In July 2026, Congress passed its ROAD to Housing Act, which included language with the goal of expanding manufactured housing use in the United States. Since manufactured homes can be put up relatively quickly and are less expensive than traditional housing, this had the potential to aid the housing shortage that’s been high on the list of America’s woes.

But a September 9 brief from the Pew Charitable Trusts, by Rachel Siegel and Dennis Su indicates that “many states will need to update their policies in accordance with the federal changes so that manufactured housing can grow.”

According to Pew, “In the past six years, at least a dozen states have adopted laws and developed programs designed to preserve existing manufactured homes and expand their use.” But there’s room for more, and Pew has collaborated with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Next Step Network, and ROC USA to publish a State Policy Playbook for Manufactured Homes. It identifies five policy areas which would help states to move forward on this front:

Its key recommendations include that states should:

• “Remove zoning and development financing barriers that limit the installation of manufactured housing.” According to Pew, “Outdated zoning and land use policies prohibit the installation of manufactured homes in most residential areas. These restrictions often reflect old perceptions of manufactured homes rather than the modern design and construction standards that exist today, limiting placement in neighborhoods where need is highest.”

• “Replace aging manufactured homes with new ones and use manufactured housing to fill vacant lots in towns and cities.” The paper explains that, “Cities and towns could use manufactured housing to expedite construction on vacant lots and replace old, irreparable housing with new, cost-effective manufactured homes. If zoning policies were changed and the approval process was streamlined, many homes could be installed and sold without subsidy.”

• “Expand mortgage access through state titling policy.” The paper reports that “All site-built homes are owned and titled as real estate, a requirement for homebuyers who wish to obtain a mortgage. But in most states, manufactured homes are initially titled as personal property, much as an automobile is. Although most states allow at least some owners to convert to real estate titling, policies vary widely, with limited effect. Nationwide, just 51% of manufactured home owners who borrowed money to acquire their home own it as real estate.”

• “Preserve manufactured home communities and improve resident stability.” Explains Siegel and Su, “Nearly 40% of manufactured home residents live in a ‘land lease’ community (often known colloquially as a mobile home park). Most residents of these communities own their homes but rent the land beneath them. Land lease communities can be excellent and affordable places to live. But without strong state protection policies, homeowners can sometimes face steep increases in lot rent with little or no notice, the unexpected sale of a community, and infrastructure deterioration—undermining long-term stability despite the relatively low cost of the manufactured home.”

• “Systematically record and collect information about manufactured housing, just as governments track traditional housing.” This is important because as the Pew report explains, “Accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information about manufactured homes and manufactured home communities is crucial for owners, buyers, and policymakers alike. Public records help ensure clarity about a home’s ownership, its tax status, and any liens. Because many manufactured home owners don’t own their land, it’s also important to know where homes are located and how many are in land lease communities.”

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