It’s Time to Recognize the Benefits of Manufactured Homes – and Make it Easier to Own One
, on Feb 11, 2026
It's no secret that Vermont is facing a serious housing crisis. Affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for many people. Finding ways to remove barriers that prevent people from purchasing and sustainably living in manufactured homes is one of the most meaningful ways to address this challenge.
Manufactured homes typically cost about half as much as stick-built homes with similar square footage. The difference isn't quality—it's the construction method. Plumbing, heating, and wastewater lines are usually run beneath the home, while electric and cable are placed underground. The home is raised to accommodate those connections, then finished with skirting that insulates and protects the utilities. It's a practical, efficient approach that makes homes more affordable and much quicker to install—often turnkey within months, sometimes even weeks.
I've lived in a stick-built house, and I currently live in a manufactured home. I have a porch, a deck, outdoor furniture, flower planters, and wind chimes. It feels like home because it is home. The only reason you might recognize it as a manufactured home is the skirting—or, in more traditional layouts, the long "railroad" design. Otherwise, you likely wouldn't know.
Manufactured homes typically cost about half as much as stick-built homes with similar square footage. The difference isn't quality—it's the construction method. Plumbing, heating, and wastewater lines are usually run beneath the home, while electric and cable are placed underground. The home is raised to accommodate those connections, then finished with skirting that insulates and protects the utilities. It's a practical, efficient approach that makes homes more affordable and much quicker to install—often turnkey within months, sometimes even weeks.
I've lived in a stick-built house, and I currently live in a manufactured home. I have a porch, a deck, outdoor furniture, flower planters, and wind chimes. It feels like home because it is home. The only reason you might recognize it as a manufactured home is the skirting—or, in more traditional layouts, the long "railroad" design. Otherwise, you likely wouldn't know.
We don't really call them mobile homes anymore—and for good reason. They aren't mobile in the way an RV is mobile. These are homes. They're built off-site, transported once, and then permanently connected to utilities and infrastructure. After that, they stay put. They become exactly what they're meant to be: someone's long-term home.
And yet, there's still a stigma that follows manufactured homes—and an outdated assumption about who lives in them. Too often, they're imagined through tired movie clichés: a dented tin box, cluttered yards, and characters meant to signal something negative about the people inside. That image is worn out and, frankly, unfair.
This stigma plus a host of real logistical hurdles, led me to introduce H.757. This bill is intended to be a first step to removing barriers faced by manufactured home buyers by eliminating restrictions on where manufactured homes may be located and allowing them to be sited wherever other residential homes are permitted. The bill expands access to homeownership and enables a broader range of individuals and families to realize the American dream.
The bill also clarifies the inconsistent classification of manufactured homes as either personal property or real property. This discrepancy creates confusion and obstacles within the financing system. H.757 gives banks the option to recognize manufactured homes as real property, while at the same time preserving access to personal property financing for buyers who may not qualify for a conventional mortgage. Even though such financing is typically more expensive and offers fewer consumer protections, it can still provide a critical pathway to homeownership, with the addition of eliminating the sales and use tax imposed.
H.757 proposes to eliminate real property taxes for manufactured home communities organized as limited equity cooperatives (LEC) for low- to moderate-income households that meet the statutory definition of a mobile home park, while continuing to tax each individually owned home.
Finally, H.757 clarifies that manufactured home LECs are owner-occupied, and subleasing is generally prohibited. However, if a homeowner experiences hardship, the board of directors may allow for a temporary sublease. In such cases, the homeowner may not charge more than the fair market rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development based on the Vermont location.
In policymaking, we often talk about "sustainability," and this bill takes specific steps to achieve it. It provides long-term stability for manufactured housing by reducing certain financial burdens, enabling homeowners and communities to redirect those savings toward necessary home repairs, structural improvements, and the preservation of existing housing stock. It also helps address the significant costs associated with repairing and replacing aging and failing community infrastructure. By resolving these challenges, the bill not only protects existing LEC manufactured homes communities but also supports sustainable development and long-term viability for new LEC manufactured home communities.
And yet, there's still a stigma that follows manufactured homes—and an outdated assumption about who lives in them. Too often, they're imagined through tired movie clichés: a dented tin box, cluttered yards, and characters meant to signal something negative about the people inside. That image is worn out and, frankly, unfair.
This stigma plus a host of real logistical hurdles, led me to introduce H.757. This bill is intended to be a first step to removing barriers faced by manufactured home buyers by eliminating restrictions on where manufactured homes may be located and allowing them to be sited wherever other residential homes are permitted. The bill expands access to homeownership and enables a broader range of individuals and families to realize the American dream.
The bill also clarifies the inconsistent classification of manufactured homes as either personal property or real property. This discrepancy creates confusion and obstacles within the financing system. H.757 gives banks the option to recognize manufactured homes as real property, while at the same time preserving access to personal property financing for buyers who may not qualify for a conventional mortgage. Even though such financing is typically more expensive and offers fewer consumer protections, it can still provide a critical pathway to homeownership, with the addition of eliminating the sales and use tax imposed.
H.757 proposes to eliminate real property taxes for manufactured home communities organized as limited equity cooperatives (LEC) for low- to moderate-income households that meet the statutory definition of a mobile home park, while continuing to tax each individually owned home.
Finally, H.757 clarifies that manufactured home LECs are owner-occupied, and subleasing is generally prohibited. However, if a homeowner experiences hardship, the board of directors may allow for a temporary sublease. In such cases, the homeowner may not charge more than the fair market rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development based on the Vermont location.
In policymaking, we often talk about "sustainability," and this bill takes specific steps to achieve it. It provides long-term stability for manufactured housing by reducing certain financial burdens, enabling homeowners and communities to redirect those savings toward necessary home repairs, structural improvements, and the preservation of existing housing stock. It also helps address the significant costs associated with repairing and replacing aging and failing community infrastructure. By resolving these challenges, the bill not only protects existing LEC manufactured homes communities but also supports sustainable development and long-term viability for new LEC manufactured home communities.
- Rep. Gayle Pezzo (D-Colchester)