WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the most extensive update to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in more than three decades, including 90 new or updated standards to increase innovation and production of homes with features that are sought-after by consumers, such as open floor plans and accessibility enhancements, open floor plans and specifications for attics. Today’s updates will expedite the home production process by cutting red tape and eliminating the need for manufacturers to obtain alternative construction approvals for materials that already meet or exceed HUD standards -- helping build more manufactured homes that will lower housing costs for American families. Updating the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, commonly referred to as the “HUD Code,” supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to expand the domestic supply of safe, affordable and energy efficient manufactured homes. For example, the final rule enables multi-unit single-family manufactured homes to be built under the HUD Code for the first time, extending the cost-saving benefits of manufactured housing to denser urban and suburban infill contexts.  

“Manufactured homes are an affordable housing option for Americans across the country,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “This update of the HUD Code is long overdue and will help increase production while also ensuring modern designs to suit the needs of families.”

HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia Gordon these changes at a press conference today in Elkhart, IN, the home of the RV and Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame.

HUD makes this change as the Department marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act. Effective as federal law on August 22, 1974, the Act authorized HUD to establish nationally preemptive federal standards for the design and construction of all manufactured homes built in the U.S. Today, the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, commonly known as the “HUD Code,” is administered by HUD’s Office of Manufactured Housing Programs and remains the guiding federal standard for ensuring that manufactured housing – the homes of more than 20 million individuals and families – remain safe, durable and affordable.

HUD recognizes the significant need to increase the supply of safe and quality affordable housing and is committed to fostering increased production and broader consumer acceptance of manufactured housing as a viable, affordable and comparable alternative to a site-built home. In addition to the final rule, HUD’s Office of Manufactured Housing Programs issued an industry-wide Alternative Construction Letter that provides the terms and conditions for manufacturers to gain approval of designs and build multi-unit manufactured homes immediately, rather than waiting six months for the standards contained in the final rule to become effective. The updates announced enact a significant number of recommendations made by the federally mandated Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee.

“The changes to the HUD Code we’ve finalized today will expand the choices among manufactured homes available for the nation’s homebuyers, while increasing the production and availability of innovative manufactured home designs that are safer, modern, and comparable to site-built homes,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia Gordon. “These updates will bring the HUD Code in alignment with today’s construction standards and reduce operational complexity for manufacturers.”

View the full list of updates to HUD’s Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.