Manufactured Housing Regulations
- Manufactured homes are commonly referred to as mobile homes or trailers.Camping a€" Mobilhome et tennis image by albillottet from Fotolia.com
Manufactured houses, also referred to as trailers or mobile homes, are typically built in parts in a factory and then assembled. Modular homes are similar, except that they are required to be set on a permanent foundation, where manufactured housing is not. Regulations vary slightly from state to state, but all manufactured houses are subject to the federal guidelines established by the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and the subsequent Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards of 1976, with additions for greater protection from wind damage in 1994. - Every manufactured home must have a data plate permanently attached near the electrical panel if possible. If not, it needs to be affixed to some other visible location. The data plate needs to contain the name and address of the manufacturing company, the serial number and model of the manufactured home, as well as the statement: "This manufactured home is designed to comply with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in force at the time of manufacture."
All manufactured homes must also have a serial number that identifies the manufacturer as well as the state it was manufactured in. This information must be on the hitch or drawbar. - Every room that is lived in must have exterior windows and doors that have a glazed area of more than 8 percent of the floor area. Kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, laundry and utility rooms can be exempt from having windows and can have artificial lights. Each home must have ventilation throughout the whole house, with kitchens requiring ventilation that exhausts out of the home. Ceilings must be at least 7 feet high.
- Every home must have at least one living area at least 150 square feet in size. Bedrooms for one should have at least 50 square feet of floor space, with two people needing at least 70 square feet with an extra 50 feet for any additional people. A manufactured home must be at least 320 square feet in size.
- HUD rules and regulations are enforced by third-party agencies in each state. Manufacturers directly contract with the state and pay for the inspections and reviews of plans. States are responsible for designating a State Administrative Agency, or SAA, to carry out these duties. For the few states without an SAA, HUD performs the duties on its own.
