The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) announced that on February 11, the MHCC General Subcommittee will conduct a conference call meeting to follow-up on decisions made by the full MHCC last December to address “multi-family aspects of manufactured housing.”

This comes in response to a guidance memorandum issued by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) manufactured housing program administrator on October 3, 2014, warning of enforcement action against any HUD-labeled home designed and built for “multi-family or non-single-family residential use.”  This warning was based on section 3280.2 of the HUD standards which provides that a manufactured home, as a “dwelling unit,” must be “designed to be occupied by one family.”

It is the opinion of MHARR that the “single-family” restriction contained in 3280.2 exceeds relevant statutory authority.  While the statutory definition of “manufactured home” states that it is a “dwelling,” the language does not otherwise define or limit a “dwelling,” expressly or implicitly, to being a “single-family” home. Thus, MHARR believes there is no statutory support for the 3280.2 restriction of a “dwelling unit” to occupancy “by one family.”

Although HUD regulatory requirements can be imposed relating to the design, construction and installation of a home based on the specific authority of the federal manufactured housing law, MHARR believes that a HUD restriction on the sale of a home, based on its intended, actual or possible use by the purchaser, is not permissible. They also believe that based on current law, so long as a manufactured home is designed, constructed, delivered and installed in accordance with applicable HUD standards and regulations, and is not subsequently taken out of compliance, its end use by a purchaser is, and should be, of no legitimate concern to HUD.  Nor should HUD, given evolving legal standards, be involved in defining or deciding who or what constitutes a “family” or, by extension, a “single-family.”

Consistent with these positions, the MHCC voted to refer the issue of multi-family manufactured homes to its General Subcommittee for further review and development of relevant recommendations. ##

See related article on MHARR’s new president, M. Mark Weiss, JD, linked here.

(Graphic Credit: MHARR logo)

 

Article Submitted by Sandra Lane to – Daily Business News- MHProNews.