HUD Code
Also called: Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards
The federal construction and safety standard that all manufactured homes built after June 15, 1976 must meet.
The HUD Code is the federal standard governing the design, construction, strength, fire resistance, energy efficiency, and installation of manufactured homes. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and it pre-empts local building codes, a manufactured home is inspected against the HUD Code, not against the code of the town it lands in.
It took effect on June 15, 1976, and has been amended since. Notably, wind-zone requirements were strengthened after Hurricane Andrew, so homes built after the mid-1990s in coastal areas are engineered to higher wind loads. If you are buying in a hurricane-prone region, the wind zone the home was built for is worth confirming.
The HUD Code is why the June 1976 date appears everywhere in manufactured-housing financing and insurance. A home built to it can be financed and insured through ordinary channels; one built before it often cannot.
See also
- HUD label, A red metal plate riveted to the outside of each section of a manufactured home, certifying it was built to the HUD Code.
- Data plate, A paper label inside the home listing its manufacturer, serial number, wind and thermal zones, and appliance details.
- Manufactured home, A home built entirely in a factory to the federal HUD Code, transported to its site on a permanent steel chassis.