New Steps to Boost Manufactured Housing Unveiled

Bolstered by changes to the law this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to fast-track manufactured housing construction to boost affordable housing.

HUD recently unveiled an action plan to accelerate manufactured housing construction.

The agency said it wants to update energy efficiency standards, update design and construction codes, and help scale the industry. HUD’s plan follows other federal efforts to make it cheaper to build manufactured housing, Realtor.com noted.

The 21st Century Road to Housing Act signed into law this year eliminated the requirement that homes be built on a permanent steel chassis to shave construction costs. In a complementary move, HUD started to amend its own code to permit multistory manufactured housing, which would allow larger homes to be delivered on-site.

Realtor.com reported that experts believe manufactured housing—ranging from pre-fab building materials to factory-assembled homes—is an alternative building method that can lead to cheaper homes.

Niche Product

Manufactured housing is a niche product fighting a stigma, and experts think it needs awareness and financial support to take off, Realtor.com noted.

The chassis requirement is a much-hailed change.

According to Realtor.com, experts say most manufactured homes never leave one site. And the chassis trims an estimated $10,000 from the unit’s cost. That allows starter-home construction that might benefit first-time buyers.

“For 50 years, the HUD Code has provided a national framework for safe, quality, affordable housing,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “Now, HUD is building on that foundation to expand innovation in design and construction for the next generation of manufactured homes to unleash the American Dream for even more families.”

According to HUD, manufactured housing is at an “important transition point.” With the chassis code repealed, there are new possibilities for home construction, HUD noted. The agency said now is a good time to modernize the building code to reflect innovations and construction techniques.

HUD said it will modernize two parts of the building code: construction and safety standards in Part 3280 and model installation standards in Part 3285. While the housing bill requires immediate changes, HUD said it also will update related provisions.

Congress has considered energy efficiency mandate rollbacks this year, and the housing bill put forth changes.

Abolishing the chassis requirement immediately changes the code. HUD said it will update with new standards for structural design, lifting, transportation, and connection.

New Standards

The government said it also wants to look at new standards for foundations, anchoring, connections, and setting. Policymakers believe there are a wide range of support systems and designs that might suit these new homes, Realtor.com noted.

“Removing the permanent chassis requirement is more than a technical change,” Joe Gormley, who oversees the Office of Housing and FHA, said in a statement. “It creates an opportunity to reconsider how manufactured homes are designed, transported, assembled, and regulated, so we can increase supply for first-time homebuyers.”

HUD will also consider a performance-based code for multifamily manufactured housing.

It said those larger buildings, and their common areas, shared systems, and fire separation, need to be addressed in HUD codes. The agency believes this is an opportunity to create a consistent framework for multifamily modular construction that makes it easier to build nationwide.

Finally, HUD says it must address factory certification, design approvals, and quality controls. These standards provide an on-ramp to new builders who want to enter the world of modular housing. And HUD will create case studies to show these new builders the lessons it’s learned in the process.