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2. What is a Manufactured Home?
In its most general sense, manufactured
housing can mean any home built in a factory setting and installed
or assembled on a home site. This definition would include trailer
houses, mobile homes, manufactured homes, modular homes, and recreational
vehicles that serve as residential units. Since there are significant
and recognizable differences in each of these types of structures,
it becomes necessary to refine the definitions so that each may
be treated accordingly.
Without
clear definition, the difference between the types of factory-built
homes leads to regulatory language that, in some instances, does
not make a distinction. Though frequently referred to in the same
context, manufactured housing is defined separately from „mobile
homesâ, „trailer housesâ, and „modular housingâ. Montana Code
provides some guidance in distinguishing between the various types
of homes that are „manufacturedâ off-site:
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Title
15-1-101(2)(l), MCA (Taxation)
The term „manufactured homeâ means a residential dwelling
built in a factory in accordance with the United States
department of housing and urban development code and the
federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.
A manufactured home does not include an mobile home as defined
in 61-1-501 and in subsection (1)(m) of this section, a
house trailer, as defined in 61-1-501, or a mobile home
or house trailer constructed before the federal Manufactured
Home Construction and Safety Standards went into effect
on June 15, 1976.
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Title
15-1-102(2)(m), MCA
The term „mobile homeâ means forms of housing known as „trailersâ,
„house trailersâ, or „trailer coachesâ exceeding 8 feet
in width and 45 feet in length, designed to be moved from
one place to another by an independent power connected to
them, or any trailer, house trailer, or trailer coach up
to 8 feet in width or 45 feet in length used as a principal
residence.
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Title
61-1-501, MCA
„Mobile homeâ or „house trailerâ means a trailer or semitrailer
that is designed, constructed, and equipped as a dwelling
place, living abode, or sleeping place (either permanently
or temporarily) and is equipped for use as a conveyance
on streets and highways or a trailer semitrailer whose chassis
and exterior shell is designed and constructed for use as
a house trailer but that is used permanently or
temporarily for the advertising, sales, display, or promotion
of merchandise or services for any commercial purpose except
the transportation of property for hire or the transportation
of property for distribution by a private carrier.
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Title
61-1-513(1), MCA
„Manufactured homeâ means any residential dwelling
built in a factory in accordance with the United States
department of housing and urban development code and the
federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.
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Title
76-2-203(6), MCA (municipal and county zoning statutes)
... „manufactured housingâ means a single-family dwelling,
built offsite at a factory on or after January 1, 1990,
that is placed on a permanent foundation, is at least 1,000
square feet in size, has a pitched roof and siding and roofing
materials that are customarily, as defined by local regulations,
used on site-built homes, and is in compliance with the
applicable standards of the United States department of
housing and urban development at the time of its production.
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Though not
referred to specifically as a „modular homeâ, state building code
regulations consider modular homes to be „factory-builtâ buildings
that are regulated under ARM 80.70.500, et al. Unlike manufactured
homes, they must conform to the requirements of the Uniform Building
Code and be inspected at the factory where they are assembled.
Each design must be reviewed by the Building Codes Bureau and
each unit must carry a data plate that describes design loads
and an insignia issued by the Bureau.
Manufactured
housing is required by state codes to comply with a health and
safety standard by satisfying the requirements of the national
Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards. When placed
in areas that have zoning regulations, they are also required
to satisfy an appearance standard by providing a pitched roof,
a minimum size, and roofing and siding that is equivalent to what
is required for site-built homes.
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