House subcommittee leaders push to shift manufactured housing oversight to HUD, target DOE standards

Congressman Michael Flood (R–Neb.), chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing and insurance, said legislation introduced this week would remove the Department of Energy's statutory role in setting energy standards for manufactured housing and shift regulatory authority to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

"When you look at what a stick built home costs brand new in my district, it's $425,000," Flood said, arguing that down payments and monthly payments at current interest rates put homeownership out of reach for many. "The trailers of yesterday are not the manufactured homes of today," he added, saying modern manufactured homes can resemble stick-built neighborhoods.

Flood framed the legislative moves as a way to reduce costs and expand supply. He said he and Representative Erin Houchin introduced a bill to remove DOE's statutory role for manufactured-home energy standards, and that he plans a separate bill to consolidate regulatory authority for manufactured housing under HUD. "This has been a barrier," Flood said of DOE oversight, adding that bringing regulatory clarity to HUD would help the industry.

Flood also identified several federal requirements he said raise development costs: NEPA reviews, Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage rules, Section 3 hiring preferences, and Build America, Buy America procurement standards. He argued removing or changing some of these requirements in appropriate programs would allow federal capital to better pair with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and other private financing.

To demonstrate local practice, Flood pointed to Columbus, Nebraska — a city of roughly 25,000 people — where local officials use sales and property tax revenue to buy land, install sewers and streets, and offer reduced-cost lots to builders. He said Columbus has about "800 open jobs" and that lack of housing is the principal constraint to filling them.

Flood acknowledged state-level variation in rules and noted an effort by Representative John Rose (R–Tenn.) to eliminate a chassis requirement for manufactured homes, a change that Flood said would likely require state-by-state adjustments.

On zoning and federal funding, Flood described his "Yes In My Backyard Act" proposal, which he said would make federal dollars contingent on local openness to housing development. "If we're going to send federal dollars to municipalities, we ought to know what kind of position they take on zoning," he said.

Flood framed the measures as part of a broader, bipartisan push on housing policy: he said he is working with ranking member Emanuel Cleaver and expects the subcommittee to mark up bills later this fall.

The panel closed with Flood and other members planning a tour of modern manufactured homes to highlight what he described as an affordable housing option for working families.

The panel did not hold a formal vote; Flood described introduced legislation and plans for future markups.