§5409 Prohibited acts; exemptions

Summary

It is illegal to use transportation, the mail, or any interstate commerce to make, sell, lease, offer, deliver, or import a manufactured home built on or after the effective date of a federal manufactured home construction and safety standard if the home does not meet that standard. It is also illegal to refuse inspections or records, fail to file required reports or defect notices, issue false certificates saying a home meets the standards, disobey a final order from the Secretary, give a false certification under section 5403(h), or, after the expiration of the period specified in section 5404(c)(2)(B), fail to follow the required installation program in a State that has not set up such a program. The ban does not apply to the sale or importation of a manufactured home after its first good-faith purchase for purposes other than resale. A buyer who, with due care, did not know a home failed to meet standards, or who relied on a manufacturer’s or importer’s certificate received before purchase, is protected under section 5410 unless they knew the home was nonconforming. Homes offered for import in violation may be refused entry, unless Treasury and the Secretary allow import under rules (for example, if the home will be brought into compliance, exported, or forfeited); they can also allow importation after the first good-faith purchase. Homes made only for export and properly labeled are exempt. Meeting federal standards does not remove any common-law liability.