Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act of 2026
SB 4613, the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act of 2026, would create a new federal business tax credit for certain gains realized when real property used as a manufactured home community is sold to a resident-owned cooperative or nonprofit entity. The credit would equal 75 percent of the seller’s qualified gain, provided the property is acquired for use as a manufactured home community, the seller or related person owned it for at least two years, and the property is transferred subject to a binding covenant requiring continued use as a manufactured home community for at least 50 years, or the maximum allowed under state law.
The bill is built around preserving manufactured housing as an affordable housing option and encouraging resident ownership. It defines eligible communities, cooperatives, nonprofits, membership structures, and manufactured homes, and it requires both buyer and seller to sign and record an affidavit documenting the transaction. It also imposes a recapture-style tax on the buyer if the long-term use covenant is violated, and directs the Treasury Department to issue implementing regulations. The credit would be added to the general business credit and related conforming tax provisions would be updated accordingly, with an effective date for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to add a new Section 45BB, creating a federal tax incentive for sales of manufactured home community land to resident-controlled or nonprofit ownership structures. It would also modify the general business credit rules and related tax provisions so the new credit can be claimed and carried through existing tax law frameworks. In practical terms, the measure would affect property owners, resident cooperatives, nonprofit housing entities, and manufactured home residents by making resident purchase and long-term preservation of communities more financially attractive.
The bill’s findings and structure reflect strong support for manufactured housing as an affordable housing preservation strategy, and the available context shows no recorded committee opposition, amendments, or votes. The overall tone is pro-affordable-housing and pro-resident ownership, emphasizing stability, wealth-building, and long-term community preservation. Because the bill was only read twice and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, there is no recorded floor debate or vote history in the provided materials to indicate broader legislative sentiment.
The main policy tension is between preserving affordability through resident or nonprofit ownership and the interests of existing property owners or market buyers who might otherwise purchase and redevelop the land. The bill’s 50-year use covenant, affidavit requirements, and recapture tax are designed to ensure long-term preservation, but those same restrictions could be viewed as limiting flexibility for buyers and sellers. Another potential point of contention is federal tax policy: the bill creates a sizable credit for private transactions, which may raise questions about revenue cost, eligibility rules, and whether federal incentives should be used to shape local housing ownership patterns.