Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent signing of the Land-Home Property Act enables New York to join all other states in providing a formal statutory procedure for classifying a manufactured home as real property – a huge step toward delivering more affordable housing options throughout the state.
The new law allows those who own manufactured housing to convert their title from personal property (chattel) to real property. The state had treated manufactured homes as vehicles, providing titles through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Now, there is a pathway for those homes to be converted to the classification of real property if they are attached to a permanent foundation. More than 200,000 New Yorkers own manufactured homes that could be eligible.
Currently, 43 states utilize a certificate of title process to establish ownership of, and to perfect a security interest in, a manufactured home. Until the new law, all states but New York also provided a formal statutory procedure for electing to convey and encumber a home as real property.
The Land-Home Property Act, along with the launch of Move-In NY, a $50 million initiative to expand access to factory-built, prefabricated models that cut costs and speed construction, are just two ways the state is deploying manufactured homes to assist with affordable housing.
What it Means
If converted to real property, the homes are eligible for the many benefits that come with real property classification, including conventional mortgages and access to secondary market financing options from Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. That helps with building equity.
It also provides developers with incentive to invest in manufactured homes and help build affordable housing communities. That expands the dream of home ownership to those who can’t afford the price of a new home – which, on average, costs about $450,000 in upstate New York. The high cost locks out a lot of first-time buyers, forcing them to continue renting. It also prevents older New Yorkers from downsizing.
New York has struggled with affordable housing for years. In a state where almost 50 percent of all households are renters, nearly half of those households are “rent burdened,” or spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities each month, according to New York University’s Furman Center. More than a quarter of renters are “severely rent burdened,” meaning they spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent and utilities.
The Furman Center also points out New York lags other states in housing production and New York City, in particular, falls well behind other major cities in establishing city housing. For example, per 1,000 residents, New York City had 23.8 permitted housing units from 2014-2021, far below Miami’s 88, Atlanta’s 83.8, Boston’s 45.5 and Philadelphia’s 33.9.
Harris Beach Murtha’s Affordable Housing Industry Team is monitoring state, regional and federal efforts to promote affordable housing. If you have questions about this or related matters, please reach out to attorney Michael A. Discenza at (212) 912-3605 and mdiscenza@harrisbeachmurtha.com, or the Harris Beach attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
Harris Beach Murtha’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York state in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts, and Newark, New Jersey.
