Texas Manufactured Homes: Texas law opens door to cheaper manufactured homes as cities push back
Texas is opening its housing market to cheaper manufactured homes as the state tries to tackle rising housing costs, but local zoning rules could limit the impact of the new policy.According to the New York Post, Senate Bill 785, a new Texas law regulating HUD-code manufactured housing, will take effect on September 1. The law requires cities with zoning regulations to allow new HUD-code manufactured homes by right in at least one residential zoning classification or district.The law could affect nearly 400 Texas cities, according to an estimate cited by the New York Post. It is aimed at removing local zoning barriers that have made manufactured homes legal in some communities, restricted in others and effectively prohibited in certain areas.Manufactured housing offers a substantially cheaper entry point into homeownership. The New York Post reported that a new single-section manufactured home averaged $87,300 in 2025, while a multi-section home averaged $151,500. Those figures do not include land or taxes.Texas is already one of the largest markets for manufactured housing in the US. The state received 17,458 manufactured homes in 2025, more than 2.5 times the number sent to Florida, the second-largest market, the New York Post reported.But SB 785 does not force cities to open large parts of their residential areas to manufactured homes. Under the law, municipalities must have at least one qualifying residential classification or district covering an area of land where the homes are permitted by right.That provision has already created debate over how much housing the law will actually add.In Nacogdoches, the city created a new residential zoning option for manufactured homes after previously restricting them in conventional residential districts. The New York Post reported that the change covers the 69-lot Millard’s Apple Park subdivision.However, Nacogdoches needs about 1,300 additional housing units over the next five years, meaning the 69-lot development would address only a small part of the city’s housing demand.Bellmead, near Waco, shows another limitation. The city has been working on a new R-MH residential HUD-code manufactured housing district, but local officials have also faced concerns over requirements that could make the new zoning more useful for larger developments than individual homeowners.The result could make SB 785 an important test of Texas’ housing strategy. While the law removes an outright barrier to manufactured homes, the availability of land, infrastructure costs and local zoning decisions will determine whether the policy actually produces more affordable homes for Texas buyers.
