Summary of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act P

Summary of the
Manufactured Housing Improvement Act
P.L. 106-569

Per the Manufactured Housing Institute

On December 27, 2000 President Clinton signed the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act into law (P.L. No. 106-569). The Act will benefit industry and homeowners by providing a more timely method of establishing the standards to which manufactured homes are built. A private sector consensus committee will make recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at least every two years on ways to keep the HUD code up to date. The new law also clarifies the scope of federal preemption and provides HUD with additional staff and resources. Furthermore, homeowners and the industry will benefit from the requirement that each state institute an installation program and a dispute resolution program within five years of the law's enactment.

Below is a brief summary of the key provisions in the new law.

Consensus Committee

The administering organization recommends initial members and the Secretary of HUD appoints all members of the consensus committee.
Consensus committee includes three categories of seven members each: producers, users, and general interest/public officials. This will ensure the committee is balanced and will not be subject to dominance by any group. This gives all interested parties a direct voice in a consensus code revision and interpretation process.
All representatives of the users category, and three members of the general interest category, cannot have a significant financial interest in the industry, nor a significant relationship to any person engaged in the industry.
Authorizes the administering organization, upon a showing of need, to provide technical support to members of the consensus committee.
Requires the administering organization to reimburse members of the committee for their travel expenses to attend meetings.
The consensus committee is required to meet at least every two years.

Standards and Enforcement Regulations

The consensus committee makes recommendations to the Secretary who has unlimited authority to accept, reject or modify the proposed standards or enforcement regulations.
Consensus committee will make standards recommendations to the Secretary. If the Secretary does not act on the recommendations within one year, the Secretary must appear before the housing and appropriations committees in both bodies in the Congress and state the reasons for failing to act. This will provide incentive to HUD to move recommendations in a timely manner, allowing industry to keep up with the rapidly changing construction and safety technologies in order to provide consumers with the highest quality, cost-efficient homes possible.
The consensus committee is also authorized to recommend revisions to regulations to the Secretary of HUD. However, if the Secretary does not respond to the regulatory recommendations, he or she is not required to appear before Congress to explain.

Installation

Not later than 18 months after the appointments of members of the Consensus Committee are completed, the Committee will develop and submit to the Secretary proposed model standards. Such standards shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent with the home designs approved by a DAPIA, and the designs and instructions provided by manufacturers. After receiving recommendations from the consensus committee, the Secretary will have another 12 months to develop and establish the model standards.
State installation programs, established pursuant to state law, must include standards that meet or exceed the protection provided by the model standards that will be developed by the HUD Secretary. HUD's standards must also, to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent the home designs approved by a DAPIA, and the designs and instructions provided by manufacturers.
The consensus committee and the Secretary are required under the Act to consider whether proposed standards are reasonable for the particular geographic reason, and to consider the probable effect of such standards on the cost of the homes.
State installation programs must include installation standards, training and licensing of installers, and an appropriate level of inspection of installation of the homes.
Requires manufacturers to provide design and instructions that have been approved by a design approval primary inspection agency (DAPIA). Following the establishment of the model standards, a DAPIA may not approve designs unless they provide equal or greater protection than the model standards.
If any state does not enact a program under state law, within five years from the enactment date of the Act, HUD will develop and administer such a program.
In states where the Secretary implements a program, the Secretary may contract with an agent for implementation, except that such agent shall not be a person or entity (other than a government), nor an affiliate or subsidiary of such a person or entity that has entered into a contract with the Secretary to implement any other regulatory program under this Act.
During the five-year period from the enactment date of the Act, no State or manufacturer may lower existing state or manufacturer's installation standards.

Dispute Resolution

Requires states to develop a dispute resolution process. This will end the "ping-pong" problem wherein consumers are sometimes shifted between manufacturers, installers, and retailers regarding responsibility for correction of defects.
States shall have a program for the timely resolution of disputes between manufacturers, retailers, and installers as to the responsibility for the correction or repair of defects, which are reported within one year beginning on the date of installation.
An approved program does not have to be established pursuant to state law.
If any state does not enact a program within five years from enactment of the Act, HUD will develop and administer such a program.
In states where the Secretary implements a program, the Secretary may contract with an agent for implementation except that such agent shall not be a person or entity (other than a government), nor an affiliate or subsidiary of such a person or entity that has entered into a contract with the Secretary to implement any other regulatory program under this Act.

Preemption

The new statutory language clarifies the original intent of Congress that the Federal preemption should be broadly and liberally construed. (See Liberty Homes and Spaulding County cases). The new language also expands the scope of the statutory preemption by codifying a HUD regulation which precludes disparate State or local requirements or standards from affecting the uniformity and comprehensiveness of the Federal standards or affecting the Federal superintendence of the manufactured housing industry. Overall the preemption is strengthened.