Regulatory Barriers to Manufactured Housing Placement in Urban Communities

Manufactured housing units (built under the HUD Code or Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis) provide an important source of affordable housing within the United States. After adjusting for land costs, the per square foot cost of HUD-Code housing is less than half of standard, site-built housing. With the increased use of multi-section units and recent innovations in manufactured housing building technology, particularly integrated floor and chassis systems, many manufactured housing units are now virtually indistinguishable from conventional site-built units.

This study examines the scope and severity of state and local regulatory barriers to manufactured housing placement within CDBG-eligible communities.