Manufactured Housing Institute Issues Public Comment on FEMA Notice

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Lesli Gooch, CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute, Arlington, Virginia, has issued a public comment on the Federal Emergency Management Agency notice entitled "Request for Information on FEMA Programs, Regulations, and Policies". The comment was written on July 21, 2021, and posted on July 22, 2021:

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The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) is pleased to submit comments in response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) request for information about specific FEMA programs, regulations, and policies the agency should consider modifying or repealing.

MHI is the only national trade association representing all segments of the factory-built housing industry. MHI members include manufactured home builders, lenders, home retailers, community owners and managers, suppliers and others serving or affiliated with the industry, as well as 48 affiliated state organizations. In 2020, our industry produced nearly 95,000 new homes, accounting for approximately nine percent of new single-family home starts. These homes are produced by 33 U.S. corporations in 136 plants located across the country. MHI members are responsible for close to 85 percent (85%) of manufactured homes produced each year.

Manufactured housing is the largest form of unsubsidized affordable housing in the U.S. and the only type of housing built to a federal construction and safety standard (i.e., the HUD Code). The HUD Code's single regulatory framework for home design and construction includes standards for health, safety, energy efficiency, and durability. It is also the only type of housing that Congress recognizes as having a vital role in meeting America's housing needs as a significant source for affordable homeownership accessible to all Americans. Today, 22 million people live in manufactured housing and the industry employs tens of thousands of Americans nationwide.

Manufactured housing can help address the shortage of affordable housing in the country and ensure the dream of homeownership for millions. The affordability of manufactured homes enables individuals to attain homeownership which is often less expensive than renting. Manufacturers deliver high-quality HUD Code homes with designs and features consumers want at lower price points than site-built homes.

To ensure manufactured housing remains an affordable homeownership option that is resilient and efficient, MHI requests that FEMA make the following changes:

1) FEMA's Shelter in Place Pictogram must be changed to eliminate the mischaracterization of manufactured homes.

2) The Community Rating Standards (CRS) of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) must be updated to not disenfranchise manufactured home communities.

FEMA's Shelter in Place Pictogram

FEMA's Shelter in Place Pictogram, published on May 25, 2021, combines mobile homes and manufactured homes into one category. This is inappropriate and inaccurate and should be updated. Mobile homes were built prior to passage of the "Federal Manufactured Home and Construction and Safety Standards Act" in June 1976, which established federal standards for manufactured housing design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and quality. Because mobile homes were not built to the HUD Code, but rather to voluntarily industry standards that were enforced by 45 of the 48 contiguous states, these homes do not meet the strict federal standards of today's manufactured homes. Mobile homes resemble a camper or trailer with an exposed trailer coupler and wheels, making the home easily movable. The home itself was generally built on steel I-beams that ran from end-to-end and could be set up on concrete blocks, wooden blocks, metal stands or a concrete foundation at the desired location, with little to no oversight of building specifications.

However, manufactured homes are built to strict federal building standards, overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD), which regulates all aspects of a manufactured home's performance, including wind standards. These federal standards include requiring all new manufactured homes to meet minimum requirements for installation and anchoring in accordance with structural design and windstorm standards. Further, states have the authority to establish additional installation standards above the minimum federal standards, which are done depending on soil conditions and other factors in the state or region.

Over the past decade, results of testing and research conducted by professional building engineers and third parties outside the industry, including Texas Tech University, consistently show that manufactured homes withstand high wind events on par or better than site-built homes. Because factory-built homes need to be transported to the site, they need to sustain highway speeds and winds even before they are installed. In May 2001, Texas Tech's Wind Science & Engineering Center in Lubbock, Texas, conducted studies on the effects of strong winds on manufactured housing. A single-section manufactured home, built to Wind Zone I standards (for regions not likely to experience hurricane-force winds), was exposed to the prop wash of a C-130 transport aircraft which created winds over 90 miles per hour. After prolonged exposure to such winds, the manufactured home experienced only limited damage, primarily loss of roofing shingles and some minor cosmetic damage. A 2014 Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) test found that manufactured homes performed better at high winds than traditional-built homes.

In addition to testing, recent weather events have affirmed the resilience of HUD Code manufactured homes. HUD's Winter/Spring 2020 publication of their "Evidence Matters" reported that, "Attention to the materials and design of manufactured housing can improve not only energy efficiency but also disaster resilience. In the past, manufactured housing was highly susceptible to damage in natural disasters. The HUD Code has mandated changes that make modern manufactured homes significantly more resilient to fire and natural disasters than pre-HUD Code housing."

