Some 70,000 Delawareans live in manufactured homes, per the Delaware Public. At least 10 percent of the housing stock in the state is manufactured housing.
Many of the state’s factory built homes are older, and in need of repair.
In Kent and Sussex counties, there are fewer people renting homes than there are people who own manufactured homes.
In Kent County, manufactured homes make up 15 percent of owner-occupied housing. In Sussex, the figure is 18 percent.
56 percent of the state’s manufactured homes sit on leased land, according to the 2014 Delaware Housing Needs Assessment.
Due to aging, many of the pre- and post-HUD Code homes throughout the state need some major repairs.
Unfortunately, most emergency housing programs that could help with the cost of repairs are not available to that 56 percent of homeowners who lease their land. To help these families find some relief, $100,000 out of a new $600,000 rehabilitation and emergency home issues program was set aside specifically for manufactured housing.
As the Daily Business News reported, the program was launched in March by the Milford Housing Development Corporation. The funding came from the Delaware State Housing Authority.
“This is not a hand out, but a hand up by helping those in emergency situations. Public-private partnerships like this help leverage our resources to assist as many people as possible,” said Governor John Carney.
According to Delaware Public, more than half of the homes repaired through the program between April and June were manufactured homes, of which the majority were on leased land.
“Because that is a pretty big problem statewide, because the mobile and manufactured housing stock is aging,” said Susan Eliason, Director of Housing Development for the State Housing Authority. “If history is anything to go by, that’s where a lot of the calls come in: people who have mobile homes.”
Most repairs made so far have pertained to leaky roofs and plumbing issues.
“This is just another way that we’re able to to help people in homes that may have had an emergency situation and get them back to where they have pride in their home,” said Milford Mayor Bryan Shupe. ## (News.)
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