The Hud Code for Manufactured Homes

Since 1974, manufactured homes, the modern term for mobile homes, have been required to meet strict certification standards from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) that focus on regulations regarding design and construction, strength and durability, transportability and fire resistance, among other things.

Manufactured homes are factory-built homes, built on a permanent chassis and then transported to their sites using removable axles and wheels. Beginning with the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, all manufactured homes must pass a standard national HUD examination. In 2000, Congress updated the 1974 Act.

Building units in the factory is estimated to cut costs by about 40 percent; even after the expenses of transporting and setting the home onto a site. At a time when house price appreciations are making low-income housing harder to find and less affordable, there is an obvious reason for the interest in manufactured housing by Wall Street. 

HUD code also sets performance standards for heating, plumbing, air-conditioning, thermal and electrical systems. Each home is required to display a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section.

Because of the HUD code, manufactured home construction and safety standards are often indistinguishable from traditional stick-built housing. They can have pitched roofs, vaulted ceilings, two-storeys and amenities like spa-like bathrooms, fireplaces and wrap-around porches.

The HUD-Code is periodically updated based on recommendations of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, composed of a balanced group of users, manufacturers, general interest and public officials who meet on a regular basis to work on recommendations for revisions to the MHCSS.