City of Thibodaux Zoning Review - South Central Planning ...

Thibodaux Zoning Review 2010LouisianaLouisiana Revised Statutes 51:911.21, et seq, is the State’s“Uniform Standards Code for Manufactured Housing”.Modular homes are built to the Louisiana State UniformConstruction Code, which is the International Building Code(IBC) standards, the same code that applies to site-built homes.A major difference between modular and manufactured homes isthe HUD requirement that manufactured homes be constructedon a permanent chassis. While it has been said that the HUDcode is more performance based than the IBC, there are similaritiesbetween the two. Modular homes are mostly built withinlarge factory buildings. The houses or components of such arethen transported to a site where construction is completed.While modular homes might be transported again, just likeolder wood homes on piers, they really are not meant to bemoved around. In Louisiana, modular homes must be installedby a licensed residential contractor.The Louisiana Revised Statutes defines modular housingseparately in Title 40. In post Katrina-Rita Louisiana, interest inmodular homes increased as people searched for ways to quicklyreplace the massive number of homes lost during the two storms.The Louisiana Speaks project, an attempt of the state’s LouisianaRecovery Authority to develop a recovery plan for the state’shardest hit regions, included the publication “Louisiana SpeaksPattern Book” by Urban Designs Associates. The report containsthe following definition for modular house.“Modular House: Houses composed of multiple, factory-builtunits, or modules, that are up to 90% finished when shipped fromthe factory to the house site. Walls, floors, ceilings, stairs, and someinterior work are built in a conditioned factory. The modules areindividually shipped on flat-bed trailers to the site where they areplaced by crane on permanent foundations. Mechanical, electrical,and pluming are roughed-in at the factory and finished on-site.” 3Excerpt from the Louisiana Revised Statutes51.911.22. DefinitionsAs used in this Part, unless the context requires a different definition:(1) “Code” means the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 USC 5401 et seq., asamended, and federal regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, along with any construction or installation-related standardsadopted by the Louisiana Manufactured Housing Commission.(4)(a) “Developer” means any person, group of persons, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company, or legal entity whosells or offers for sale to the public a lot together with a manufactured home permanently installed and fixed on a foundation onthe lot and designed as a single family residence. For purposes of this Part, “developer” shall include “contractors” and “residentialcontractors” as defined in R.S. 37:2157.(b) “Developer” shall not include an individual selling his personal residence, or a real estate broker or real estate salesman retainedby a person to sell a manufactured home together with a lot on which the manufactured home has been installed and fixed on afoundation.(5) “Manufactured home” and “manufactured housing” means a factory-built, residential dwelling unit constructed to standardsand codes, as promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under theNational Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq., as amended.Further, the terms “manufactured home” and “manufactured housing” may be used interchangeably and apply to structuresbearing the permanently affixed seal of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or to factory-built,residential dwellings that are mounted on a chassis.(6) “Manufactured home broker” means an individual agent who acts as an intermediary or negotiator between a buyer and a seller.(7) “Manufacturer” means any person who manufactures manufactured housing.(8) “Mobile home” means a factory-built, residential dwelling unit built to voluntary standards prior to the passage of theNational Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This term includes and is interchangeablewith the term “house trailer”, but does not include the term “manufactured home”, as only manufactured homes are built tofederal construction standards.(d) A developer, or a contractor licensed as a developer under the provisions of R.S. 51:911.24, or a real estate broker or real estatesalesman retained by a person to sell a manufactured home together with immovable property on which the manufactured home islocated.(e) A manufactured housing community or park owner that sells less than three manufactured homes in a twelve-month period,provided the community or park owner has owned and leased the manufactured home being sold for more than one year.3Louisiana Recover Authority; Louisiana Speaks Booklet18