U.S. House of Representatives Unanimously Passes Bills Removing Barriers to Manufactured Housing
On a March 3rd, 2020 HOUSING ALERT by the Manufactured Housing Institute (M.H.I.): The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills that would alleviate local and state barriers to manufactured housing. Both bills address distinct areas of concerns and pediments to quality affordable manufactured homeownership. Both passed unanimously Monday evening March 2nd, 2020, by The House Financial Services Committee last week. MHI has been a supporter of these bills, and yesterday’s vote demonstrates MHI’s effective and continued advocacy on behalf of the industry.
H.R. 4531, the “Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY ACT),” and H.R. 5931, the “Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act of 2020.
The YIMBY Act is bi-partisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Heck (D-WA), Hollingworth (R-IN), Clay (D-MO), Quigley (D-IL), and Herrera Beutler (R-WA), that is intended to eliminate local land-use policies preventing the development of affordable housing. The bill specifically calls for “allowing manufactured homes in areas zoned primarily for single-family residential homes.” MHI joined a group of housing industry advocates to encourage passage of this important legislation. H.R. 4531 creates a reporting requirement under the existing Consolidated Plan Reporting that would require localities that receive Community Development Block Grant (CDCBG) funds to report the extent to which they are implementing specific, pro-affordability and anti-discriminatory housing policies. Companion legislation also supported by MHI, S 1919, was introduced in the Senate in June 2019 by Senator Todd Young (R-IN).
H.R. 5931, the “Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act of 2020” requires the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to review its policies and identify any barriers to supporting mortgages under $70,000 and report to Congress within a year a plan for removing such barriers. During Committee discussions, Representative Al Lawson (D-Fl) requested clarification that the legislation would also be applicable to manufactured home loans. Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO), who authored the bill, confirmed that manufactured home loans would be included in the review. Representative Steve Silvers (R-OH) added that that the legislation would be a positive step forward for manufactured housing financing.
MHI will continue working with Congress and the Administration to help alleviate state and local impediments to manufactured housing.
