HUD standards define a manufactured home as a dwelling unit for use by one family, and a memorandum issued Oct. 3, 2014 states a manufactured home with more than one living area will not be covered by HUD standards. In an article in The Journal sent to MHProNews by MHARR, any manufacturer who makes a manufactured home for other than single-family use will be subject to fines and civil penalties, enforced by HUD’s General Counsel.
HUD has no legal authority to define what does or does not constitute a single-family to live in a manufactured home, as living standards and habitation are changing. Further, a manufacturer could be held liable for refusing to build a HUD Code home in a particular manner, because that could be considered discrimination.
The federal government’s authority over manufactured housing deals with safety and construction standards as well as installation. How the home is used or who lives in it belongs to the jurisdiction of state and local officials, providing the home is not taken out of compliance.
MHARR has urged members of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) to reject the notion of single-family use of manufactured home and consider instead the possibilities of multifamily manufactured home designs. ##
(Photo credit: Manufactured Housing Institute-manufactured homes under construction)
