LouisianaSB 3982026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

HOUSING: Provides relative to the regulation of manufactured housing. (1/1/27) (EN +$40,000 SG RV See Note)

Sponsored By: Franklin J. Foil (Republican)

Signed by Governor

CommerceCommerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

25 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 6 costs, 13 mixed.

Honest down payments for homebuyers

Beginning January 1, 2027, dealers and developers cannot list a down payment unless they receive it fully when documents are signed. This covers retail installment sales contracts, chattel mortgages, and security agreements for manufactured or modular homes. Any portion supplied by a loan, trade-in, or other noncash item must be disclosed. Cash down payments cannot come from rebates or other consideration supplied or promised by the dealer, developer, or their agent.

New warranties protect factory-built homebuyers

Beginning January 1, 2027, covered new manufactured and modular homes get minimum builder warranties, subject to statutory exclusions. Coverage lasts one year for defects, two years for plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, excluding appliances, fixtures, and equipment. Major structural defects have five-year coverage, starting with the earlier of first occupancy or title transfer to the first buyer. Minimum coverage cannot be waived or reduced for owner-occupied homes. Remaining warranties and related insurance transfer free to later owners without extending coverage; builders may buy insurance from a Louisiana-authorized insurer.

Dealers gain manufacturer inventory buyback rights

Beginning January 1, 2027, dealers gain inventory buyback rights when ending manufacturer relationships over territory breaches, warranty failures, or unreasonable delivery delays. Warranty failures include unpaid claims or unfinished major warranty work within 60 days. Dealers must give notice within 30 days by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Qualifying inventory includes new, unused current or prior-model-year homes and parts, plus required demonstrators, without damage or substantial harmful alterations. Manufacturers must finish repurchase within 60 days after receiving the final inventory; unjustified delay costs 1.5% of returnable inventory value per month or partial month.

Housing dealers gain manufacturer payment protections

Beginning January 1, 2027, manufacturers must reimburse dealers for manufacturer-warranty work within 60 days after invoicing. Payment covers labor at the dealership's rate when work occurs, not above that rate, plus reasonable parts and mileage. Manufacturers must cover judgments, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees tied to defective or negligent manufacturer work beyond dealers' control. Manufacturers or franchisors must give at least 60 days' written notice before changing a dealer's agreed area of responsibility. That notice must use certified or registered mail.

Homeowners face strict warranty claim limits

Beginning January 1, 2027, owners must bring warranty enforcement actions by 30 days after the applicable warranty period expires. For covered construction disputes between builders and owners, this Part supplies the only remedies, warranties, and legal deadlines. Other warranty laws and laws covering hidden defects do not apply to those disputes. Warranties of title to land or improvements remain unchanged.

Homeowners gain remedies with claim limits

Beginning January 1, 2027, owners must send the state housing subcommittee its complaint form by registered or certified mail. They must act within one year of learning about a defect, before making repairs or filing a warranty lawsuit. The subcommittee arranges an inspection and gives the builder a reasonable chance to fix the problem. Owners can seek actual damages, attorney fees, and court costs; each defect's damages cannot exceed reasonable repair or replacement costs, and all defects together cannot exceed the original purchase price. Dealers and developers must explain warranty requirements in writing at closing, or when the purchase agreement is signed without a closing; arbitration must follow Louisiana law.

Home installations face statewide safety rules

Beginning January 1, 2027, new manufactured homes must follow manufacturer installation instructions; used homes follow available instructions or state fallback rules. Modular homes must meet the International Residential Code enforced locally. Landowners handle site preparation, and flood-prone foundations must meet federal flood guidance. Permit applications and permits must list the site's base flood elevation and required floor height, including any added flood-safety height. Cities and parishes must inspect installations through certified officers or providers; fallback foundation, anchoring, tie-down, and hurricane-zone rules apply when manufacturer instructions are unavailable.

Limits on who installs homes

Beginning January 1, 2027, only a homeowner or licensed installer may install a manufactured or modular home in Louisiana. The rule applies even when the work is unpaid. A community owner or park operator does not count as the homeowner if the home is or will ever be rented.

