Park model RV industry alarmed after federal regulator announces change in classification

On Oct. 1, Pamela Beck Danner, administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued a memo to the RV and MH industries stating that for units built after April 1, 2015, the porches of park model RVs will be included in their square footage. The change could push some park models over the 400-square-foot threshold, removing their exemption from HUD regulations on manufactured housing standards.

That would change both the types of loans needed for financing and how the units are taxed once they’re owned. It could also raise the cost of park models if manufacturers have to produce and ship porches separately.

Park models technically are mobile in that they have wheels and a chassis that allows them to be moved. But buyers typically have the manufacturer deliver them directly to a quasi-permanent site, such as a campground, where they stay each year. 

Historically, regulators have allowed the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association to set standards for how RVs should be built, including the practice of excluding exterior porches from square footage calculations. Danner’s announcement marks a complete reversal on how the agency has viewed park models, said Matt Wald, executive director of park models at the RVIA.