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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Rules and Regulations implementing the program, HUD has made certain editorial revisions to HUDs proposals made in the January 31, 2020, proposed rule. In general, the revisions adopt changes to the codified regulations that reinforce the Acts purposes, namely providing benefits to consumers, homeowners, and the broader community; promoting and improving consumer and home safety;
reducing regulatory barriers and expanding consumer options; and allowing use of some for the latest building technologies and materials while creating more consistency with State-adopted residential building codes. HUD declined to adopt some standards or commenters suggested changes in some instances based on considerations of the statutorily prescribed MHCC process, the lack of authority under the Act for HUD to regulate design and construction of certain types of housing, and consumer safety.
The final rule will revise certain sections of the Construction and Safety Standards, as well as the incorporated reference standards where indicated.
The revisions described below are based on HUDs review and consideration of the public comments on the proposed rule, HUDs experience with the program, the existent Construction and Standards, and the issues raised in the proposed rule. The final rule also makes minor technical edits to the Construction and Standards.

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3280.5

Data Plate
HUD revised 3280.5 by revising paragraph d, pursuant to public comments, to streamline data entry.
Paragraph d now reads, d This manufactured home IS designed to accommodate the additional loads imposed by the attachment of an attached accessory building or structure in accordance with the manufacturer installation instructions. The additional loads are in accordance with the design loads identified on this Data Plate; or This manufactured home IS NOT
designed to accommodate the additional loads imposed by the attachment of an attached accessory building or structure in accordance with the manufacturer installation instructions. The appropriate designation may be made while still setting forth information that may be used by state and local authorities that have enforcement authority for site-built structures that are not integral to the manufactured home produced and shipped by the manufactured home manufacturer. HUD
seeks to preclude a home from being taken out of compliance when an
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attached accessory building or structure is built and added on at the home site.
3280.108 Interior Passage HUD revised paragraph c in this section in accordance with the public comments by creating an exception to the requirement for doors to closets, pantries, and doors to toilet compartments in single-section homes.
Single-section manufactured homes have a smaller living space when compared with a multi-section manufactured home or a typical sitebuilt home and, thus, closet and pantry doors should not be subject to the same clear opening requirements as a multisection manufactured home or a typical site-built home.
3280.114 Stairways HUD adjusted the rise and run dimensions based on public comment.
The changes recommended by public commenters on the proposed rule will give manufacturers more flexibility when trying to balance the smaller formfactor of most homes with consumer demand for multiple stories. The edits clarify that the standards do not apply to exterior stairways that are built at the home site or stairways to basement areas that are not designed and built as part of the manufactured home.
3280.209 Smoke Alarm Requirements While HUD did not revise this section in the proposed rule, a public commenter recommended that combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms be added as acceptable devices to parallel the International Residential Code IRC.
Furthermore, the changes to this section are intended to work in conjunction with the changes to 3280.211.
3280.211 Carbon Monoxide Detectors Alarms and detectors are different items that serve different purposes. HUD changed references from detector to alarm in response to public comment. HUD also revised this section to include specific locations where such items must be installed rather than just referencing the more general standards, such as the National Fire Protection Association Standard 720.
3280.212 Factory Constructed or Site-Built Attached Garages Public commenters suggested that the distinction between attached and selfsupported structures be emphasized in this section. HUD clarified that paragraph a applies only to garages which are not self-supported and
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revised the fire separation requirements in paragraph c, including that the garage must be separated from the home with appropriate gypsum wallboard or equivalent. HUD also added paragraph h as suggested by public comment to include that a site-built, self-supported garage is considered an add-on subject to 3282.8j1 and state and local authorities.
3280.213 Factory Constructed or Site-Built Attached Carports Similar to the previous section, public commenters also suggested that the distinction between attached and selfsupported structures be emphasized in this section. HUD made several changes to this section based on public comment, including adding a provision in paragraph b that the manufacturer may provide the maximum live and dead loads, and the applied loading locations that the home is designed to resist from the carport, and other design limitations or restrictions.
3280.504 Condensation Control and Installation of Vapor Retarders Based on public comment, HUD
clarified the distinction between mating walls and fire separation walls in paragraph b, stating that the fire separation wall between each attached manufactured home must be considered to be an exterior wall pursuant to subpart K.
3280.609

Water Distribution Systems
In order to better protect residents, HUD added relief pipe turndown requirements to this section based on public comment, stating that exterior relief drains shall be directed down and shall terminate between 6 and 24
above finished grade. This is high enough to prevent backflow, but low enough to reduce the risk of injury or accident.
3280.705

Gas Piping Systems
HUD eliminated hard pipe in paragraph I8iii, to account for a flex gas connector rather than a quickdisconnect.
3280.710 Venting, Ventilation, and Combustion Air HUD clarified that the placement restrictions apply to exhausts of fuel burning appliances and used the defined term habitable rooms in this section. This provides consistency across the regulation.
3280.904 Specific Requirements for Designing the Transportations System In addition to some language and grammatical changes, HUD added a
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