Generally Applicable Provisions and Requirements

24 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart A
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

24 C.F.R. § 3286.1 Purpose.

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this part is to establish the regulations that are applicable to HUD's administration of an installation program that meets the requirements of sections 602 (42 U.S.C. 5401) and 605 (42 U.S.C. 5404) of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. The purpose of this subpart A is to establish the regulations that are applicable with respect to all manufactured homes before they are sold to a purchaser. The requirements in subpart A apply regardless of whether the actual installation of a manufactured home is regulated by HUD or a state with a qualifying installation program. (b) Implementation. This part is effective on October 20, 2008. Implementation will be undertaken in accordance with the phased-in schedule provided by notice published in the Federal Register.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.2 Applicability.

(a) All states. The requirements in subpart A are applicable in all states. (b) States without installation programs. The requirements in subparts B through H of this part are applicable only in those states where HUD is administering an installation program in accordance with this part. (c) States with installation programs. The requirements in subpart I of this part are applicable to only those states that want to administer their own installation programs in lieu of the installation program administered by HUD in accordance with this part. (d) Exclusion. None of the requirements of this part apply to: (1) Any structure that a manufacturer certifies as being excluded from the coverage of the Act in accordance with § 3282.12 of this chapter; or (2) Temporary housing units provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to victims of Presidentially declared disasters, when the manufactured home is installed by persons holding an emergency contractor license issued by the state in which the home is sited or installed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; or (3) Any manufactured home after the initial installation of the home following the first purchase of the home in good faith for purposes other than resale. State installation programs may regulate subsequent installations of manufactured homes. (4) Any manufactured home installed on Indian reservations.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.3 Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this part, except as otherwise noted in the regulations in this part: Act means the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. 5401-5425. Certification of installation means the certification, provided by an installer under the HUD-administered installation program in accordance with § 3286.111, that indicates that the manufactured home has been installed in compliance with the appropriate design and instructions and has been inspected as required by this part. Defect means any defect in the performance, construction, components, or material of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part thereof not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended. Design Approval Primary Inspection Agency (DAPIA) means a state agency or private organization that has been accepted by the Secretary, in accordance with the requirement of subpart H of part 3282, to evaluate and either approve or disapprove manufactured home designs and quality control procedures. Distributor means any person engaged in the sale and distribution of manufactured homes for resale. HUD means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-administered installation program means the installation program to be administered by HUD, in accordance with this part, in those states that do not have a qualifying installation program. Installation means completion of work done specified in § 3286.505 to stabilize, support, anchor, and close up a manufactured home and to join sections of a multi-section manufactured home, when any such work is governed by the federal installation standards in part 3285 of this chapter or by state installation standards that are certified as part of a qualifying installation program. Installation defect means any defect in the performance, installation, installation components, installation material, or close-up of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part thereof not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended or otherwise takes the home out of compliance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in 24 CFR part 3280. Installation design means drawings, specifications, sketches, and the related engineering calculations, tests, and data in support of the installation configurations and systems to be incorporated in the installation of manufactured homes. Installation instructions means DAPIA-approved instructions provided by the home manufacturer that accompany each new manufactured home and detail the home manufacturer requirements for support and anchoring systems and other work completed at the installation site to comply with the Model Manufactured Home Installation Standards in 24 CFR part 3285 and the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in 24 CFR part 3280. Installation standards means the standards established by HUD in 24 CFR part 3285, or any set of state standards that the Secretary has determined provide protection to the residents of manufactured homes that equals or exceeds the protection provided by the standards in 24 CFR part 3285. Installer means the person or entity who is retained to engage in, or who engages in, the business of directing, supervising, controlling, or correcting the initial installation of a manufactured home, as governed by part 3285 of this chapter. Installer's license or installation license means the evidence that an installer has met the requirements for installing manufactured homes under the HUD-administered installation program. The term does not incorporate a state-issued installation license or certification, except to the extent provided in this part. The term does not imply that HUD approves or recommends an installer or warrants the work of an installer, and should not be used in any way that indicates HUD approval in violation of 18 U.S.C. 709. Lessee means the first person who leases a manufactured home from a retailer after the initial installation. Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is 8 body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on-site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. The term also includes any structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification pursuant to § 3282.13 of this chapter and complies with the installation standards established under part 3285 and the construction and safety standards in part 3280 of this chapter, but such term does not include any self-propelled recreational vehicle. Calculations used to determine the number of square feet in a structure will include the total of square feet for each transportable section comprising the completed structure and will be based on the structure's exterior dimensions measured at the largest horizontal projections when erected on-site. These dimensions will include all expandable rooms, cabinets, and other projections containing interior space, but do not include bay windows. Nothing in this definition should be interpreted to mean that a manufactured home necessarily meets the requirements of HUD's Minimum Property Standards (HUD Handbook 4900.1) or that it is automatically eligible for financing under 12 U.S.C. 1709(b). Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, or MHCC, means the consensus committee established pursuant to section 604(a)(3) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 5403(a)(3). Manufacturer means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling manufactured homes, including any person engaged in importing manufactured homes for resale. Manufacturer's certification label means the permanent label that is required by § 3280.11 of this chapter to be affixed to each transportable section of each manufactured home. Person includes, unless the context indicates otherwise, corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals, but does not include any agency of government or tribal government entity. Professional engineer or registered architect means an individual or entity: licensed to practice engineering or architecture in a state; and subject to all laws and limitations imposed by the state agency that regulates the applicable profession, and who is engaged in the professional practice of rendering service or creative work requiring education, training, and experience in architecture or engineering sciences and the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences in such professional or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning or design, and supervision of construction for the purpose of securing compliance with specifications and design for any such work. Purchaser means the first person purchasing a manufactured home in good faith for purposes other than resale. Qualified trainer means a person who has met the requirements established in subpart D of this part to be recognized as qualified to provide training to installers for purposes of the HUD-administered installation program. Qualifying installation program means an installation program that a state certifies, in accordance with the requirements set out in subpart I of this part, as meeting the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 5404(c)(3). Resident means any person residing in the manufactured home. Retailer means any person engaged in the sale, leasing, or distribution of new manufactured homes primarily to persons who in good faith purchase or lease a manufactured home for purposes other than resale, and, for purposes of this part, the term includes any manufacturer or distributor that sells a manufactured home directly to a purchaser. Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Set up means any assembly or installation of a manufactured home on-site that includes aspects of work that are governed by parts 3280 or 3285 of this chapter. State includes each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.5 Overview of installation program.

