In an article originally printed in the Journal, Weiss points out HUD has basically ignored the so-called vital role allegedly played by manufactured housing as affordable housing on this, the 40th Anniversary of the HUD Code program.
Weiss notes that the HUD program should be an effective partnership between federal and state governments as well as private industry and consumers to provide low-cost housing to help people of moderate means achieve the American dream of home ownership.
In its testimony Oct. 26, 2015 to the House Financial Services Committee entitled “Innovative Approaches to Address Housing Affordability,” MHARR stated, “By providing inherently affordable home ownership for individuals and families, rather than a form of direct or indirect government ‘assistance,’ or residence in publicly-owned housing, manufactured homes … offer the ‘individuality, the human dignity, the respect for individual rights [and] devotion to individual responsibility’ that President [Lyndon] Johnson envisioned at the signing ceremony for the legislation that created HUD” fifty years ago.”
Census Bureau data show that home ownership is at historic lows, and HUD says in 2013 nearly eight million lower-income households paid more than 50 percent of their income for rent and/or lived in substandard housing. HUD is failing in its mission assigned to it by Congress in the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000.
Given the dire straits of many in our midst who could benefit from affordable housing, with complete authority over the HUD Code program, one might think HUD might carry out the congressional directive in the Act of 2000, with its broad focus on advancing manufactured housing.
Weiss says, “The entire focus of the HUD program — after four decades – remains on more and more needless regulation, with more and more competition and market-killing regulatory compliance costs (which disproportionately impact smaller industry businesses), even though by all available objective metrics, the consumer safety element of the program has already been fully achieved.”
He says HUD continues to advance more and more regulations that are supposed to make the industry more competitive with the site-built home industry, but in fact make the homes cost more, and make it more difficult for the smaller industry businesses to compete.
In HUD’s MH Reflections there is not a word about promoting MH as affordable housing. Over and over again Weiss cites examples of HUD either benefiting MH competitors (site-builders, realtors, rental properties), or harming the smaller players in the industry who cannot effectively spread out costs over a smaller production and still remain competitive with the larger producers.
Noting Census Bureau data showing manufactured homes as energy efficient as comparable site-built homes, Weiss says HUD does nothing to stop the Dept. of Energy from trying to impose excessive energy standards on MH, tougher than standards on a site-built million-dollar home. MHARR opposes the standards, MHI supports them, says Weiss.
The National Fire Protection Association says HUD Code homes are safer than, or comparable to, site-built homes in fire occurrence and injuries, yet HUD is trying to squeeze in a supposed “voluntary” sprinkler standard. MHARR is opposed, MHI favors, says Weiss. In the past, MHProNews recalls MHARR pointing out that “voluntary” inclusion of some requirement or other has under HUD’s rule subsequently resulted in a mandate.
HUD has done nothing to stop the exclusion of HUD Code homes from jurisdictions around the country, even though it has an express statutory mission to do so.
HUD rigorously oversees the production of manufactured homes and allegedly promotes MH as affordable housing, while other federal agencies that deal in the financing of homes for the public—Ginnie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Administration (FHA), etc.–are not terribly assistive in creating a secondary market for MH or finding a way to arrange reasonable financing for affordable housing that another federal agency guides. Like the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Noting these are just a few of the failures of the government regulators, Weiss says, “Congress has given HUD a mandate concerning manufactured housing – in an outstanding, well-thought-out law — that HUD (with the tacit or active support of part of the industry) ignores every day. Consumers and smaller industry businesses suffer the consequences. Larger businesses, shielded by billion-dollar corporate mega-empires, at best, don’t care.
He closes by saying HUD has wasted 40 years of opportunities in helping Americans achieve home ownership, and invites support for his agenda.
For the original, click here. ##
Photo credit: MHProNews–M.Mark Weiss)
