For the last three years, Prosperity Now has led the Manufactured Housing Anti-stigma Campaign to combat stigma and its negative impact on manufactured homeowners and communities. We have confronted some of the biggest misconceptions around the quality and affordability of manufactured homes, while also highlighting the diversity of homeowners and communities. COVID-19 has highlighted the great gaps in resources and policy support for manufactured housing and homeowners, due in part to the misconceptions of the sector. Our work over the last 16 years with the I’M HOME Network and manufactured housing field has shown us that manufactured homeowners and housing communities are underserved because policymakers and other stakeholders do not see the potential value of manufactured housing as a tangible tool to offer homeownership to underserved households in the affordable housing and homeownership space. 

Manufactured homes, also known as mobile homes (defined as homes built before the 1976 federal construction code took effect), are an important part of affordable housing in many communities across the country.  They provide a more affordable option to site-built homes and typically offer more space for the money when compared with other housing types. During the pandemic, we saw major legislation passed to support and protect homeowners and renters, but there was no specific designation for manufactured homes.  Manufactured homes are a major source of unsubsidized, low‐cost housing. Accounting for 10% of single-family homes nationwide, they are especially popular in the South, both in manufactured home communities and on private land.

The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of housing security. Resident-owned communities (ROCs) offer a compelling model. A small share of the park landscape, ROCs are found throughout the country.  Furthering this point, the U.S. homeownership rate would drop by almost five percentage points if owners of manufactured homes were excluded from housing data.

These fallacies, combined with the stereotypes associated with low-income households, have led to an indifferent framework in the financing, legal protection and advocacy on behalf of and by manufactured homes and homeowners. 

- Pamela Agava

The manufactured housing finance system, however, is based around personal property, not traditional mortgages, which raises housing insecurity. Since most manufactured homes are initially titled as personal property, rather than real estate,  in parks and on private land, manufactured homeowners often rely on chattel loans. This means that many manufactured homeowners face expensive and complicated loan terms under the guise that their manufactured home is “moveable property”.  However, most manufactured homes are not mobile. Manufactured homes being considered “mobile” is one of the biggest misconceptions that contribute to the stigma of manufactured homes. These fallacies, combined with the stereotypes associated with low-income households, have led to an indifferent framework in the financing, legal protection and advocacy on behalf of and by manufactured homes and homeowners.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made important progress in their product development to support the manufactured housing mortgage market, which is moving the perception needle. Their duty to serve (DTS) obligations to the sector have shaped much of this. Advocates have until July 17 to comment on their latest duty to serve plans. We encourage stakeholders to do so and include the anti-stigma lens in their submissions.

More is needed. Advocacy for manufactured housing needs to continue at the federal level. We have seen tremendous impact exerted by state and local advocates and policymakers.  Local policy can offer protections for vulnerable manufactured housing communities if there is political will.  From an affordable housing practitioner standpoint, practitioners need to move manufactured housing into their framework of consumer‐oriented, wealth‐building opportunities for low-income households with goals of homeownership.  Furthermore, nonprofit developers should take the lead in creating dynamic development deals and then offering home buyers real value through full-scale holistic programming, not just a low price.