MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released a white paper that details statewide tenant protections that affect the more than 12 percent of low-income U.S. households living in manufactured housing.

Manufactured housing residents often own their home but may rent the land on which it is located. The paper finds that states have taken varying approaches to addressing the hybrid rental/ownership structure in manufactured housing communities (MHCs). It also finds that there has not been widespread or consistent adoption of the eight specific Duty to Serve (DTS) tenant protections identified by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

“To better understand manufactured housing communities, we conducted a comprehensive review of the patchwork of laws that states have put into effect to protect residents,” said Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Multifamily Research & Modeling. “Our study found that these protections differ greatly by state and don’t exist at all in several states. Not a single state has implemented the entire slate of FHFA tenant protections that are required to meet the minimum Duty to Serve requirements.”

The white paper, titled “Tenant Protections in Manufactured Housing Communities”, is part of Freddie Mac’s three-year Duty to Serve plan to increase rental and homeownership opportunities in historically underserved markets throughout the nation. The manufactured housing paper is one of eight papers that the Multifamily line of business plans to release.

Key Findings:

• Protections vary greatly by state: The DTS tenant protections implemented in state laws vary by state.
• No states have implemented every FHFA DTS protection: No state provides all eight DTS tenant protections, and seven states do not have any DTS tenant protections.
• Grace periods are the most common of the protections: The most common protection is “Right to Cure Default on Rent Payments”, found across 82 percent of states.
• The Right to Sell within a Reasonable Period After Eviction is the least common protection: No states have explicitly implemented this protection, but 16 percent of states may offer it in some form.
• Only one state has adopted more than 75 percent of the FHFA DTS tenant protections: Of the 50 states, only one (covering 1,389 MHCs) adopted more than 75 percent of the eight DTS tenant protections, 12 states (covering an additional 10,172 MHCs) adopted between 50 and 75 percent of the DTS tenant protections, and 19 adopted between 25 and 49 percent, with the remaining 18 adopting less than 25 percent.
• Owner/Operators of MHCs view four of the DTS protections as particularly onerous or difficult to put into practice, including the requirement for a one-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal; the right to sublease or assign pad lease without unreasonable restraint; the right to sell the manufactured home in place within a reasonable time period after eviction by the manufactured housing community owner; and, the requirement for 60 days’ notice of planned sale or closure of the manufactured housing community.

Freddie Mac Multifamily is the nation’s multifamily housing finance leader. Historically, nearly 90 percent of the eligible rental homes we fund are affordable to families with low to moderate incomes. Freddie Mac’s Duty to Serve plan aims to expand affordability and address America's most persistent housing problems.

Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Morosi
(703) 918-5851
Michael_Morosi@FreddieMac.com