Oregon Bill Ensures New Communities Allow Manufactured Homes and Extends Tenant Legal Support

Manufactured and modular homes cannot be banned from any new residential community currently on the drawing board if a bill is passed by Oregon lawmakers.

House Bill 3144 will only apply to new communities, and manufactured units will be subject to the same design requirements as all other homes in new communities. The bill was presented to the Senate Committee on Housing and Development earlier this week.

Labor Day Wildfires in 2020 Exacerbated the Need for Affordable Housing

There are over 140,000 manufactured homes in Oregon, a sector of the residential market that has never recovered from the Labor Day wildfires of 2020 that wiped out 1,500 manufactured homes in Jackson County, swathing a path of destruction through 18 mobile home parks in the Rogue Valley.

Oregon has never recovered from the overnight shortage of accommodation caused by the wildfires, or the resulting critical shortage of affordable homes.

Legal Assistance Grants Extended to January 2031

The House Bill will also extend the date to January 2031, so manufactured home park tenants and marina residents can receive grants to assist with legal representation in a dispute with a landlord.

Grants are funded by a $10 annual fee paid to the Manufactured and Marina Communities Resource Center by Oregon mobile park home residents.

Most mobile home park residents own their homes, but because they rent the land on which their homes stand and for which they pay property tax, they are classified as tenants. The same premise applies to residents living in floating homes in marinas.

House Bill 3144 was passed by a 49-7 vote in the House and must now be voted on by the Senate committee to advance to the Senate floor.