What exactly is a manufactured home?

Many types of structures are built in the factory and designed for long-term residential use. In the case of manufactured and modular homes, units are built in a factory, transported to the site and installed.

These are homes built entirely in the factory under a federal building code administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (commonly known as the HUD Code) went into effect June 15, 1976. Manufactured homes may be single- or multi-section and are transported to the site and installed. The federal standards regulate manufactured housing design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and quality. The HUD Code also sets performance standards for the heating, plumbing, air conditioning, thermal and electrical systems. It is the only federally-regulated national building code. On-site additions, such as garages, decks and porches, often add to the attractiveness of manufactured homes and must be built to local, state or regional building codes.

These factory-built homes are built in modules to state or local codes, determined by where the home will be located and is usually the same code used by the site built housing industry. Modules are transported to the site and installed to the same state or local codes. In Pennsylvania, the modular housing is referred to as industrialized housing by the Industrialized Housing Act (IHA) and is regulated by the Department of Community and Economic Development. The IHA defines industrialized housing as a structure designed primarily for residential occupancy, and classified with Use Group R in accordance with the standards adopted un §29.41 (relating to adoption of standards) and which is wholly or in substantial part made, constructed, fabricated, formed or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or assembly and installation on the building site so that concealed parts or processes of manufacture cannot be inspected at the site without disassembly, damage or destruction. Homes built to be sited in Pennsylvania must be built to comply with the International Residential Code (IRC) and once they reach the home site are subjected to the same inspection processes as site built homes.

This is the term used for manufactured homes produced prior to June 15, 1976, when the HUD Code went into effect. By 1970, these homes were built to voluntary industry standards that were eventually enforced by 45 of the 48 contiguous states.