TITLE 24

Professions and Occupations

CHAPTER 44. Manufactured Home Installation

Subchapter III. Manufactured Home Installation Code

§ 4421. Manufactured home installations.

(a) Every manufactured home installed in Delaware must be installed by a manufactured home installer licensed by the Board pursuant to this chapter.

(b) All manufactured home installations shall performed in a manner consistent with the regulations of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and shall be completed:

(1) Pursuant to the requirements of the manufactured home manufacturer’s written installation instructions or manual; or

(2) If the manufacturer’s written installation instructions or manual is not available, then pursuant to the applicable provisions of NCSBCS/ANSI 225.1, 1994, as amended; or

(3) If the manufacturer’s written installation instructions or manual is not available, and the provisions of NCSBCS/ANSI 225.1, 1994, as amended do not apply to the specific manufactured home, then pursuant to a set of plans designed for that specific manufactured home under the seal of a registered professional engineer.

(c) At the discretion of the county where the manufactured home is sited, and for a period not to exceed 6 months, limited exceptions to the above installation requirements may be permitted where installation of a manufactured home is made on a temporary basis, as emergency relief to a resident whose legal dwelling has been damaged or destroyed by fire or other natural disaster until said damage can be repaired or the dwelling replaced with a legal dwelling, or for a temporary installation where a manufactured home is being replaced with anther legal dwelling.

(d) All manufactured home installations shall be inspected pursuant to this chapter, by an employee or contractor of an authorized inspection agency who has been certified by the Board as a manufactured home installation inspector.

(e) This section is intended to establish minimal standards for the installation of any manufactured home within the State of Delaware and to govern the installation of both previously owned manufactured homes and new manufactured homes. These standards are intended to satisfy the standards established by the federal Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 [P.L. 106-569, Title VI], and shall be liberally construed to that end.

75 Del. Laws, c. 213, §  177 Del. Laws, c. 169, §  6

§ 4422. Installation inspections.

(a) All installations of manufactured homes, whether new or previously owned, shall be subject to a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 inspections conducted prior to the owner taking occupancy, and the issuance of a certificate of completion or occupancy. At least 1 inspection shall be performed upon completion of an installation for the purposes of ensuring the safety and stability of the installation and the habitability of the manufactured home. Re-inspections required due to a failure of a previous inspection do not count towards the maximum number of inspections.

(b) Inspections shall be conducted by the land use department or other applicable agency or department of the county in which the manufactured home is located, unless a local government agency that currently performs such inspections on traditional housing desires to assume responsibility for inspections of manufactured housing. If the local government agency declines to do the inspection then the county shall be the authorized inspection agency. Counties or municipalities may hire inspectors on a contract basis to perform inspections on the county’s or municipality’s behalf, consistent with their current practices for other types of inspections. Such inspectors are subject to the requirements of subsection (d) of this section below. In no event shall any installation be subject to multiple inspections by other jurisdictions.

(c) The county or other local applicable agency which performs the inspection may charge a reasonable fee, as it relates to the actual cost to the inspecting agency, for the inspection procedure.

(d) No person shall undertake an installation inspection pursuant to this chapter without first having been individually certified by the Board pursuant to this chapter.

75 Del. Laws, c. 213, §  177 Del. Laws, c. 169, §  7

§ 4423. Requirement to provide notification of installation information.

All licensed manufactured home installers shall purchase approval decals from the Board, for a fee to be established by the Division. Such decal shall denote the date of setup, the name of the installer, and the number of the installer’s license. Approval decals shall be positioned and permanently affixed next to the manufactured home data plate.

75 Del. Laws, c. 213, §  1