Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/441836
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR), in a November 25, 2014 communication to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has called upon the Secretary to reject a fundamentally flawed manufactured housing energy conserva- tion standards proposal developed by a DOE "Working Group" acting under the auspices of DOE's Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ASRAC). In addition to asking the Secretary to reject the Working Group proposal, the MHARR communication (copy at- tached) urges the Secretary to halt further DOE action on this matter and return the relevant sec- tion of the underlying law to Congress for recon- sideration and reform in order to avoid litigation that could tie this matter up for years to come. As a member of the ASRAC Working Group, MHARR voted against adoption of the Working Group proposal based on inherent defects in the law mandating such standards – section 413 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) -- and an irretrievably tainted rulemaking process at DOE, pledging to oppose any proposed or final rule based on that proposal at all stages and in all available forums. The manufactured housing energy "standards" demanded by EISA – and proposed by the Work- ing Group -- are effectively a large, regressive, discriminatory tax on America's manufactured housing consumers. If enacted, this de facto tax will exclude millions of moderate and lower-in- come families from the housing market alto- gether, while forcing those that are left to spend thousands of dollars for energy conservation fea- tures they would not otherwise purchase in a free market, as shown by decades of industry experi- ence (even though enhanced energy packages have always been available from manufacturers on an optional basis). With manufactured hous- ing energy costs under the current HUD stan- dards already less than or equal to those for other types of homes as shown by U.S. Census Bureau data, the EISA manufactured housing energy "tax" would hurt consumers – especially moder- ate and lower-income American families already struggling to get purchase financing in a difficult market – for the sake of advancing a special in- terest agenda. A further inherent deficiency in the EISA law – that has thus far remained below the radar – is that it effectively carves-out a significant area of HUD's comprehensive regulatory jurisdiction over manufactured housing, splitting standards and enforcement authority between two federal agencies, DOE and HUD. Thus, manufactur- ers faced with one federal construction and safety regulator now could ultimately have to answer to two separate federal regulatory agencies, operat- ing under different laws, different criteria, dif- ferent policies, different interpretations and different program "cultures." Even worse, the DOE rulemaking process for EISA manufactured housing energy standards – now in its seventh year -- has been irretrievably tainted by the "impermissible" selective leak of a DOE "draft" proposed rule to various parties in interest (including the Manufactured Housing Institute) and undisclosed contacts which led the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to re- ject the draft rule and order DOE to start over (as requested by MHARR in 2013). Instead of a fresh start, however, DOE, at the urging of the same groups that had received the "imper- missibly disclosed" draft rule, conducted a grossly inadequate, truncated, and arbitrarily limited "negotiated rulemaking" with a committee dom- inated by the same groups. Unfortunately for manufactured housing con- sumers and the industry itself, the upshot of this tainted process would be an increase in the con- sumer purchase price of a single-section manu- factured home averaging $2,170.00 -- as calculated by the DOE Working Group -- with cost recovery times for some energy measures ranging from 12-88 years. To further analyze and address these costs, MHARR conducted its own analysis, which shows that the Working Group proposal would require significant design and structural changes in manufactured homes, especially in northern areas, with retail-level price increases in current HUD thermal Zone 3, above current base models, reaching as high as $4,700.00 for a single-section home and as much as $6,200.00 for a double-section home. All of these figures, however, are significantly understated, as neither the Working Group nor the MHARR calculations include dollar amounts for testing, enforcement, or regulatory compli- ance costs. In Washington, D.C. MHARR President- Elect, Mark Weiss, stated, "Most surprising, is why part of the manufactured housing industry is supporting such costly proposals given the cur- rent state of the manufactured housing market and the continuing regulatory-driven erosion in the availability of manufactured home purchase- money financing. While providing little or no relevant information to industry members, the other national industry group touts the Working Group proposal as 'a win-win for [manufactured] homebuyers and the environment.'" While def- initely a victory for environmental special inter- ests seeking ever-greater regulation, adoption of the DOE Working Group proposal would provide no realistic benefits to consumers while threaten- ing major harm to the HUD Code manufactured housing industry -- making manufactured homes less accessible to the moderate and lower-income American families who have long relied on them as the nation's most affordable non-subsidized housing." The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform is a Washington, D.C.- based national trade association representing the views and interests of independent producers of federally-regulated manufactured housing. JANUARY 2015 26 THE JOURNAL The Industry Standard for Manufactured Home Community Market Data 2014 JLT Rent Surveys Now Available for Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Atlanta, Minneapolis & the Pacific Northwest Call 800.588.5426 www.jlt-associates.com • Rents and Increases • Community Rankings • Occupancy Rates JLT Rent Survey Reports provide detailed research on investment grade communities in 73 markets nationwide, including the latest rent trends, occupancy stats, and other valuable management insights. • Amenities & Services • Historical Data • Marketing Programs MHARR Calls on DOE Secretary to Reject Costly Proposed Manufactured Housing Energy Standards No. 14 on Get It Quick Page