A key goal of this assessment is to shed light on the lost potential for various types of factory-built housing as a cost-effective alternative for satisfying a community's affordable housing needs. Employing various research methods, the research team will investigate the type, incidence, and scope of regulatory barriers that prohibit or restrict the use of various types of factory-built housing, (i.e., HUD Code manufactured homes or modular housing) in their communities. The team will assess the impacts such barriers have had on more recent efforts to plan for factory-built housing in these communities and estimate how much manufactured housing, on an aggregate basis, has not been placed in these communities as a result of the identified barriers. At the end of the contract period, the team will submit suggestions and recommendations on steps that States and localities could take to eliminate or mitigate the identified barriers, and prepare up to five (5) case studies of community efforts that have either reduced or eliminated mitigated barriers to the siting/placement of manufactured housing in their respective communities. A final report is expected in February 2025.

Note: The status of this project is ongoing.