As of July 1, 2026, Kentucky law (HB 160) requires cities and counties to allow “qualified” manufactured homes and modular homes anywhere a regular site-built house is allowed — as long as the home meets specific standards for foundation, age, size, and appearance. Existing HOA covenants and deed restrictions are not affected.
If you live in Berea, Richmond, or anywhere in Madison County, you’ve probably heard that the rules changed on where manufactured homes can go. Here’s what the law actually says, in plain English — no legal jargon, just what changed, what didn’t, and what it means locally.
What is HB 160
If a neighborhood already allows a regular house, it now has to allow certain manufactured and modular homes too — as long as those homes meet a specific set of standards that make them look and sit like every other house on the street.
That’s the whole law. Here’s the breakdown of the parts that actually matter.
Not Every Factory-Built Home Qualifies
Kentucky splits factory-built housing into three categories, and the difference determines whether a home gets the protection of this new law.
Mobile homes are older units built before June 15, 1976 — before the federal government had any construction standards for factory-built housing. These are not covered by HB 160. Cities can still restrict where these go.
Manufactured homes are built after 1976, to federal HUD standards. To get the protection of HB 160, a manufactured home has to be “qualified.” That means it:
• Was built no more than five years before it’s installed
• Sits on a permanent foundation — not wheels, not temporary blocks
• Has had every transport-related part removed
• Is at least 900 square feet and at least 20 feet wide (or is two stories)
• Has its main entrance facing the street, like any other house on the block
• Follows the same setback rules as every other home in that zoning district
Modular homes go a step further. They’re built in a factory, trucked to the lot in large sections, and assembled — but they have to meet the exact same building codes as a home built entirely on-site. In practice, they’re treated like regular new construction that started indoors.
A concrete example: say a builder wants to place a manufactured home on a vacant lot in a standard single-family zone in Berea. Before this law, the city could say no purely because it’s a manufactured home. After this law, the city can’t — provided that home is built within the last five years, sits on a permanent foundation, has no leftover transport hardware, is at least 900 square feet, faces the street, and matches the neighborhood’s setbacks. Miss any one of those requirements, and it’s not a “qualified” manufactured home — meaning the city’s old rules can still apply.
What This Law Does Not Change
Two things come up in nearly every conversation about this law, and both are worth knowing.
Your neighborhood’s deed restrictions still apply. If your subdivision already has a covenant excluding manufactured homes, that restriction is still enforceable. HB 160 overrides local government zoning ordinances — it does not erase private agreements a neighborhood already has in place.
Cities can still set appearance and size standards. Berea and other cities can still require these homes to match the architectural character of the neighborhood — same setbacks, same square footage expectations — as long as those same rules apply equally to site-built homes. What cities can no longer do is single out manufactured homes for restrictions that don’t apply to everyone else.
How Berea Implemented the Law
Berea’s Land Management and Development Ordinance already allowed manufactured homes in a couple of limited zones. To comply with HB 160, the city passed Ordinance 10-2026, making qualified manufactured homes a permitted use in every residential district in the city — not just a couple of them. The ordinance had its first reading on June 16, 2026, and its second reading was scheduled for July 7, 2026. (Statewide, HB 160 took effect July 1, 2026, independent of any individual city’s own ordinance timeline.)
Why This Law Exists
Kentucky has a real affordable housing shortage — over 101,500 rental units short and more than 104,600 affordable for-sale homes short statewide, according to the Kentucky Housing Corporation. Madison County alone is roughly 2,500 homes short of what qualifies as “affordable” under state guidelines.
The price gap is visible locally, not just in statewide statistics. In Madison County’s most recent weekly closed-sales data, resale homes sold at a median of $322,000, while new construction sold at a median of $414,500 — a gap of more than $90,000. According to a 2023 Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies analysis, factory-built homes can cost 27% to 65% less than a comparable stick-built home, depending on size and finishes. That’s the gap HB 160 is aimed at closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a manufactured home be placed right next door to my house? Only if it’s a qualified manufactured home or a modular home that meets the same zoning, setback, and architectural standards required of a site-built home in that district — and only if the neighborhood doesn’t already have a deed restriction excluding them.
Does my HOA or neighborhood covenant still apply? Yes. HB 160 preempts local government zoning ordinances, not private deed restrictions or HOA covenants.
Is a manufactured home going to look like an older mobile home park? Not under this law. The “qualified” standard specifically requires a permanent foundation, a street-facing entrance, and matching the neighborhood’s size and setback expectations.
Can a qualified manufactured or modular home get a standard mortgage? Yes, once it’s installed on a permanent foundation. At that point, Kentucky classifies it as real property — eligible for conventional financing and refinancing, not a personal-property loan.
What if a manufactured home is more than five years old — does it ever qualify? No. The five-year window is measured from when the home was built to when it’s installed. An older manufactured home, even one in excellent condition, doesn’t get “qualified” status under HB 160 — it remains subject to whatever restrictions local zoning already had for manufactured housing.
Does this apply everywhere in Kentucky, or just Berea? Statewide. Every city and county in Kentucky has to comply. Berea’s Ordinance 10-2026 is simply the local implementation.
When did this take effect? Statewide, July 1, 2026. In Berea specifically, the city’s implementing ordinance was finalized July 7, 2026.
Wondering what this means for a specific property, whether you’re buying, building, or live near a lot that could see one of these go in? Reach out today — I help Madison County buyers and sellers work through exactly this kind of question.
