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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Teresa B. Payne, Administrator, Office of Manufactured Housing Programs, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 9166, Washington, DC 204108000;
telephone number 2024022698 this is not a toll-free number. For hearing and speech-impaired persons, this number may be accessed via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 18008778339 this is a toll-free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 42 U.S.C. 54015426 the Act, authorizes HUD to establish and amend the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards the Construction and Safety Standards codified at 24 CFR part 3280. The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 Pub. L. 106569, approved December 27, 2000, established the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee MHCC to provide HUD
recommendations to adopt, revise, and interpret the Construction and Safety Standards. HUDs Construction and Safety Standards apply to the design, construction, and installation of new manufactured homes.
Following MHCCs third set of recommendations made to HUD, and HUDs review of, editorial revisions to, and addition of proposals to the MHCCs recommendations, HUD
published a proposed rule on January 31, 2020 85 FR 5589. Most commenters on the proposed rule expressed general support for the proposed revisions as part of HUDs effort to update the Construction and Safety Standards, and several commenters provided technical and substantive recommendations.
Following HUDs consideration of public comments on the proposed rule, and consideration of HUDs experience with the program, HUD published a final rule on January 12, 2021 86 FR
2496. The final rule revises certain sections of the Construction and Safety Standards, incorporates six reference standards, and makes minor technical edits to the Construction and Safety Standards. The amendments to the codified regulations reinforce the Acts purposes, namely to provide benefits to consumers, homeowners, and the broader community; promote and improve consumer and home safety, such as by improving smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements; reduce regulatory barriers and expand
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consumer options; and allow the use of the latest building technologies and materials while creating more consistency with State-adopted residential building codes.
II. This Final Rule HUDs January 12, 2021, final rule has a March 15, 2021, effective date. This final rule delays the March 15, 2021, effective date by 120 days to July 12, 2021, to provide sufficient time for affected stakeholders and manufacturers to implement the new and amended requirements.
HUD recognizes that, as the result of the COVID19 pandemic, many manufacturers are experiencing backlogs and supply chain challenges that make it difficult for manufacturers to obtain products that the new regulations require in a timely manner.1
Industry stakeholders stated that these shortages have made it difficult for manufactures to obtain carbon monoxide alarms, combination carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, doors, railings, and other products required to meet the January 12, 2021 regulation.
Industry stakeholders have also expressed to HUD a desire for additional time to implement and modify processes to ensure compliance with the new regulation. For example, stakeholders have pointed out that the changes will require consultation with Design Approval Primary Inspection Agencies DAPIAs and drafting teams which take additional time.
In response to these concerns, HUD is publishing this final rule to delay the March 15, 2021 effective date to July 12, 2021, to provide additional time for affected stakeholders and manufacturers to implement the new and amended requirements.
III. Justification for Final Rulemaking for the Delay of Effective Date Section 553bB of the Administrative Procedure Act APA 5
U.S.C. 553bB permits agencies to omit prior notice and comment procedure when an agency for good cause finds such procedure to be impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. HUDs regulation on rulemaking at 24 CFR 10.1
implements the APAs requirements for HUD, including the good cause exception.
HUD finds that prior public notice and comment for this final rule is contrary to the public interest. This final 1 Manufactured Housing Landscape 2020, Fannie Mae May 21, 2020 https
multifamily.fanniemae.com/news-insights/
multifamily-market-commentary/manufacturedhousing-landscape-2020.

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rule extends the effective date for the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards final rule for 120 days, from March 15, 2021, to July 12, 2021.
It does not signal any revision of the requirements included in the January 12, 2021, final rule. All revisions to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards codified by the January 12, 2021, final rule will still be implemented without change.
Without this extension, manufacturers would be hard pressed to implement and meet new requirements that were scheduled to take effect on March 15, 2021. The inability to meet the March 15, 2021, effective date is largely a result of the COVID19 pandemic and its disruption of economic activity in the United States, including backlogs and supply chain disruptions within the manufactured housing industry, making compliance by March 15, 2021 unlikely if not impossible. Manufacturers and stakeholders expressed this concern to HUD and asked for additional time to implement and modify processes to ensure compliance with new regulations. Delaying the effective date of the final rule will allow manufacturers and program stakeholders the additional time needed to obtain the products and implement the procedures required to comply with new or amended requirements. For these reasons, HUD finds that there is good cause to issue this final rule without additional public comment.
IV. Findings and Certifications Regulatory ReviewExecutive Orders 12866 and 13563
Under Executive Order 12866
Regulatory Planning and Review, a determination must be made whether a regulatory action is significant and, therefore, subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget OMB in accordance with the requirements of the order. Executive Order 13563
Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review directs executive agencies to analyze regulations that are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned. Executive Order 13563 also directs that, where relevant, feasible, and consistent with regulatory objectives, and to the extent permitted by law, agencies are to identify and consider regulatory approaches that reduce burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the public. This rule has been determined not to be a significant regulatory action as defined in section 3f of the Executive order and therefore
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