In 1994, HUD revised and increased its wind safety standards after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. During the hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004, not one manufactured home built and installed after 1994 was destroyed by hurricane force winds. In areas prone to hurricane-force winds (Wind Zones II and III of the HUD Basic Wind Zone Map), the standards for manufactured homes are comparable to the current regional and national building codes for site-built homes. As with site-built homes, damage to property or physical harm to occupants is primarily caused by flooding and flying debris, rather than high winds. Unlike hurricanes, a direct hit from a tornado will bring about severe damage or destruction of any structure in its path. A tornado's deadly force does not selectively discriminate between the site-built homes, manufactured homes, or mobile homes.

Manufactured housing is a leader in durability and sustainability. For all the reasons stated above, we urge FEMA to update its Shelter in Place Pictogram to better reflect the safety and durability of today's manufactured homes.

NFIP and CRS Changes

The changes to the CRS that went into effect on January 1, 2021, will have a significantly negative impact on the availability of quality affordable housing in our nation. As the only naturally occurring form of affordable homeownership, manufactured housing is a critical asset to millions of American homeowners. Manufactured homes are the only housing built to a strict federal building code, regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The HUD Code was established in 1976 and was most recently updated in January of 2021. As stated previously in this letter, homes built before 1976 are considered mobile homes and are not in compliance with the HUD Code. Many of these homes are located in older mobile home communities that were established prior to 1976. Consequently, many of these communities were also built prior to the FEMA maps, so are categorized as pre-FIRM. Prior to the 2021 CRS changes, pre-FIRM mobile home communities were not required to meet the one-foot freeboard requirement when replacing units with newer manufactured homes. Instead, existing communities were permitted to elevate the replacement homes to 36" above grade (so long as the previous home had not been substantially damaged or destroyed by flood). This standard could reasonably be accomplished while still remaining compliant with the HUD Code for installation. This limited exemption was contained in Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR 60.3(6)) and allowed community owners to replace older non-Code compliant homes with new manufactured homes, enhancing the quality of the housing stock in these communities nationwide.

The recent CRS changes will negatively impact hundreds of manufactured home communities in the U.S. located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA). The financial implications of this new requirement on local governments participating in the CRS program, manufactured home park operators and their residents is enormous. Since it is not financially feasible or practical to elevate homes to Base Flood Elevation (BFE) plus one foot on many lots located in the SFHA, those lots will become and remain vacant. Over time, these manufactured home communities will close, and an important source of unsubsidized affordable housing will be lost.

FEMA created the limited exemption for manufactured home communities to balance the risks with the cost and practicality of compliance. The affordable housing crisis in this country is significant. Eliminating an important source of affordable homeownership would be devastating to families and will hurt those communities that are trying to improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of their homes.

Furthermore, the elevation of site-built homes is measured from the bottom of the front door, while for manufactured homes, it is measured from the bottom of the I-beam. Making this standard consistent for site-built and manufactured homes would help these properties meet the BFE requirements. Communities should not discriminate between type of constriction. Freeboard credit should be awarded for policies that affect all residential dwellings. No distinction should be made between a manufactured home located in manufactured home community or a manufactured home or conventional site-built home located on private property.

Many communities across the country already severely restrict manufactured housing communities through their zoning decisions. Losing the ability to place homes in these areas will eliminate affordable housing options for low-income families. Furthermore, replacing mobile homes or older manufactured homes with today's safe, durable, resilient manufactured homes should be a goal for FEMA in protecting people from disasters. These new rules will not allow these homes to be replaced, either leaving people in older homes that may not be safe or reducing the availability of affordable housing in that community. We urge you to reinstate the exemption in the CRS standards, and ensure manufactured homes are not held to higher standards than site-built homes.

Conclusion

Manufactured homes offer affordable housing options that are resilient and efficient and can help address the shortage of affordable housing in the country, while mitigating and managing climate and natural disaster risk on our nation's affordable housing system. We urge FEMA to update its Shelter in Place Pictogram to not mischaracterize the safety of today's manufactured homes. Further we urge FEMA to recognize the importance of replacing mobile homes by reverting back to the CRS exemption for older pre-FIRM manufactured home communities, and to insure NFIP guidelines do not hold manufactured homes to a higher standard (and elevation) than site-built homes. The Administration has placed a significant focus on climate change and resilience. Today's manufactured homes provide both resiliency and affordability. Limiting the ability to replace mobile homes with safe, durable mobile homes only places families in danger. Manufactured homes can also contribute significantly to solving our nation's affordable housing crisis.

Sincerely,

Lesli Gooch, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer

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The notice can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FEMA-2021-0011-0001

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