The attached November 20, 2012 MHARR letter to HUD regarding Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) design standards is self-explanatory.

In a May 7, 2012 letter, MHARR had called on HUD to defer the June 30, 2012 implementation of an Addendum to the National Design Standard (NDS) for SYP pending Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) review, consensus recommendations to the HUD Secretary and rulemaking as required by the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000.  HUD subsequently deferred the implementation date to January 1, 2013.

Now, based on resolutions adopted at the October 23-25, 2012 MHCC calling on HUD to further defer implementation of the NDS Addendum and to bring this matter to the MHCC for full consensus consideration, as well as follow-up by some manufacturers (see MHARR’s attached letter) showing that the validity of the proposed Addendum is far from settled, MHARR has taken this next step not only to demonstrate that there is no legitimate basis for a January 1, 2013 implementation date or any action by HUD regulators to bypass the MHCC, but also to indicate the unity of purpose that exists among HUD Code manufacturers on this matter.

MHARR will continue to carefully monitor this matter and keep you updated as new developments unfold