HUD Lays Out Seven-Step Plan to Update the HUD Code for Chassis-Free Manufactured Homes

Why this matters: Manufactured homes are one of the lower-cost paths to ownership. A new law removed the requirement that they sit on a permanent steel chassis, and HUD has now published how it plans to update the rules. The plan is a roadmap, not a final rule.

Cover: a factory-built home module lowered onto a foundation. Illustration created for mortgage.news; it does not depict a real person, property or document.

What HUD released

HUD announced its Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan on Wednesday, October 7, following its Innovative Housing Showcase. The plan document responds to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which HUD says removed the permanent chassis requirement in the HUD Code, the federal standard for manufactured homes.

HUD says the plan's intent "is not to predetermine individual regulatory outcomes." Changes will go through the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, which advises HUD, according to the plan.

The seven actions

• Update manufactured housing energy efficiency standards.
• Update the construction and safety standards (24 CFR Part 3280) for chassis-free homes.
• Update the installation standards (24 CFR Part 3285) for foundations and installation.
• Establish a multi-module construction pathway.
• Develop a performance-based code for buildings with five or more units.
• Publish off-chassis case studies and lessons learned.
• Create an on-ramp for modular and other off-site manufacturers to enter the HUD Code system.

Where each step stands

The plan says HUD's manufactured housing office will conduct rulemaking on energy standards consistent with the advisory committee's recommendations, which it reaffirmed on July 23, 2026. For chassis-free construction and installation, HUD will review the committee's future recommendations before proposing rules. No new construction rule took effect with this release.

HUD says the case-study work will cover design, transportation, foundations, installation, zoning, appraisal, lending, insurance and market acceptance, according to the release.

What it means for buyers

Financing a manufactured home depends on how it is titled and installed, and appraisers need comparable sales. Chassis-free homes are new, so buyers should expect lenders and local zoning offices to need time. HUD's plan does not by itself lower prices or guarantee financing.

The takeaway

• Ask a lender early whether it finances chassis-free HUD Code homes and on what terms.
• Check local zoning before buying land or a home.
• Watch for proposed rules and comment periods from HUD.