Part II
The Definitions and Certification
The definitions have been carefully broken down to show how they are intertwined with each other and the title of this Act.
Definitions Title VI §603;
As used in this title, the term;
Short and to the point, whenever such term is used no matter where it is used in the title it is always compared to the definitions.
Title VI §603 (6)
"Mobile Home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or forty feet or more in length, or when erected on site is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and, which is constructed on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a "dwelling" with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein.
Home means a place where a person or family lives, and not a house, which is a building or structure intended for use as a home by a person or family.
"When" means under what circumstances. What does erected mean? "Erected" means to setup, assemble or construct. And where is the home erected, ON-SITE. When erected on site, not if erected. All meanings for "erected" are inseparable from the definition of "mobile home construction", which is to be discussed later. How clear could it have been that a mobile home would require assembly or completion on-site before it could meet the first of the criteria defined under this term? The definition even goes further by having a second criterion to insure that under no circumstances could the manufacturer call this product a "mobile home" before it was complete and ready for occupancy by the first purchaser. The definition of Mobile home says that the product must also be connected to the required utilities and includes specific other items within, which will be discussed in detail later on. Once again this is done with the word "when", when connected to the required utilities, not if connected. It does not meet the definition of a "mobile home" as defined in this Act until it is erected on-site and it is connected to the required utilities, which includes the completion of plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained within.
What about all of the other conditions put together by the word "or"? That's easy; it does not have to be three hundred twenty square feet or more in the traveling mode so long as when it is assembled on site it is at least three hundred twenty square feet. Regardless of whether or not it is a single or multi-sectional house it must be erected on site and connected to the required utilities. There is an exclusion offered to the manufacturer for size but this does not allow for a mobile home to not be built to the federal construction and safety standards" and a more recent exclusion added for recreational vehicles.
Summary;
The merchandise must be completed on-site including support, stabilization (with or without a permanent foundation), connection to the required utilities and including the completion of other elements specified that can be completed nowhere else but on-site to fulfill the requirements of this definition. When a consumer is sold a home that they are not buying pieces of a home. The consumer is almost in all instances is led to believe through the contract and the person who is selling the manufacturer's goods that the home will be ready to occupy at the conclusion of the sale. If it is not ready to be occupied as per the requirements of the Act, it is not a marketable product.
"When" is used as an adjective (procedure) and was chosen because it required an action to bring it to a conclusion and these actions are specified in the definition. No matter when or where the term "mobile home" is used within Act or the standards and regulations, it can only be valid if the criterion specified within the definition has been met or will be met before transfer and certification of the product to the retailer / dealer / distributor for sale to the first purchaser as being compliant with all applicable federal standards. This is just one of the safe guards used to insure that no standards and regulations created would somehow exclude on-site assembly or completion of a mobile home.
This has a profound affect on the manufacturer's certification to the dealer / retailer / distributor. The certification of full compliance with the Federal Construction and Safety Standards can only be made when the home is completed on site and connected to the required utilities in accordance with the federal standards. Failure to comply with the requirements of this definition prevents the product from being defined, as a "mobile home" and therefore any certification of compliance made by the manufacturer prior to full compliance with the definition for "mobile home" is premature and the certification is invalid on its face.
One would think by calling this product a home mobile and by including with or without a permanent foundation, that lawmakers considered these homes to be such but this is not the case.
Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs, July 23, 1973
Senator Proxmire;
I think maybe they lose a lot because we think of them too often as people who don't have roots, and therefore don't vote and don't have the political power they would have, but I think that is changing.
Mobile homes become a permanent residence for many people and a perfectly, perhaps desirable, environment in many cases.
Senator Brock;
Let me point out these people are no longer by any definition transients.
Senator Proxmire;
I said they are viewed as transients. You are absolutely right that they are not; they are not.
Senator Brock;
These are very stable communities and in many cases a hell of a lot better than so-called residentials.
Senator Proxmire;
Then we agree it is the wrong idea.
Senator Brock;
Very much so.
Senator Proxmire
In the first case (referencing earlier versions of this bill) "without a permanent foundation" was considered a mobile home and now "with or without a permanent foundation". It is an indication of transients.
Representative Frey of Florida
The definition we changed between 1972 and 1973 in the bill was basically based on review of the State Laws and trying to tie it into the definition of mobile home under the majority of the States.
No matter whether or not the mobile home was placed on a permanent foundation or a temporary foundation, lawmakers considered them permanent residences.
