President Trump’s Deregulation of Manufactured Housing Has Officially Come to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it is undertaking a “top-to-bottom review of its manufactured housing rules as a broader effort to identify regulations that may be ineffective, overly burdensome, or excessively costly given the critical need for affordable housing.”
“Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued Executive Order 13771 (Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs), directing federal agencies to identify or streamline regulations that are wasteful, inefficient or unnecessary,” the release states. “HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson quickly followed the President’s Executive Order by charging the Department’s Regulatory Review Task Force to identify HUD’s existing rules that may inhibit job creation or impose costs that exceed the public benefit.”
The language of the Executive Order also mandates that the agency eliminate two existing regulations anytime a new regulation is introduced.
Review Intended to Facilitate Availability of Affordable Manufactured Homes
HUD says it is conducting the review as part of its overall effort to identify ways to reduce its operating costs. That includes scaling back or eliminating regulations.
“This review is intended to ensure that HUD can more effectively meet its responsibilities to facilitate the availability of affordable manufactured homes and encourage innovation and cost-effective construction techniques for manufactured housing while continuing to protect consumers by ensuring quality, durable, safe and affordable manufactured homes,” HUD continued.
22 Million American Households Live In Manufactured Homes, Industry Provides 35,000 Job Nationwide
HUD notes that manufactured housing “plays a vital role in meeting the nation’s affordable housing needs, providing nearly 10 percent of the total single-family housing stock.”
“It’s estimated that more than 22 million American households reside in manufactured housing, particularly in rural areas where this form of housing represents an even greater share of occupied homes,” the release states. “The manufactured housing industry is also an important economic engine, accounting for approximately 35,000 jobs nationwide.”
HUD Asks For Feedback From Public and Manufactured Home Stakeholders Within Next 30 Days
To commence the process, HUD is asking the public for feedback, in order to help it “identify existing or planned manufactured housing regulatory actions to assess their actual and potential compliance costs and whether those costs are justified against the backdrop of the nation’s shortage of affordable housing,” the agency says in the release.
In its notice of regulatory review, HUD says it is inviting the public to comment “to assist in identifying manufactured housing regulations that may be outmoded, ineffective or excessively burdensome and should be modified, streamlined, replaced or repealed.” Feedback will be collected for the next 30 days.
“HUD’s regulation of manufactured housing fulfills a critical role to ensure a fair and efficient market that supplies affordable housing for households of modest incomes and protecting consumers,” HUD said in it’s announcement. “HUD may adopt, revise, and interpret its manufactured housing rules based upon the public comments it receives and the recommendations of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, a statutory federal advisory committee comprised of producers OR retailers of manufactured homes as well as consumers, residents and public officials.”
Independent Manufactured Housing Retailers and Installers Should Provide Feedback From Their Perspective
More than half of all manufactured homes purchased in the nation are sold by independent retailers utilizing independent installers. Both entities are governed by the rules and regulations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As important stakeholders in the manufactured housing industry, their feedback should be offered and considered important in the rule-making process.
To read the full notice from HUD and learn how to respond, click here.
