H.R. 4969: Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act

This bill, known as the Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act, aims to address issues related to the affordability of mobile home living, specifically by investigating and reporting on the pricing of pad sites in manufactured home communities. Here’s a breakdown of the main components of the bill:

Investigation of Pricing Practices

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is tasked with conducting an investigation to find out if the prices for pad sites (the land where mobile homes are placed) are being manipulated. The investigation will focus on two main issues:

• Market Manipulation: Checking if there are any forms of market manipulation occurring.
• Price Gouging: Determining if prices are being artificially increased through practices deemed as price gouging.

Reporting Requirements

Within 270 days after the bill becomes law, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress and publish it on the HUD website. This report will include:

• A long-term strategy for addressing price manipulation, which will consider data on race, gender, and socioeconomic factors.
• An analysis of how institutional investors in manufactured home communities affect seniors and underserved communities.

Monitoring Purchases

Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary to monitor the purchases of manufactured homes and the associated pad sites across various housing market areas. If it's found that a single buyer, including institutional investors, has purchased more than 2,500 manufactured homes or pad sites since January 1, 2015, further investigations will be triggered to explore:

• Instances of price gouging.
• Significant rental increases compared to the area's median rent.
• Failure to provide utilities to residents.

Subsequent Reporting

After the investigations into excessive purchases, the Secretary must report the findings to Congress and make this information publicly available on HUD’s website within one year of completing the investigation.

Definitions Within the Bill

The bill clarifies certain terms for context:

• Manufactured Home: Defined according to existing federal laws, typically referring to homes built off-site and transported to the location.
• Manufactured Home Community: A community designed for housing manufactured homes, where land or homes are leased to individuals for residential use.

Exemption from Paperwork Reduction Act

The bill includes a provision stating that the collection of information for the investigations will not be subject to the usual paperwork reduction requirements.

Relevant Companies

None found