
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-569 Section 604]
[CITE: 42USC5403]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
     CHAPTER 70--MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS
 
Sec. 5403. Construction and safety standards


(a) Establishment pursuant to orders of Secretary; consultation with 
        Consumer Product Safety Commission; reasonableness; 
        consideration of State and local laws

    The Secretary, after consultation with the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, shall establish by order appropriate Federal manufactured 
home construction and safety standards. Each such Federal manufactured 
home standard shall be reasonable and shall meet the highest standards 
of protection, taking into account existing State and local laws 
relating to manufactured home safety and construction.

(b) Notice and hearing

    All orders issued under this section shall be issued after notice 
and an opportunity for interested persons to participate are provided in 
accordance with the provisions of section 553 of title 5.

(c) Effective date of orders establishing standards

    Each order establishing a Federal manufactured home construction and 
safety standard shall specify the date such standard is to take effect, 
which shall not be sooner than one hundred and eighty days or later than 
one year after the date such order is issued, unless the Secretary 
finds, for good cause shown, that an earlier or later effective date is 
in the public interest, and publishes his reasons for such finding.

(d) Supremacy of Federal standards

    Whenever a Federal manufactured home construction and safety 
standard established under this chapter is in effect, no State or 
political subdivision of a State shall have any authority either to 
establish, or to continue in effect, with respect to any manufactured 
home covered, any standard regarding the construction or safety 
applicable to the same aspect of performance of such manufactured home 
which is not identical to the Federal manufactured home construction and 
safety standard.

(e) Amendment or revocation by Secretary; effective date

    The Secretary may by order amend or revoke any Federal manufactured 
home construction or safety standard established under this section. 
Such order shall specify the date on which such amendment or revocation 
is to take effect, which shall not be sooner than one hundred and eighty 
days or later than one year from the date the order is issued, unless 
the Secretary finds, for good cause shown, that an earlier or later date 
is in the public interest, and publishes his reasons for such finding.

(f) Criteria

    In establishing standards under this section, the Secretary shall--
        (1) consider relevant available manufactured home construction 
    and safety data, including the results of the research, development, 
    testing, and evaluation activities conducted pursuant to this 
    chapter, and those activities conducted by private organizations and 
    other governmental agencies to determine how to best protect the 
    public;
        (2) consult with such State or interstate agencies (including 
    legislative committees) as he deems appropriate;
        (3) consider whether any such proposed standard is reasonable 
    for the particular type of manufactured home or for the geographic 
    region for which it is prescribed;
        (4) consider the probable effect of such standard on the cost of 
    the manufactured home to the public; and
        (5) consider the extent to which any such standard will 
    contribute to carrying out the purposes of this chapter.

(g) Time for issuance of order establishing initial standards

    The Secretary shall issue an order establishing initial Federal 
manufactured home construction and safety standards not later than one 
year after August 22, 1974.

(h) Coverage; exclusion

    The Secretary shall exclude from the coverage of this chapter any 
structure which the manufacturer certifies, in a form prescribed by the 
Secretary, to be:
        (1) designed only for erection or installation on a site-built 
    permanent foundation;
        (2) not designed to be moved once so erected or installed;
        (3) designed and manufactured to comply with a nationally 
    recognized model building code or an equivalent local code, or with 
    a State or local modular building code recognized as generally 
    equivalent to building codes for site-built housing, or with minimum 
    property standards adopted by the Secretary pursuant to title II of 
    the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.]; and
        (4) to the manufacturer's knowledge is not intended to be used 
    other than on a site-built permanent foundation.

(i) Manufactured housing construction and safety standards

    (1) The Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards 
established by the Secretary under this section shall include preemptive 
energy conservation standards in accordance with this subsection.
    (2) The energy conservation standards established under this 
subsection shall be cost-effective energy conservation performance 
standards designed to ensure the lowest total of construction and 
operating costs.
    (3) The energy conservation standards established under this 
subsection shall take into consideration the design and factory 
construction techniques of manufactured homes and shall provide for 
alternative practices that result in net estimated energy consumption 
equal to or less than the specified standards.

(j) New performance standards for hardboard siding

    The Secretary shall develop a new standard for hardboard panel 
siding on manufactured housing taking into account durability, 
longevity, consumer's costs for maintenance and any other relevant 
information pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. The Secretary 
shall consult with the National Manufactured Home Advisory Council and 
the National Commission on Manufactured Housing in establishing the new 
standard. The new performance standard developed shall ensure the 
durability of hardboard sidings for at least a normal life of a mortgage 
with minimum maintenance required. Not later than 180 days from October 
28, 1992, the Secretary shall update the standards for hardboard siding.

(Pub. L. 93-383, title VI, Sec. 604, Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 701; Pub. 
L. 95-128, title IX, Sec. 902(a), Oct. 12, 1977, 91 Stat. 1149; Pub. L. 
96-399, title III, Sec. 308(c)(4), Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1641; Pub. L. 
98-479, title II, Sec. 204(l), Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2233; Pub. L. 
100-242, title V, Sec. 568, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1948; Pub. L. 102-
550, title IX, Sec. 907, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3873.)

                       References in Text

    The National Housing Act, referred to in subsec. (h)(3), is act June 
27, 1934, ch. 847, 48 Stat. 1246, as amended. Title II of the National 
Housing Act is classified principally to subchapter II (Sec. 1707 et 
seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1701 of Title 12 and 
Tables.


                               Amendments

    1992--Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 102-550 added subsec. (j).
    1988--Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 100-242 added subsec. (i).
    1984--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-479 substituted ``that'' for ``than'' 
before ``an earlier or later date''.
    1980--Subsecs. (a), (c) to (g). Pub. L. 96-399 substituted 
``manufactured home'' for ``mobile home'' wherever appearing.
    1977--Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95-128 added subsec. (h).


   Exception to Federal Preemption for Thermal Insulation and Energy 
                          Efficiency Standards

    Pub. L. 102-486, title I, Sec. 104(c), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 
2792, provided that: ``If the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
has not issued, within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act [Oct. 24, 1992], final regulations pursuant to section 604 of the 
National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403) that establish thermal insulation and energy 
efficiency standards for manufactured housing that take effect before 
January 1, 1995, then States may establish thermal insulation and energy 
efficiency standards for manufactured housing if such standards are at 
least as stringent as thermal performance standards for manufactured 
housing contained in the Second Public Review Draft of BSR/ASHRAE 90.2P 
entitled `Energy Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings' and 
all public reviews of Independent Substantive Changes to such document 
that have been approved on or before the date of the enactment of this 
Act.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 5405, 5409 of this title; 
title 12 section 1703.