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Title VI §616
Certification of Conformity with the Construction and Safety Standards
Every Manufacturer of mobile homes shall furnish to the distributor or dealer at the time of delivery of each such mobile home produced by such manufacturer certification that such mobile home conforms to all applicable Federal construction and safety standards. Such certification shall be in the form of a label or tag permanently affixed to each such "mobile home".
"Delivery" means a giving or handing over; transfer. The industry and HUD/FHA have played the delivery card well to create the illusion that this could only mean the transport of the home from the factory to the dealer/retailer/distributor and therefore the certification could only take place upon physical arrival at the dealer/retailer/distributor lot. This is not the case and this Act makes it clear that this is not what this means.
When is it a mobile home? When it is assembled or completed on-site and connected to the required utilities, which includes the completion of plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained within that can be completed nowhere else but on-site.
When can the manufacturer's certify to the dealer / retailer / distributor compliance with the federal standards? Not until the product can be compared to the definition for "mobile home" and all applicable federal standards have been met.
When can the retailer / dealer / distributor complete the sale of a mobile home to the first purchaser? Not until the manufacturer delivers a marketable product as defined by the definition of "mobile home" to the dealer / retailer / distributor along with a certification that the home complies with all applicable federal standards.
The definition of mobile home sets the only place and time that this certification of conformity with the federal standards can be issued by its direct connection with the definition of "mobile home". The definition for "manufacturer" in this Act, to be discussed later specifies that anyone who is acting in the capacity of assembling or completing the merchandise "on-site" is in fact the same as the "manufacturer". Lawmakers did not want anyone to misunderstand the language in this section. To prevent this even though not required, lawmakers used the term "such" to add inferences to this sections connection with the definitions of "mobile home" and "manufacturer".
Great care was taken by lawmakers to prevent anyone involved in the creation of the standards and regulations from misconstruing this into meaning that the home could be complete and certified as being compliant with all applicable federal standards at the backdoor of the factory because it cannot and this is very clear in this legislation. Even with the careful thought and consideration by congressional lawmakers to create legislation with concise language HUD/FHA and the manufacturers have still managed to abuse this section of the Act and have caused grave injury and even death to many Americans who otherwise, had the congressional intent been carried out, might be leading healthy productive lives today. The loss of any part of this country's citizens to death or injury caused by the use of defective product is a loss this county cannot <afford>.
Summary;
The manufacturer can only certify their product to the retailer / dealer / distributor to comply with all applicable federal standards when the product fulfills the requirements for the definition of "mobile home". Until these requirements are satisfied, the manufacturer cannot transfer (deliver) or certify compliance of the product to the retailer/dealer and the retailer/dealer cannot conclude the sale of the home to the first purchaser.
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Title VI §603 (1)
"Mobile Home Construction" means all activities relating to the assembly and manufacture of a mobile home including but not limited to those relating to durability, quality, and safety. (The Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act)
Don't forget the definition for "mobile home".
The definition takes two separate activities and joins them together using the word "and" to create continuity or make them inseparable.
All activities relating to the assembly (the term used for installation) of a mobile home AND all activities related to the manufacture of a mobile home. They are separate but both must happen to be defined as "Mobile Home Construction".
Since the word "and"' is a conjunction it allows for the order of the words on each side of it to be changed without changing the meaning.
"Mobile Home Construction" means all activities relating to the manufacture and assembly of a mobile home including but not limited to those relating to quality, safety, and durability.
The meaning has not been changed but it is easier to understand since the steps are now in the order that they occur. The "All activities" should not have been required but seems to act as an added safeguard to insure that this definition was not misconstrued or misinterpreted and limited to only activities that occur at the factory. Lawmakers were very aware of how the manufacturers did business in those days and it was discussed in some detail in the testimony before the Senate Subcommittee for Housing and Urban Affairs.
This included the practice of not taking any responsibility for their product once it left the factory. It has been allowed to stay this way due largely to HUD/FHA's complicity with the manufacturers in ignoring the law, the Congressional intent and purpose of this legislation.
The addition of this definition to Senator's Brock Bill was generated by comments by Lynda Donnell of the Center for Auto Safety during the hearings. The reason that her testimony is being referenced is because in every instance where she recommended changes and gave the reason for the need for the change to the Bill, you can find changes to the Bill that reflects her recommendations. Her influence on the final version of this Bill passed into law was enormous.
Lynda McDonnell, Center for Auto Safety
"We feel the Bill's scope should be changed to include construction as well as safety". "We urge the committee to amend the Bill to include construction and change the Bill's title to The "Mobile Home Construction" and Safety Act". It was called the "Mobile Home Safety Standards Act" when this statement was made.
