your agreement with the contractor you hire covers the building.
Senior Home Additions, (315) 640-3590 Read the full terms
$100 off your first job We credit $100 on the first job you book with our help.
- We pay the $100, so the contractor's price stays as quoted.
- One credit per customer for each home.
- Your job must be booked by December 31, 2026.
- Say you want the credit when you book.
The other spaces in New Port Richey
Backyard cottages in nearby towns
Send the lot first, then the plans.