Torres Introduces Bill to Increase Affordable Housing Options
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-Pomona) introduced the HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2017, a bill to increase the availability of affordable housing by modernizing outdated regulations so they include new manufactured housing options.
"With housing prices rising in the Inland Empire and around the country, working families are finding the American Dream further and further out of reach," said Torres. "Manufactured housing can provide modern, well-built affordable housing options that are nearly indistinguishable from site-built housing, yet current regulations ignore manufactured housing as a viable solution. My bill would bring local planning for affordable housing and community development into the 21st century and ensure our communities are considering all viable options to make housing affordable and accessible."
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has attempted to promote affordable housing options in communities through grants and economic development programs as part of Consolidated Planning. However, these programs have ignored manufactured housing as a viable, targeted solution for certain communities.
Despite outdated stereotypes, modern, well-built, and maintained manufactured housing options can be built in a fraction of the time and at far lower cost – while producing 40 percent less waste than traditional housing options. In addition, modern manufactured housing can actually save homeowners more than 25 percent on total heating and cooling costs. The HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2017 directs HUD to update their Consolidated Planning Guidance to states and local jurisdictions to simply consider manufactured housing as an option.
"We are thrilled to support Rep. Torres's HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2017. When communities and states draw up their consolidated plans for the use of federal dollars, too often they don't get a full picture of local affordable housing," said Doug Ryan, Director, Affordable Homeownership, Prosperity Now. "By requiring that localities and states include manufactured homes, the largest type of unsubsidized housing in the U.S., this legislation would offer another tool to local leaders as they address the affordable housing crises in their communities."
A summary and full text of the legislation will be available HERE.
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