The Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard (HUD Code)

In the U.S. a manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) must be built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) which was developed in 1976. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) began to regulate the construction of mobile/manufactured homes in 1976 pursuant to the provisions of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. As a consequence of the extensive damage done to manufactured homes by Hurricane Andrew in 1991, HUD amended the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards in 1994 to provide for greater protection for mobile/manufactured homes from wind damage. During the severe hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, no mobile/manufactured home that was built after these new standards went into effect sustained any significant structural damage from the storms.

A manufactured home displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis. Manufactured homes are constructed according to a code administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Code). The HUD Code, unlike conventional building codes, requires manufactured homes to be constructed on a permanent chassis.