14 years has gone by since Congress passed what is styled as, PUBLIC LAW 106–569—DEC. 27, 2000 114 STAT. 2997. Congress found that:
‘‘SEC. 602. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) manufactured housing plays a vital role in meeting the housing needs of the Nation; and
‘‘(2) manufactured homes provide a significant resource for affordable homeownership and rental housing accessible to all Americans.
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—
‘‘(1) to protect the quality, durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured homes;
‘‘(2) to facilitate the availability of affordable manufactured homes and to increase homeownership for all Americans;
‘‘(3) to provide for the establishment of practical, uniform, and, to the extent possible, performance-based Federal construction standards for manufactured homes;
‘‘(4) to encourage innovative and cost-effective construction techniques for manufactured homes;
‘‘(5) to protect residents of manufactured homes with respect to personal injuries and the amount of insurance costs and property damages in manufactured housing, consistent with the other purposes of this section…
Revisiting the Act
When the headline reads, “revisit” that doesn’t mean “change.” Manufactured housing need to revisit this important piece of legislation in the sense that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released last summer cited.
The GAO acknowledged that the law has not yet been fully implemented. See the MHIA 2000 and the GAO report, both attached as downloads below.
The GAO summary said in part:
“Facilitate the availability of affordable manufactured homes. Owners of manufactured homes have lower monthly housing costs than site-built owners and apartment renters, but high financing costs often keep these homes from being even more affordable. HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has two insurance programs for manufactured home loans.
Although most manufactured homes are titled or owned as personal property, HUD’s programs primarily insure loans on manufactured homes financed as real estate. Additionally, owners of manufactured homes are more likely to have higher-priced financing than owners of site-built homes. The 2000 Act required HUD to review the effectiveness of the FHA programs, but HUD has not developed a plan to do so. Such research would help HUD determine whether and how it might further facilitate the availability of affordable manufactured homes.”
MH professionals and associations need to revisit the MHIA 2000 with an eye to what happened that allowed this bill to pass and become law. For example, how the two national associations and motivated state and community association then – and now – could synergize to advance the industry’s cause. MHProNews plans to feature commentary in the 1st quarter new year 2015 from professionals who experienced the passage of the MHIA 2000 to see what lessons can be learned and applied to advance the industry to more profitable levels today. ##
(Graphic: MHIA 2000, photo MHLivingNews.com)
