Scott Turner Confirmed as New HUD Secretary

The Senate voted to confirm Scott Turner to serve as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Prior to Turner’s nomination hearing, MHI worked with Senate Banking Committee members and Turner to ensure that manufactured housing was raised as a topic during the hearing. As a result, Turner’s opening remarks and written statement included references to manufactured housing and Senators asked questions about manufactured housing.

“As a country, we’re not building enough housing,” Turner noted in his written testimony. “We need millions more homes of all kinds, single family, apartments, condos, duplexes, manufactured housing, you name it, so individuals and families can have a roof over their heads and a place to call home.”

During the hearing, Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) talked about updating the definition of a manufactured home in federal law to remove the requirement that all manufactured homes must be built with a permanent chassis. Such a provision is included in the comprehensive housing package he authored. The chairman called this update to the law “incredibly important” and Turner committed to looking at how HUD can reduce regulatory burden and make it less cumbersome to build manufactured housing.

Additionally, Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) cited the HUD rulemaking finalized last year that would impose “extreme climate standards” on HUD-financed properties as driving up costs. Turner underscored that he will review any regulation that proves burdensome to the development of affordable housing.

In response to a written question for the record from Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) about manufactured housing, Turner said he will commit to reviewing the process for updating the HUD Code to ensure that it is efficient and transparent. He emphasized the importance of a streamlined HUD Code to maximize the availability of manufactured housing as a source of attainable housing across the country.

“If confirmed, I will prioritize the availability and affordability of manufactured housing, including eliminating costly delays and undue regulatory burdens,” Turner said. “I will also commit to meeting with the builders who run factories across the country that produce this important source of affordable housing.”

MHI joined 22 housing organizations to express strong support for Turner to serve as HUD Secretary. Turner served in the first Trump Administration as Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council and has a background in housing and community development. In 2019, he toured the manufactured homes that MHI displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as a part of HUD’s first Innovative Housing Showcase. Linked here is a video of him speaking in front of the manufactured homes on the National Mall in 2019.