Statewide standards for factory-built homes

Beginning January 1, 2027, Louisiana uses statewide construction and installation standards for manufactured and modular homes, replacing local rules. The manufactured-home code includes federal safety rules and construction or installation standards adopted by the state contractors’ subcommittee. State and local governments may still require extra height above flood levels, called freeboard. Those requirements must apply uniformly using the currently adopted Flood Insurance Rate Map’s Base Flood Elevation, not alternative or outdated maps.

Housing sellers need licenses and screening

Beginning January 1, 2027, housing sellers need the proper license; developers' employees need salesperson licenses or real estate licenses. New homes must come from licensed manufacturers, and manufacturers selling for public resale may sell only to licensed dealers or developers. Dealer, developer, and salesperson applicants must be 18 or older; original dealer or developer applicants need one year of salesperson experience or must have bought an existing dealer business. Retailers and developers need a licensed salesperson, and applicants, principals, and qualifying parties undergo documented background checks with fingerprints; approval may be denied for cause, violations, or no established business location. Developer rules cover offers of lots with permanently installed single-family manufactured homes, excluding personal-residence sellers, retained real estate agents, and federally insured financial institutions and related companies.

Installer fees, training, and license flexibility

Beginning January 1, 2027, installer and transporter licenses cost $125 each; licensed installers can transport homes without a separate license. New installers must pass an approved course and test; a subcommittee course costs no more than $100. Installers need one continuing-education course yearly, unless the subcommittee suspends that requirement for extraordinary circumstances. Installers and transporters must annually provide a $25,000 surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit with their license application. The subcommittee may approve out-of-state continuing education when the other state also accepts Louisiana coursework.

Homeowners get written moving cost details

Beginning January 1, 2027, covered transporters and installers must use a uniform written contract for manufactured or modular homes in Louisiana. Customers must get a copy listing services and costs before work starts or the home moves. Providers must keep contract records for at least three years and allow state inspection. These rules exclude transporters merely passing through Louisiana or delivering from a manufacturer to a business licensed by the housing subcommittee.

Outside inspection options for housing businesses

Beginning January 1, 2027, residential subcommittee licensees may hire certified outside providers to inspect home installations. Using an outside provider is optional. The law does not set these providers’ fees.

Home installations require permits and fees

Beginning January 1, 2027, an installer or homeowner must get a $20 permit sticker before installing a manufactured or modular home. The sticker goes by the electrical connection within 10 days of delivery, unless extenuating circumstances are shown. Cities and parishes may also charge reasonable installation inspection fees using their fee formula or schedule for site-built homes. The law sets no local fee amount and does not require every locality to charge one.

Housing businesses pay annual license fees

Beginning January 1, 2027, original and renewal license fees are $250 for manufacturers, $150 for retailers or dealers and developers, and $50 for salespeople. Dealer branch licenses cost $75; salesperson transfers cost $5 and require an application within 15 days of changing dealers. Manufacturers and dealers need separate licenses and applicable fees before moving or opening another location. Licenses require annual renewal: missing the January 1 application deadline triggers suspension, working while suspended is illegal, and renewal during suspension costs double. After one year expired, a license cannot be renewed; dealers must certify satisfactory consumer service, and the subcommittee may stagger renewals.

Housing licensees must keep compliance records

Beginning January 1, 2027, housing subcommittee licensees must keep records for at least three years. They must provide relevant reports and information and allow authorized employees to inspect compliance records during reasonable hours. Licensees based outside Louisiana with no business location in the state must appoint a registered agent with the secretary of state. The agent receives legal papers arising from their business activities.

Training and showroom rules for dealers

Beginning January 1, 2027, original factory-built housing dealer and developer license applicants must take a class and pass a test. The subcommittee sets the fee, capped at $100; homebuyers do not pay this applicant fee directly. Licensed dealers and developers may use model homes at sales locations only for sales-related work. Models cannot be used for overnight sleeping and must be properly installed under federal and state requirements.

