Join Our Efforts to Push Back on Unreasonable Energy Standards for Manufactured Housing
MHI – HOUSING ALERT October 1, 2021
The Department of Energy (DOE) has published a proposed rulemaking on energy standards for manufactured housing which, if finalized will eliminate manufactured housing as an affordable housing option for hundreds of thousands of potential homebuyers. The current DOE proposal is fundamentally flawed and must be completely rewritten to ensure manufactured homes remain an available option for American families.
The DOE proposal would dramatically increase the costs of manufactured homes, and in some areas of the country, will make the construction and transportation of homes nearly impossible. The proposal uses the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which was developed for commercial and site-built residential buildings and ignores all the construction aspects unique to manufactured housing. Requiring the industry to comply with a building code that was developed outside of the HUD Code makes no sense and will confuse and disrupt manufacturing across the country.
The law requires the DOE to establish energy standards for manufactured housing based on the most recent version of the IECC unless using such a code is found not to be cost effective. We need to tell the DOE that their proposal is absolutely not cost effective. The assumptions made by the DOE in assessing cost are fundamentally flawed. According to MHI’s analysis of their assumptions, only one of the locations cited by DOE would result in minimal cost savings for a customer. All other locations would result in increases in upfront costs with no breakeven point even after ten years of ownership – there is NO payback in energy savings for the customer. Cost is not the only issue with the proposal. Under the DOE’s proposal, logistically it would be near impossible to construct and transport homes built with the new requirements.
At a time when the Administration is looking to boost the supply of affordable homes through manufactured housing, this rule cannot stand. Join us to oppose the DOE rule.
Join MHI’s Effort and Take Action Now!
It is critical that DOE hear from all sectors of the manufactured housing industry about how detrimental this proposal would be for homeowners. Please join MHI’s effort and tell DOE that their actions will place homeownership out of reach for many Americans.
To participate in the Call to Action click the button below and follow the simple steps on MHI’s website. The letter to DOE has already been composed – all you have to do is insert your home address and click submit.
Motor Vehicle Licenses must be renewed before Sept. 30, 2021
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (DOB) requires licensing renewal for all motor vehicle licenses before September 30, 2021.
To renew your motor vehicle license, you must use the DOB’s Portal and already have an Authorized User who has joined your entity.
The portal can be accessed at: https://theportal.dobs.pa.gov/.
If the licensing contact has joined the entity as an Authorized User, they will receive an email indicating that they have a task to complete in the Portal. Following the instructions provided in the email, they will log in, open the license renewal task, and complete the license renewal application.
If the licensing contact has not joined the entity, they will not be able to complete the task of renewing the license. The licensing contact should first look through emails (including spam/junk folders) for the email containing their specific join code. This information was sent by the DOB on June 14, June 30, July 9, July 19 and July 22, 2021. If after searching, the licensing contact is unable to locate their join code, they must contact the DOB’s Licensing Division by email at ra-AskLicensing@pa.gov to request the join code. Include your license name, number and contact information in the request.
Upon logging into the portal, the licensee will have the ability to invite others to have access to your entity to make updates or changes. This is beneficial for additional management and contacts with roles related to licensing, examinations and compliance with Department of Banking.
The Department of Banking and Securities has also published a user manual with helpful screenshots to assist with navigating the portal: www.dobs.pa.gov/Documents/DoBS%20Forms/Common%20Forms/DoBS%20Portal%20External%20Users%20Guide%206-4-21.pdf
Without joining your entity, there is no way to apply for a license renewal and your license will expire on September 30, 2021.
Failure to have a motor vehicle license by October 1, 2021, will prevent the licensee from being able to engage in financing. Should the licensee fail to renew their license, they will be required to complete an initial application for motor vehicle license.
Biden Announces Sweeping New Vaccine Mandates
President Biden announced September 9, 2021that all businesses with 100 or more employees must require their workers to be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
Biden is also requiring all health facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid funding to vaccinate their workforces and all federal employees to get vaccinated as well, without the option of regular testing instead.
The sweeping new vaccine mandates comes as the highly contagious delta variant has sent COVID-19 cases surging to more than 150,000 a day and is causing more than 1,500 daily deaths.
Under Biden’s directive, the Department of Labor will develop a rule requiring companies with 100 or more employees to require their staff to be vaccinated or tested weekly, Employers could face fines of $14,000 per violation, according to reports. The White House estimates that the policy will impact about 80 million workers, or two-thirds of the country’s workforce.
Businesses will also be required to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated. “This plan will ensure that we are using every available tool to combat COVID-19 and save even more lives in the months ahead, while also keeping schools open and safe, and protecting our economy from lockdowns and damage,” the White House said in a memo.
CDC Eviction Moratorium Blocked by US Supreme Court
Supreme Court Ends Federal Eviction Moratorium
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new targeted nationwide eviction moratorium which applied to counties in the U.S. experiencing “substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of COVID-19” which covers more than 90% of all renters in the U.S. The Supreme Court ruling only applies to the federal eviction moratorium and any state or local moratoriums remain in effect.
In its decision, the Court stated, “The moratorium has put the applicants, along with millions of landlords across the country, at risk of irreparable harm by depriving them of rent payments with no guarantee of eventual recovery. Despite the CDC’s determination that landlords should bear a significant financial cost of the pandemic, many landlords have modest means. And preventing them from evicting tenants who breach their leases intrudes on one of the most fundamental elements of property ownership—the right to exclude.” The order further stated that “if a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it.”
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters issued a statement that she is working on a “legislative solution to address issues with the slow implementation of the emergency rental assistance program.” Previously, Chairwoman Waters tried to pass legislation mandating an eviction moratorium, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
