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Mobile home rules urged
Commission offers tougher regulations
02/24/2000
BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE
News staff writer
The Alabama Manufactured Hous ing Commission advisory board voted
unanimously to urge Gov. Don Siegelman to endorse the changes, which also
include requiring mobile home builders, dealers and installers to obtain bonds
and liability insurance. Commission administrator Jimmy Sloan proposed the
changes.
The new regulations could be implemented within months and do not require
legislation. But the agency is requesting Siegelman's input before taking
action.
"Our intent is to help people who are dealing with the industry feel
protected," board Chairman Tom Gardner said.
Siegelman's office received the commission's four-page letter Wednesday
afternoon and did not have a chance to review the recommendations, said
spokeswoman Carrie Kurlander. Siegelman has said he would propose changes this
year to improve oversight of the $3.1 billion industry.
The commission is hiring six new inspectors to check mobile-home
installations, Sloan said. The agency previously had 11 inspectors to cover the
state and Sloan hopes to double that, so the agency can inspect every home
installed.
The proposals came in response to problems consumers outlined in town hall
meetings across the state last month and a series of articles last year in The
Birmingham News.
The News articles detailed how the state had surrendered oversight to
the industry it was supposed to regulate. Consumer complaints were closed
without homeowners' knowledge and more than half the state's
Group wants tougher rules