Housing violators face fines and jail

Beginning January 1, 2027, housing violations carry civil fines up to $2,500 each, or $5,000 for intentional violations or habitual offenders. Each home or separate failure to act counts separately; a related series within one year of the first violation has a $1 million cap. Unlicensed work or unlawful installations may also bring license suspension or revocation. Multiple violations in one installation count as one violation, but separate installations count separately. Knowing and willful violations threatening a purchaser's health and safety carry up to a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, or both, including for covered corporate directors, officers, or agents.

Homebuyers get complaint help with fees

Beginning January 1, 2027, the housing subcommittee may hear construction, warranty, service, and related complaints outside specified federal rules. It may arrange mediation or refer complaints to an independent mediator. The board pays mediation costs, but the subcommittee may charge a reasonable fee to establish the dispute-resolution process. If mediation fails, the subcommittee may appoint a three-person panel for an initial review.

Home setup and inspection exemptions

Beginning January 1, 2027, the manufactured-housing Part’s installation rules do not cover mobile-home installation and setup in Louisiana. This exemption does not establish which other rules apply. Separately, manufactured and modular homes are exempt from inspection provisions in Chapter 7 of Louisiana’s Title 32. That exemption does not remove the law’s separate installation inspection rules.

Home sellers face dealer classification rules

Beginning January 1, 2027, people handling manufactured or modular home interests for economic gain fall under the dealer definition. Handling more than one home in any 12 months creates a presumption of dealer status. Park owners are exempt for fewer than three sales in 12 months if they owned and leased each home for over one year. Additional used-home sales are allowed for homes at least 20 years old, priced at $10,000 or less including delivery and installation. Those homes must be habitable after installation and include a 30-day habitability warranty.

Housing enforcement adds orders and safeguards

Beginning January 1, 2027, the housing subcommittee may investigate suspected violations through hearings and order compliance. It may suspend or revoke housing licenses only after prior notice and a hearing. When violations or attempted violations appear, it must sue in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. Courts may restrict a home's movement or disposal, stop licensed business activity, or impound a home. Courts or the subcommittee may require violators to pay enforcement costs, including reasonable attorney fees.

Housing oversight gains authority and fees

Beginning January 1, 2027, the contractors board's executive director administers the federal-aligned state manufactured-housing plan, complaints, factory inspections, and corrective actions. The housing subcommittee oversees construction and safety rules, may regulate repairs, and may inspect manufacturing, sales, transport, and installation sites. Both oversight authorities may set applicable inspection fees; the law does not specify amounts. The subcommittee must offer standards classes and resolve construction-standard disputes involving inspectors, third-party providers, or licensees with a federal expert's input; rulings bind all parties. After the required constitutional allocation, housing fines and fees fund oversight through a dedicated account appropriated to the governor's office, with earnings and unspent balances retained.

Factory-built homes need codes and identification

Beginning January 1, 2027, every new manufactured or modular home sold or offered in Louisiana must meet its applicable housing code. Manufacturers must stamp a readable serial number of no more than 15 digits on the header plate or front frame cross member. Multi-unit homes use the same number with a separate identifying letter for each unit, starting with A. Code compliance protects buyers, while manufacturers and sellers must meet construction and marking requirements.

Housing businesses must provide financial safeguards

Beginning January 1, 2027, dealers and developers must complete approved continuing education each year. Each annual license application requires proof of net worth and a $250,000 surety bond or $50,000 irrevocable letter of credit. Dealers, residential contractors, developers, transporters, and installers must show ongoing general liability insurance of at least $500,000. Manufacturers must show ongoing liability insurance of at least $1 million. These safeguards protect consumers while imposing financial and training duties on businesses.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Franklin J. Foil
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 163 • No: 0

House vote • 5/26/2026

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 0. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

Yes: 96 • No: 0

House vote • 5/18/2026

Reported with amendments

Yes: 17 • No: 0

House vote • 5/11/2026