Before this comment, the Bill's focus was on safety and not on the construction of the product, although this would go hand in hand with safety in most instances. This is profound when you consider that the testimony by lawmakers concerning this bill was mostly about what lawmakers knew had to be done to make this product safe to occupy and was not directed specifically at the construction of the product. The Taft amendment was the only thing that dealt with construction defects and it was incorporated into the legislation in a way that makes the manufacturer responsible to the first purchaser for their product's performance. Instead of adopting the Taft amendment as a separate section, it was incorporated into the Bill. Why the above comment about safety is so profound will become apparent later in the report when you read Lawmaker statements and try to understand how anyone could have ever thought that this legislation was not intended to create standards for the on-site assembly or completion (installation) of a mobile home.
Summary;
The meaning of "Mobile Home Construction" combined two distinct and separate elements. In this case, construction means all activities related to the manufacture and assembly of a mobile home. What are the requirements for this product to be defined as a mobile home? It must be assembled on site, including support and stabilization and connected to the required utilities including the other requirements specified in the definition for "mobile home". No one could creditably argue that this product is ready for occupancy at the back door of the factory and constitutes all activities related to the assembly of a mobile home on site.
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Title VI §603 (1)
"Mobile Home Safety" means the performance of a mobile home in such a manner that the public is protected against any unreasonable risk of the occurrence of accidents due to design or construction of such mobile home, or any unreasonable risk of death or injury to the user or to the public if such accidents occur. (The Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act)
"Mobile home safety" gives "The Secretary" has far reaching authority to create whatever standard(s) is necessary to carry out the purpose of this title. There is no need to go into detailed analysis of this definition since it is quite clear that the Secretary could still can create whatever standard(s) is necessary to insure that what this definition says, is accomplished even if the standard is not related to construction.
Can anyone say that an unanchored mobile home sitting up in the air on some blocks does not constitute an unreasonable risk of injury or death? Even today, in many states, including some with HUD/FHA approved State plans; mobile homes remain unanchored because of illegal State laws not requiring that homes be anchored.
Summary;
The definition takes the design or construction of a mobile home and makes it inseparable from the safety of the public and the user of the merchandise.
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Title VI §603 (7)
"Federal mobile home construction and safety standard" means a reasonable standard for the construction, design, and performance of a mobile home, which meets the needs of the public including the need for quality, durability, and safety.
This definition takes the definition of mobile home, mobile home construction, and mobile home safety and combines them into the scope of the standards. Another way of looking at this is the definition of mobile home, mobile home construction, and mobile home safety establish the framework for the architects of the standards so that they knew the objective of the procedures (standards) for the construction, design, and performance of what was to be built.
FHA Commissioner Apgar, 1999 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee
I also believe it is important to recognize that there is a direct correlation between the installation of a manufactured home, and the homes compliance with the Federal Standards. A home that is incorrectly installed may not comply with the Standards.
A direct correlation is putting it loosely; installation or so HUD/FHA and the manufacturer's have chosen to call it, is incorporated into the standards through the definition of "mobile home construction". You cannot have federal standards that installation is not a part of.
In this written testimony, Bill Apgar is trying to sell the notion that there are no federal installation standards in an effort to convince Congress of the need to amend the Act to provide for such. The actual effort by Apgar is to get Congress to unknowingly cover-up HUD/FHA's failure to carry out this Act by making it look like it is the Act that is broken and not HUD/FHA who has failed.
What is of most importance is the admission by Apgar that a home may not meet the Federal Standards if improperly assembled or completed on-site. The Secretary is empowered by this Act to order a manufacturer to correct whatever caused the home not to be in compliance with the standards even if it is caused by the installation / setup / assembly / on-site completion and this includes the power to order the manufacturer to replace the home if necessary.
This acknowledgment should have Congress asking the question of why HUD/FHA claim not to have authority to act against a manufacturer for homes that are improperly completed on-site if this is what has caused the home to be non-compliant with the federal standards. Nothing in this Act says that once the home has been certified that HUD/FHA is finished with the job. The Act clearly states that it is the manufacturer's responsibility to insure that corrective action is taken to correct defects that cause a non-compliance with the federal standards and it is HUD/FHA's job to insure that the manufacturer does what they are supposed to do and this is correct the defect. If necessary to get the manufacturer to comply with the requirement to bring the home back into conformance with the standards, the Secretary may issue a final order to this effect. Failure by anyone to follow a final order of the Secretary is a violation punishable by a $1000 dollar fine for each such violation and depending on the seriousness this could include up to one year in prison for the offender, Section 611 (a) & (b).
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Title VI §603 (5)
"Manufacturer" means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling mobile homes, including any person engaged in importing mobile homes for resale.
