§5403. Construction and safety standards

(a) Establishment pursuant to orders of Secretary; consultation with Consumer Product Safety Commission; reasonableness; consideration of State and local laws

The Secretary, after consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, shall establish by order appropriate Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards. Each such Federal manufactured home standard shall be reasonable and shall meet the highest standards of protection, taking into account existing State and local laws relating to manufactured home safety and construction.

(b) Notice and hearing

All orders issued under this section shall be issued after notice and an opportunity for interested persons to participate are provided in accordance with the provisions of section 553 of title 5.

(c) Effective date of orders establishing standards

Each order establishing a Federal manufactured home construction and safety standard shall specify the date such standard is to take effect, which shall not be sooner than one hundred and eighty days or later than one year after the date such order is issued, unless the Secretary finds, for good cause shown, that an earlier or later effective date is in the public interest, and publishes his reasons for such finding.

(d) Supremacy of Federal standards

Whenever a Federal manufactured home construction and safety standard established under this chapter is in effect, no State or political subdivision of a State shall have any authority either to establish, or to continue in effect, with respect to any manufactured home covered, any standard regarding the construction or safety applicable to the same aspect of performance of such manufactured home which is not identical to the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standard.

(e) Amendment or revocation by Secretary; effective date

The Secretary may by order amend or revoke any Federal manufactured home construction or safety standard established under this section. Such order shall specify the date on which such amendment or revocation is to take effect, which shall not be sooner than one hundred and eighty days or later than one year from the date the order is issued, unless the Secretary finds, for good cause shown, that an earlier or later date is in the public interest, and publishes his reasons for such finding.

(f) Criteria

In establishing standards under this section, the Secretary shall-

(1) consider relevant available manufactured home construction and safety data, including the results of the research, development, testing, and evaluation activities conducted pursuant to this chapter, and those activities conducted by private organizations and other governmental agencies to determine how to best protect the public;

(2) consult with such State or interstate agencies (including legislative committees) as he deems appropriate;

(3) consider whether any such proposed standard is reasonable for the particular type of manufactured home or for the geographic region for which it is prescribed;

(4) consider the probable effect of such standard on the cost of the manufactured home to the public; and

(5) consider the extent to which any such standard will contribute to carrying out the purposes of this chapter.

(g) Time for issuance of order establishing initial standards

The Secretary shall issue an order establishing initial Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards not later than one year after August 22, 1974.

(h) Coverage; exclusion

The Secretary shall exclude from the coverage of this chapter any structure which the manufacturer certifies, in a form prescribed by the Secretary, to be:

(1) designed only for erection or installation on a site-built permanent foundation;

(2) not designed to be moved once so erected or installed;

(3) designed and manufactured to comply with a nationally recognized model building code or an equivalent local code, or with a State or local modular building code recognized as generally equivalent to building codes for site-built housing, or with minimum property standards adopted by the Secretary pursuant to title II of the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.]; and

(4) to the manufacturer's knowledge is not intended to be used other than on a site-built permanent foundation.

(i) Manufactured housing construction and safety standards

(1) The Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards established by the Secretary under this section shall include preemptive energy conservation standards in accordance with this subsection.

(2) The energy conservation standards established under this subsection shall be cost-effective energy conservation performance standards designed to ensure the lowest total of construction and operating costs.

(3) The energy conservation standards established under this subsection shall take into consideration the design and factory construction techniques of manufactured homes and shall provide for alternative practices that result in net estimated energy consumption equal to or less than the specified standards.

(j) New performance standards for hardboard siding

The Secretary shall develop a new standard for hardboard panel siding on manufactured housing taking into account durability, longevity, consumer's costs for maintenance and any other relevant information pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. The Secretary shall consult with the National Manufactured Home Advisory Council and the National Commission on Manufactured Housing in establishing the new standard. The new performance standard developed shall ensure the durability of hardboard sidings for at least a normal life of a mortgage with minimum maintenance required. Not later than 180 days from October 28, 1992, the Secretary shall update the standards for hardboard siding.

( Pub. L. 93–383, title VI, §604, Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 701 ; Pub. L. 95–128, title IX, §902(a), Oct. 12, 1977, 91 Stat. 1149 ; Pub. L. 96–399, title III, §308(c)(4), Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1641 ; Pub. L. 98–479, title II, §204(l), Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2233 ; Pub. L. 100–242, title V, §568, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1948 ; Pub. L. 102–550, title IX, §907, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3873 .)

References in Text

The National Housing Act, referred to in subsec. (h)(3), is act June 27, 1934, ch. 847, 48 Stat. 1246 , as amended. Title II of the National Housing Act is classified principally to subchapter II (§1707 et seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1701 of Title 12 and Tables.

Amendments

1992-Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 102–550 added subsec. (j).

1988-Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 100–242 added subsec. (i).

1984-Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98–479 substituted "that" for "than" before "an earlier or later date".

1980-Subsecs. (a), (c) to (g). Pub. L. 96–399 substituted "manufactured home" for "mobile home" wherever appearing.

1977-Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95–128 added subsec. (h).

Exception to Federal Preemption for Thermal Insulation and Energy Efficiency Standards

Pub. L. 102–486, title I, §104(c), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2792 , provided that: "If the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has not issued, within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 24, 1992], final regulations pursuant to section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403) that establish thermal insulation and energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing that take effect before January 1, 1995, then States may establish thermal insulation and energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing if such standards are at least as stringent as thermal performance standards for manufactured housing contained in the Second Public Review Draft of BSR/ASHRAE 90.2P entitled 'Energy Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings' and all public reviews of Independent Substantive Changes to such document that have been approved on or before the date of the enactment of this Act."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 5405, 5409 of this title; title 12 section 1703.