Regulatory Impact Analysis of Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards

Michael Hollar
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the official positions or policies of the Office of Policy Development and Research, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or the U.S. Government.

In 1974, the U.S. Congress passed the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.), which authorized the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish and enforce construction and safety standards for factorybuilt manufactured housing. Congress created a single, preemptive code to both ease the burden on manufacturers and establish consumer protections. Establishment of a uniform code applicable to all states would decrease production costs while ensuring a minimum level of safety. In addition, federal superintendence of manufactured homebuilding standards reduced the burden on states that lacked resources to adequately enforce construction and safety standards for manufactured homes.