Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To protect the quality, durability, safety and affordability of manufactured homes; to facilitate the availability of affordable manufactured homes and to increase home ownership for all Americans; to provide for the establishment of practical, uniform, and, to the extent possible, performance-based Federal construction standards for manufactured homes; to encourage innovative and cost-effective construction techniques for manufactured homes; and to protect residents of manufactured homes with respect to personal injuries and the amount of insurance costs and property damages in manufactured housing.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Manufacturers who build "manufactured homes" as defined by the Act, for sale in the United States are subject to the Act and must comply with preemptive Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (24 CFR 3280). Designs of homes are reviewed for compliance, and homes are inspected during construction by HUD-approved third-party inspection agencies. Consumers receiving defective homes have recourse, ranging from the right to be notified that their home contains a defect, to correction by the manufacturer of serious defects and imminent safety hazards. Dealers are prohibited from selling homes which they know are not in compliance with the Federal Standards. In addition, recent changes to the Act now require the Department, within 5 years of the date of enactment, to establish model installation standards for siting new manufactured homes and a program to administer and enforce those Standards. During the interim, States may continue to enforce existing requirements for installation of new manufactured homes. However, States and manufacturers are prohibited from establishing or implementing new installation standards which provide less protection to manufactured home residents then were previously in effect. While these installation standards will cover the joining of all sections, anchoring, stabilizing and support systems, and foundations on which the homes are sited, they do not provide jurisdiction over on-site improvements such as utilities, driveways, porches, etc.
Who is eligible to apply...
Any purchaser of a manufactured home built on or after June 15, 1976, for residential use is automatically covered by the program.
Credentials/Documentation
None required for the purchaser. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
Manufacturers must have designs for each manufactured home model to be produced, reviewed and approved by a HUD- approved third-party design inspection agency. Each home must be inspected during at least one phase of construction and every stage of manufacturing process inspected by a third-party in-plant inspection entity. A purchaser may file a complaint with HUD or a HUD-approved State Administrative Agency (SAA). This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular Nos. A-102 and A-110.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
Unless defects or noncompliance with the standards are found in homes, manufacturers may label and retailers may sell the units. If a purchaser complains, HUD or an SAA may request an investigation by the manufacturer or the dealer, and may then initiate enforcement actions under applicable regulations (24 CFR 3282). In addition, recent changes to the Act require the Department, within 5 years of the date of enactment, to establish a dispute resolution program to provide for the timely resolution of disputes between manufacturers, installers, and retailers regarding responsibility for repairs. However, no rules have yet to be established for the new dispute resolution program.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Each manufactured home must bear a manufacturer's certification label, certifying compliance with the Federal Standards, before the home can be sold to a retailer or purchaser.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Not applicable.
Preapplication Coordination
Not required. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
A manufacturer may appeal a preliminary determination, and be granted a hearing or presentation of views by HUD or by a State Administrative Agency (SAA) whenever homes are identified as having "serious defects" or "imminent safety hazards," and notification or correction would be required under the regulations.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
Any purchaser of a residential manufactured home built on or after June 15, 1976.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Dissemination of Technical Information
Programs which provide for the publication and distribution of information or data of a specialized or technical nature frequently through clearinghouses or libraries. This does not include conventional public information services designed for general public consumption.
Investigation of Complaints
Federal administrative agency activities that are initiated in response to requests, either formal or informal, to examine or investigate claims of violations of Federal statutes, policies, or procedure. The origination of such claims must come from outside the Federal government.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Not applicable.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
FY 03 $9,041,000; FY 04 est $13,241,000; and FY 05 est $14,000,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
86-5271-0-2-376, 86-8119-0-7-376.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Not applicable.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
Regulatory oversight of over 200,000 Manufactured homes per year.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
Not applicable.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Not applicable.
Formula and Matching Requirements
Not applicable.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Not applicable.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
Not applicable.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
A retailer is required, after selling a manufactured home, to fill out an information card listing the name of the purchaser and the home's location, and to send it to the home manufacturer. A manufacturer is required to maintain records relating to each home's production and service related work.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act, Title VI, Public Law 93-383; 42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq., as amended; Public Laws 95-128, 96-399, 100-242, 102-550 and 106-569.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards appear in the Code of Federal Regulations at 24 CFR 3280, et seq.; Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations appear at 24 CFR 3282, et seq.