Factory-built homes have played an important part in our nation’s housing supply for decades. Modern-day manufactured housing factories, regulated to federal standards, deliver high-quality and energy-efficient homes at a lower cost than traditionally constructed homes. Mobile homes—the precursor to contemporary manufactured housing—are a different story.
Mobile homes were never intended to be permanent housing. Constructed before 1976, when the first federal standards were established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, mobile homes were built with lower-quality materials and, in many areas, are banned by zoning codes. Yet many mobile homes remain in use today, decades past their useful life, partially because they are among the lowest-cost housing available.
In an upcoming report, we highlight how residents of mobile homes are disproportionately vulnerable to many climate challenges. Mobile homes tend to be energy inefficient and are difficult to heat and cool, making them expensive to own and dangerous to live in during heat waves and cold snaps. As one expert we interviewed described it:
There’s just a tremendous concern that these [older] homes are little ovens or little freezers during these extreme weather events for these families who live there or seniors who live there.
Further, mobile homes are difficult to insure, difficult to relocate, and are often sited in precarious areas. Mobile homes are frequently placed on piers that are inadequately installed or anchored, making them vulnerable to high winds during hurricanes and tornadoes. Around 40 percent of mobile homes are located in land-lease communities, also referred to as mobile home parks, that were built on hazardous land with poorly maintained infrastructure, increasing the risk of hazards like flooding and poor water quality.
As housing affordability challenges plague communities across the US, and as climate change contributes to increasingly severe hazards like floods and wildfires, there is an urgent need for federal policies and programs to preserve affordability for mobile home residents while increasing their resilience to climate-driven disasters.
How many pre-1976 mobile homes remain in use?
The exact number of pre-1976 mobile homes still in use remains uncertain. Available data are imprecise, as national data sources only provide estimates of factory-built housing by the decade it was built, leaving out the important distinction between pre-1976 mobile homes and post-1976 manufactured homes.
Using new data analysis methods, we found that, conservatively, there are at least 1.2 million pre-1976 mobile homes nationwide. Mobile homes are especially widespread in California and Florida, though many states have thousands remaining.
Policymakers can begin to address the climate risks facing mobile homes
There are two key approaches available to improve the resilience of mobile homes: repair and replacement.
Repairs to mobile homes can improve their energy efficiency and make critical upgrades, such as improving foundations or elevating air conditioning systems to prevent flood damage. If units are relatively well maintained and the need for repairs is not too extensive, repair programs can be cost-effective and create minimal disruption to the homeowners.
However, the experts we spoke with—many of whom have designed and managed repair programs—pointed to shortcomings too. Many mobile homes are in such a state of disrepair that repairs are not practical or cost-effective. Experts also reported difficulties finding licensed and insured tradespeople willing to work on mobile homes. Policymakers have an opportunity to build or support workforce training and credentialing programs to ensure there are enough tradespeople to meet demand for repairs in areas where mobile homes are prevalent.
Replacing mobile homes with modern manufactured homes is often more practical and cost-effective than extensive repairs. Maine has established the Mobile Home Replacement Initiative that offers low-cost loans and grants to eligible residents, funding the replacement of older mobile homes with ENERGY STAR units. Similar programs exist in New York and Oregon. The recent Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement program, authorized by a bipartisan vote of Congress, received an overwhelming number of project requests centering on mobile home replacement in land-lease parks.
There is an opportunity at all levels of government to create and fund replacement programs, which can improve people's everyday health and safety, reduce energy costs, and help combat the stigma against factory-built housing that mobile homes sometimes perpetuate. Replacing mobile homes can also allow residents to relocate to less hazardous locations or improve underlying infrastructure, both of which can reduce climate risk.
Whether mobile home owners pursue repairs or replacement, they need financial resources to invest in their home’s resilience. Mobile home residents have lower incomes than households generally, are more likely to be living on fixed incomes, and experience higher levels of poverty. Mobile homes also tend to be titled as personal property, which limits their owners’ ability to borrow or to access many subsidized home improvement or replacement programs. Experts stress that repair and replacement programs should combine subsidies with straightforward and accessible loans that recognize the financial precarity of many households and that meet mobile home owners where they are financially.
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