(a) HUD-administered installation program. HUD will administer the installation program, as established and set out in subparts A through H of this part, in a state unless that state administers its own qualifying installation program. The states in which HUD administers an installation program can be identified under this part by referring to a list on a Web site maintained by HUD or by calling HUD. For convenience only, the current URL of the Web site is http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/mhs/mhshome.cfm and the current toll-free telephone number to contact the HUD Office of Manufactured Housing Programs is 1-800-927-2891, extension 57. (b) State-administered installation programs. States that have qualifying installation programs, as established through the procedures set out in subpart I of this part, will administer their own programs, except for generally applicable requirements in this subpart A. (c) Manufacturer and retailer requirements. (1) Manufacturers and retailers are responsible for compliance of the home with the construction and safety standards in part 3280 of this chapter, in accordance with the Act and applicable regulations. Manufacturers and retailers must also comply with applicable requirements in this part relating to the installation of the manufactured home. (2) In the installation instructions required pursuant to part 3285 of this chapter, the manufacturer must include instructions for supporting the manufactured home or sections of homes temporarily and protecting the interior of the manufactured home or sections of homes from damage, pending the first siting of the home for occupancy. The instructions must be adequate to assure that the temporary supports and weatherization used will be sufficient to prevent the home and its transportable sections from being brought out of conformance with the construction and safety standards in part 3280 of this chapter if the home or its sections is either: (i) Stored at any location for more than 30 days; or (ii) In the possession of any entity for more than 30 days. (d) HUD oversight. The Secretary may take such actions as are authorized by the Act to oversee the system established by the regulations in this part, as the Secretary deems appropriate.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.7 Consumer information.

