H.B. 2019 and S.B. 1248 Now Law of the Land

Last Friday the vast majority of legislation passed into law in the 2019 Texas Legislative Session became effective. Specifically, for our industry were the two TMHA supported bills - H.B. 2019 and S.B. 1248.

H.B. 2019 was the large clean-up bill that impacts numerous portions of the statutes governing the manufactured housing industry of Texas.

It is worth mentioning that one of the changes now in effect is the ability for a consumer to waive the three day right of rescission to immediately purchase a house in the aftermath of a “bona fide personal emergency.” The department will need to verify with the consumer the personal emergency prior to issuing the statement of ownership – no longer, following Friday’s effective date, called the “statement of ownership and location” or “SOL”.

S.B. 1248 preserves MH communities in nonconforming zoning areas, and preserves the lot footprint when replacing homes. The law allows for at least a year to replace homes in a preserved MH community.

Finally, while it is not a new law, TMHA would like to remind the industry that under previous legislation championed by TMHA, a manufactured home owner cannot be restricted or prohibited by a city when replacing a home if their previous home was destroyed as a result of, “a fire or natural disaster.”