Support for funding the PRICE manufactured housing grants
The Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program was created by Congress in 2022, as a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to preserve and revitalize manufactured homes and communities (MHCs). This year, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 943) and U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 4477) to make the program permanent and to include $10 million in PRICE funding in the ROAD to Housing bill (S. 2651). The proposal was authored by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR) and endorsed by NMHOA, ROC USA, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and others.
The program was created by Congress in 2022 and has proven incredibly popular. In 2024, HUD announced the first round of grantmaking, with $225 million in grants going to 17 grantees to benefit communities in 26 states. However, HUD received applications from 175 communities across 44 states with requests for over $3 billion.
The program’s primary purpose is to upgrade community infrastructure including improving roads, storm drainage, sidewalks, water systems to provide clean drinking water, improving septic systems to ensure safe sanitation and upgrade electrical systems. It can also be used to:
Support investments in resident health, safety and accessibility including home safety improvements, weatherization upgrades, reduction of utility costs, and improved accessibility for residents with disabilities.
Support resiliency investments to mitigate damage from natural disasters such as flood, hurricane, tornado, and wildfires.
Assist with relocation assistance, eviction prevention, and downpayment assistance.
Support creating new manufactured home communities and acquisitions, including resident purchases and downpayment assistance.
Remove abandoned and blighted homes, improve foundations, and replace pre-1976 homes to save energy and improve resiliency for homes in community and owned by the family.
Skyrocketing lot rents focus of Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act
On August 12, the Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act (H.R. 4969) was introduced by U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-New Mexico) to address the affordability of manufactured home living by investigating and reporting on lot rents in manufactured home communities. NMHOA has endorsed the proposal. Here’s a breakdown of the main components of the bill:
Investigation of Pricing Practices – Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is tasked with investigating if lot rents are being manipulated. The investigation will focus on two main issues: checking if there are any forms of market manipulation occurring; and determining if prices are being artificially increased through practices deemed as price gouging.
Reporting Requirements – Within 270 days after the bill becomes law, HUD must submit a report to Congress and publish it on the HUD website. This report will include: a long-term strategy for addressing price manipulation, which will consider data on race, gender, and socioeconomic factors; and an analysis of how institutional investors in manufactured home communities affect seniors and underserved communities.
Monitoring Purchases – The bill requires HUD to monitor the purchases of manufactured homes and the associated lot rents across various housing market areas. If it's found that a single buyer, including institutional investors, has purchased more than 2,500 manufactured homes or pad sites since January 1, 2015, further investigations will be triggered to explore: instances of price gouging; significant rental increases compared to the area's median rent; and failure to provide utilities to residents.
Posted: to General News on Tue, Sep 9, 2025
Updated: Tue, Sep 9, 2025