(a) Manufacturer's consumer manual. In each consumer manual provided by a manufacturer as required in § 3282.207 of this chapter, the manufacturer must include a recommendation that any home that has been reinstalled after its original installation should be inspected after it is set up, in order to assure that it has not been damaged and is properly installed. (b) Retailer disclosures before sale or lease. Prior to execution of the sales contract to purchase or agreement to lease a manufactured home, the retailer must provide the purchaser or lessee with a consumer disclosure. This disclosure must be in a document separate from the sales or lease agreement. The disclosure must include the following information, as applicable: (1) When the installation of the home is in a state that administers its own qualifying installation program, the consumer disclosure must clearly state that the home will be required to comply with all state requirements for the installation of the home; (2) When the installation of the home is in a state that does not administer its own qualifying installation program, the consumer disclosure must clearly state that the home will be required to comply with federal requirements, including installation in accordance with federal installation standards set forth in 24 CFR part 3285 and certification by a licensed installer of installation work, regardless of whether the work is performed by the homeowner or anyone else, and when certification includes inspection by an appropriate person; (3) For all homes, the home may also be required to comply with additional state and local requirements for its installation; (4) For all homes, additional information about the requirements disclosed under paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of this section is available from the retailer and, in the case of the federal requirements, is available in part 3286 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations and from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; (5) For all homes, compliance with any additional federal, state, and local requirements, including a requirement for inspection of the installation of the home, may involve additional costs to the purchaser or lessee; and (6) For all homes, a recommendation that any home that has been reinstalled after its original installation should be professionally inspected after it is set up, in order to assure that it has not been damaged in transit and is properly installed.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.9 Manufacturer shipment responsibilities.

(a) Providing information to HUD. At or before the time that each manufactured home is shipped by a manufacturer, the manufacturer must provide HUD, through the Production Inspection Primary Inspection Agency (IPIA), in accordance with § 3282.552 of this chapter, with information, as applicable, about: (1) The serial number and manufacturer's certification label number of the home; (2) The manufacturer of the home; and (3) The name and address of the retailer or distributor that has arranged for the home to be shipped. (b) Manufacturer's installation instructions. The manufacturer is required to provide with each manufactured home, installation designs and instructions for the installation of the manufactured home that have been approved by a DAPIA. A DAPIA must give approval only if the installation designs and instructions provide equal or greater protection than the protection provided under the installation standards.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.11 Temporary storage of units.

Pursuant to § 3286.5(c), the manufacturer is required to provide instructions for the temporary support and protection of the interior from damage of its manufactured homes or sections of homes. Every manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or installer that has possession of a home is required to support each transportable section of a manufactured home that is temporarily located on a site used by that manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or installer in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.13 Waiver of rights invalid.

Any provision of a contract or agreement entered into by a manufactured home purchaser that seeks to waive any recourse to either the HUD installation program or a state-qualifying installation program is void.

24 C.F.R. § 3286.15 Consultation with the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC).

The Secretary will seek input from the MHCC when revising the installation program regulations in this part 3286. Before publication of a proposed rule to revise these regulations, the Secretary will provide the MHCC with a 120-day opportunity to comment on such revision. The MHCC may send to the Secretary any of the MHCC's own recommendations to adopt new installation program regulations or to modify or repeal any of the regulations in this part. Along with each recommendation, the MHCC must set forth pertinent data and arguments in support of the action sought. The Secretary will either: Accept or modify the recommendation and publish it for public comment in accordance with section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), along with an explanation of the reasons for any such modification; or reject the recommendation entirely, and provide to the MHCC a written explanation of the reasons for the rejection. This section does not supersede section 605 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act.

Starting a business? Corpus forms LLCs in all 50 states and DC.