What is the HUD code?
The HUD Code regulates the home’s design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency, and quality control. It also sets stringent performance standards for the heating, plumbing, air conditioning, thermal, and electrical systems. The United States Congress laid the foundation for the HUD Code in the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 by directing the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish appropriate manufactured home construction and safety standards that “…meet the highest standards of protection, taking into account existing State and local laws relating to manufactured home safety and construction.” Every HUD Code manufactured home is built in a factory, under controlled conditions, and has a special label affixed on the exterior of the home indicating that the home has been designed, constructed, tested and inspected to comply with the stringent feder
Simply put, the HUD code is a nationally recognized building code. When your home has the HUD code seal attached to its exterior then it meets the regional standards for roof load, wind resistance, thermal efficiency, safety and durability. Manufactured homes are the only homes….factory manufactured or site built….that meet the federal governments stringent regulations. The HUD code became a federal law in 1976 and has two parts. One a construction standard and the second is regulatory part or stipulating who watches over to make sure the home is built right.
In the U.S., manufactured homes are regulated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), via the Federal National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. It is the national regulation that has allowed many manufacturers to distribute nationwide, since they are immune to the jurisdiction of local building authorities. By contrast producers of modular homes must abide by state and local building codes.
HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) Code refers to the federal code that applies to factory-constructed manufactured homes—formally called “The Manufactured Homes Construction and Safety Standards.” A copy of the HUD Code can be found at www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/24cfr3280_01.html.
