Biden-Harris Administration Awards Millions to Support Communities, Housing Preservation

The Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $225 million in competitive grant money to 17 recipients with proposed projects in 26 states. Funding is available through the creative grant program PRICE to maintain and revive manufactured homes and manufactured housing communities (MHCs) in rural, suburban, urban, tribal, and disaster-affected areas nationwide.

Currently, over 22 million Americans reside in manufactured home communities, which make up a sizable amount of the country’s supply of affordable housing, particularly in rural and tribal areas. A key element of the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to boost housing supply and reduce housing costs is manufactured housing.

These steps build on previous efforts to strengthen guidance, increase loan limits, and expand financing options to support manufactured housing, and they further the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued commitment to advancing manufactured homes as an affordable option for Americans to obtain stable and high-quality housing through HUD programs.

“This is an historic investment—as the first federal grant program specifically for residents of manufactured homes,” said HUD Agency Head, The Honorable Adrianne Todman. “Manufactured housing provides an affordable path to homeownership for many families. This funding builds upon HUD’s commitment to advancing housing innovation and reduce housing costs.”

The funding that was announced today will help low- and-moderate-income homeowners and residents of manufactured homes and MHCs with important investments like home repairs and rehabilitation, infrastructure improvements, accessibility upgrades, resilience-boosting mitigation strategies, resident services like housing counseling and eviction prevention, and assistance in moving existing MHCs to resident-managed communities.

Additionally, funding will allow for the expansion of current manufactured housing communities, the purchase of properties for the establishment of resident-managed communities, and the resident-driven redevelopment of existing communities. This will include the replacement of outdated and subpar units with new, affordable homes.

Funding for manufactured houses was in high demand. HUD’s first PRICE competition attracted a lot of interest. Over 175 organizations representing a wide range of ethnicities, geographic locations, and population sizes submitted applications for approved activities that will benefit communities in 43 states. Selected candidates showed a dedication to promoting manufactured housing’s long-term stability and affordability while actively engaging the community in their planned activity.

“In launching the PRICE competition, we listened to residents of manufactured housing communities. We heard how challenging it can be to own your home, but rent the land the home sits on, and the critical need for repairs and infrastructure upgrades without increases to lot rents and fees,” said Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. “The winning proposals invest in communities, empower residents, and prioritize long term affordability, ensuring PRICE funding will have a transformative impact for years to come.”

Restrictive land use and titling policies, financial strains from rising lot rents, and the effects of extreme weather, natural hazards, and disaster events—like flooding because of a lack of stormwater infrastructure—all contribute to the substantial affordability, resilience, infrastructure, and maintenance issues that manufactured housing and MHCs face.

A wide range of organizations and planned initiatives, from small Tribal villages to local governments to statewide, regional, and national organizations, are represented among the 17 PRICE grantees. In total, communities in 26 states—rural, suburban, urban, tribal, and disaster-affected areas—will gain from PRICE awards.

An estimated 17% of residences on Tribal territories are manufactured homes. HUD received more than 40 distinct submissions for projects in Tribal communities, and the PRICE competition allocated at least $11 million to Tribal applicants. Nearly $46 million for Tribal applicants, direct awards to seven Tribal applicants, and grants to regional NGOs supporting Tribal community-based initiatives are also part of today’s announcement.

“Manufactured housing is a critical tool to address the affordable housing crisis in Indian Country,” said Heidi Frechette, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs. “Early on, we consulted with Tribal leaders. Their input was instrumental in ensuring that this program works in Indian Country. I am excited to see so many Tribal projects that will get funded under the PRICE program and looking forward to seeing all the amazing work that Tribes will do with these dollars.”

The following grantees will receive awards as part of today’s announcement:

 To read more, click here.