Public comment sought in effort to identify regulations that stifle affordable housing and job creation

WASHINGTON – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a top-to-bottom review of its Manufactured Housing rules as part of a broader effort to identify regulations that may be ineffective, overly burdensome, or excessively costly given the critical need for affordable housing. For the next 30 days, HUD is accepting public comments to identify existing or planned manufactured housing regulatory actions to assess their actual and potential compliance costs and whether those costs are justified against the backdrop of the nation’s shortage of affordable housing. Read HUD’s notice.

Shortly after taking office, the President issued Executive Order 13771 (“Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs”), directing federal agencies to identify or streamline regulations that are wasteful, inefficient or unnecessary. HUD Secretary Ben Carson quickly followed the President’s Executive Order by charging the Department’s Regulatory Review Task Force to identify HUD’s existing rules that may inhibit job creation or impose costs that exceed the public benefit.

Manufactured housing plays a vital role in meeting the nation’s affordable housing needs, providing nearly 10 percent of the total single-family housing stock. It’s estimated that more than 22 million American households reside in manufactured housing, particularly in rural areas where this form of housing represents an even greater share of occupied homes. The manufactured housing industry is also an important economic engine, accounting for approximately 35,000 jobs nationwide.

HUD’s regulation of manufactured housing fulfills a critical role to ensure a fair and efficient market that supplies affordable housing for households of modest incomes and protecting consumers. HUD may adopt, revise, and interpret its Manufactured Housing Rules based upon the public’s comments it receives and the recommendations of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, a statutory federal advisory committee comprised of producers or retailers of manufactured housing as well as consumers, residents and public officials.

###

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.

You can also connect with HUD on social media and follow Secretary Carson on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List

Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685