FAQ · 5 min read

Does a Florida Room Count as GLA?

It depends on how the Florida room is built. The term covers a wide range of spaces — from unheated screen enclosures to fully conditioned glass rooms — and ANSI Z765 treats them very differently.

What is a Florida room?

"Florida room" is a regional term for an enclosed porch or sunroom that is typically attached to the rear of a home and enclosed with glass or screen panels. In Florida and other warm-climate states, they are common additions that extend living space toward the backyard.

The term is used loosely. Some Florida rooms are three-season enclosures with screens and no HVAC. Others are fully enclosed with impact glass, central air, tile floors, and recessed lighting — functionally indistinguishable from the main living area. The difference matters enormously for GLA purposes.

The ANSI Z765 test

For a Florida room to count as GLA under ANSI Z765, it must meet all of the following:

• Above grade — floor must be above the exterior ground level on all sides
• Fully enclosed — no open screens or gaps to the exterior; must have solid walls or insulated glass panels
• Heated and cooled — must be conditioned year-round to a habitable temperature using the home's HVAC system (a window unit typically does not qualify)
• Finished to the same standard — walls, ceiling, and floor completed at the same level as the rest of the home
• Minimum ceiling height — 7 feet for at least 50% of the floor area
• Directly accessible — connected to the main living area without passing through an exterior door or unfinished space

How most Florida rooms are classified

In practice, most Florida rooms fall into one of three categories:

Screen enclosures — the most common type in Florida, these are open to the exterior through screens. They do not count as GLA regardless of size or how nicely they are finished. Appraisers report them separately as screen enclosures and may add value for them as an amenity, but they do not add to the GLA count.

Glass-enclosed three-season rooms — enclosed with glass panels but not connected to the home's HVAC system. Because they are not heated and cooled to a habitable year-round standard, they do not qualify as GLA. They are reported as other improvements.

Fully conditioned glass rooms — enclosed with insulated glass, tied into the home's central HVAC, finished with the same materials as the rest of the home, and directly accessible from the main living area. These qualify as GLA under ANSI Z765 and should be included in the GLA count.

A common point of confusion

MLS listings in Florida frequently include Florida room square footage in the total advertised square footage — regardless of whether it qualifies as GLA. This leads to discrepancies between the listed size and the appraised GLA, which surprises buyers and sellers alike.

If you are reviewing a Florida home appraisal and the square footage seems lower than expected, a Florida room that was counted in the listing but excluded from GLA is often the explanation.

How to handle it when measuring from a floor plan

When measuring a floor plan that includes a Florida room, you need to know how the space is classified before including or excluding it from the GLA perimeter. When in doubt:

• Check whether the room has a solid roof and insulated glass versus screens
• Verify whether it is connected to the central HVAC system
• Confirm it is directly accessible from the main living area through an interior door

If it meets all criteria, include it in your GLA trace. If it does not — or if you are unsure — exclude it and note it separately. When using PlanSnapper, you can trace the main GLA perimeter separately from an enclosure and compare the two measurements.

Summary

• Screen enclosures never count as GLA
• Unheated glass rooms do not count as GLA
• A fully conditioned, enclosed, finished Florida room that meets all ANSI Z765 criteria does count as GLA
• MLS square footage often includes Florida rooms regardless of GLA qualification — expect discrepancies
• Sunroom square footage appraisal: what counts

Related: Sunroom vs screened porch GLA · What counts as GLA · Do covered porches count as GLA? · What is ANSI Z765?

Compare: GLA vs Total Square Footage: What Is the Difference? · ANSI Z765 vs BOMA: Square Footage Standards Compared