Congress Has A Chance To Expand Affordable Homeownership. It Shouldn’t Waste It.

America’s housing affordability crisis has reached a breaking point. Home prices remain out of reach for millions of families, apartment rents continue to climb and the dream of homeownership is slipping further away for first-time buyers, working families, seniors and young Americans.

Manufactured housing should be one of the nation’s most effective answers to this crisis.

Instead, Congress is on the verge of passing housing legislation that misses the mark for the very consumers who depend most on manufactured housing as the nation’s premier source of affordable, non-subsidized homeownership.

The pending housing legislation contains worthwhile provisions, but it largely ignores the three structural barriers that have suppressed the manufactured housing industry for decades.

Manufactured housing affordability runs into three roadblocks

First, Congress fails to address exclusionary zoning that continues to keep HUD Code manufactured homes out of thousands of communities. More than twenty-five years after Congress strengthened federal preemption under the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, too many local jurisdictions simply ignore the law. Unless Congress reinforces HUD’s responsibility to enforce enhanced federal preemption, millions of Americans will continue to be denied access to the nation’s most affordable form of homeownership.

Second, the legislation fails to fully implement the “Duty to Serve” mandate enacted by Congress nearly two decades ago. Approximately 70% of manufactured home purchasers rely on personal property (chattel) financing, yet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to provide little meaningful support for this market. Without competitive financing, families pay more, qualify less often and lose opportunities for homeownership.

Third, Congress leaves the industry vulnerable to costly Department of Energy manufactured housing standards that could substantially increase the price of entry-level homes. Every unnecessary regulatory cost imposed on manufactured housing ultimately falls on consumers who can least afford it.

These are not abstract policy debates. They directly affect whether a young family can purchase its first home, whether a senior can afford to age in place, or whether a working household can escape the cycle of rising rents. Unfortunately, the legislation also reflects a broader concern within the manufactured housing industry itself.

Manufactured housing must stay centered on modest-income buyers

Rather than focusing on the mainstream HUD Code homes that have historically provided affordable homeownership to millions of Americans, recent legislative priorities have increasingly emphasized higher-cost products and market segments. While innovation is important, policymakers should never lose sight of the industry’s core mission: providing quality, affordable homes for families of modest means.

Manufactured housing should not become another niche housing product. Its greatest strength has always been delivering homeownership at a price point that conventional site-built housing simply cannot match.

Congress still has time to improve this legislation. Strengthening federal preemption, ensuring full implementation of Duty to Serve for chattel lending and protecting consumers from unnecessary regulatory costs would do far more to expand affordable homeownership than many of the provisions currently under consideration.

A path to stronger access and lower costs for manufactured housing

At a time when elected officials from both parties agree that America faces an affordable housing crisis, manufactured housing should be at the center—not the margins—of the solution.

If Congress truly wants to make homeownership more attainable, it must focus on the barriers that prevent affordable manufactured housing from reaching the families who need it most. That is the opportunity before us. It should not be missed.

Mark Weiss, CEO & President at Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners. To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.