Who is responsible for complying with the Federal "Mobile Home Construction" and Safety Standards?
Is it the dealer / retailer, which is defined as any person engaged in the sale, leasing or distribution of new mobile homes?
Is it the distributor, which is defined as any person engaged in the sale and distribution of mobile home for resale?
They are neither defined as the manufacturer or assembler of mobile homes, although nothing in this Act prevents a dealer / retailer / distributor from acting in the capacity of manufacturer under contract or any type of advanced agreement with the manufacturer to carry out this part of "mobile home construction". It makes it the manufacturer's responsibility to insure that whomever acts in this capacity (manufacturer) was in fact qualified to bring to a conclusion the construction of a mobile home and fulfill the definition of "mobile home". This definition simply means that any person who participates in the on-site assembly or completion of a "mobile home" is the same as the manufacturer when acting in this capacity. The dealer/ Retailer/ distributor/ is merely an agent / franchisee of the manufacturer who completes the manufacturers work for the manufacturer.
Why would lawmakers want to go to these lengths to make sure that the manufacturer would be legally responsible for the on-site assembly or completion of their product and would not shift the blame for their defective products onto others?
Believe it or not, in 1973 the same exact squabbling and finger pointing that goes on today between the manufacturer and the dealer / retailer / assembler (installer) as to who was responsible for the repair of a defect in a mobile home existed then as it does now and the homeowner still pays the price now as they did then. This was discussed in the testimony and what could have been an easier solution to the problem than making any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling mobile homes mean the same. This definition carries the manufacturer's responsibility from the factory to the construction site through the definition of "mobile home construction" and does not end until the product is assembled into a whole home as per the definition of "mobile home" and could then be certified as being compliant with all federal standards, which includes certification of performance data and the design of the home with the federal standards. The home design and performance data is certified by the manufacturer as being in compliance with all applicable federal standards and HUD/FHA's contractor (DAPIA) or the States if they so choose to take on this function approve this performance data and home design as being such. This prevents the manufacturer from shedding his or her responsibility for the quality, durability, and safety of the product, since no one else but the manufacturer is responsible for the proper on-site assembly or completion of a mobile home. Now if a home failed to perform as the manufacturer had certified that it would, there was no one else responsible for this failure but the manufacturer. If this Act were carried out as intended, there would be no disputes that needed settling. Included next is the testimony of Susan McDonnell of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington because of its impact on the construction of this legislation and to give you an idea of why lawmakers would take this approach to the construction of this Act.
Ms. Lynda McDonnell of the Center for Auto Safety
"Because manufacturer's do not actually perform the set-up of the home they manufacture, their warranties do not guarantee that the procedure will be carried out correctly by the dealer"
"A manufacturer will claim that a defect developed because of poor setup; the dealer will claim that the defect developed because of poor setup; the dealer will claim the defect originated in the factory. The consumer is caught in the middle and may wait for months while the dealer and manufacturer negotiate about who will make the repair. Many consumers simply give up in frustration and repair the home themselves or hire service men to make the repairs".
"To minimize this sort of dealer-manufacturer squabbling we propose that the bill specify that the manufacturer would be responsible for structural defects whether they were caused by faulty setup or not. We would require that the manufacturer guarantee that the home will be setup by his dealer / agent or the manufacturer himself would be liable for damage if it is not. We see no other way to force manufacturers to exercise more control over their dealers and thereby eliminate the rampant dealer-manufacturer runaround. The buck-passing between dealers and manufacturers is a chronic problem in the mobile home industry. The manufacturers eschew (avoid) responsibility for any of their dealers. An attorney for Schult Mobile Home Corporation expressed this lack of control over dealers in a letter to an attorney representing a mobile home owner whose roof had collapsed. "Please be advised that neither Northland Homes, nor any other dealer for Schult Homes Corporation is an agent of Schult. Mobile home dealers are independent contractors and not subject to the direction or control of the manufacturer. Most dealers sell mobile homes manufactured by at least several different manufacturers. The dealer, not the manufacturer, is the dominant link in the chain of distribution. Any statement made by the dealer, or by his salesman, would be strictly his and not attributable to the manufacturer". It is obvious from this statement that any federal legislation must force the manufacturers to assume responsibility for the actions of their dealer-agents as well".
Summary;
So long as the retailer /dealer / distributor / installer are performing the activities of "mobile home construction" they're the same as the manufacturer. This would prevent the manufacturer from ever claiming they were not responsible for the actions of their own agents in the proper on-site assembly or completion of their product or a home's failure to perform as certified by the manufacturer and approved by the DAPIA (Design Approval Primary Inspection Agency).