Quick Guide to Factory Built Housing

At Bay Modular, we work closely with the State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development. This organization works closely on wide range of projects from grants and funding for housing projects to the more plan-oriented work with manufactured homes and mobile homes and establishing building standards throughout the State like Title 24 Energy Compliance.

Needless to say, the HCD and its Federal counterpart HUD both work tirelessly to pass policy and regulation that aim to help create more equitable housing and provide a framework to make it possible for builders across the state and the country.

Manufactured Housing vs. Factory Built Housing

Although both are maintained and regulated by the HCD, manufactured housing and factory built housing are not the same. Although both can share the same words - manufactured and factory-built, they represent different types of building.

Manufactured housing is more commonly referred to as mobile homes. Mobile homes are regulated differently than a conventionally site-built home and a factory built home because they are on trailers or wheels and are effectively “mobile.” Although only a small percentage of mobile homes ever actually move, this is how they are categorized.

Factory built housing is more commonly referred to as modular homes. Modular homes are differ from factory built homes by one thing: permanence. FBH or modular homes are installed on a foundation that are designed to meet to CCR, Title 24 energy requirements, CRC/CBC and falls under the jurisdiction of the local building department for permits and inspection.

Common FBH Facts

• FBH regulations were established to provide an alternative to conventional site-built homes and reduce many of the costs associated with housing construction

  • This is done by encouraging factory-scale production techniques combined with the benefits of a controlled construction environment

• There is typically no discernible difference between a conventional on-site residential home and an off-site FBH besides the process that was used to build it

• FBH are always installed on a foundation designed to CCR & local building requirements, which must also be permitted and inspected

• FBH buildings are not limited to ADUs or backyard homes and, by definition, include SFD or multi-family dwellings, apartment buildings, condominiums, hotels, motels, dorms, hospitals or components of those structures

What Category is the Solo ADU Series?

All of our Solo ADUs are regulated by the HCD’s FBH program. They are all factory-built and on-site assembled. You can read more detail about our process here: https://www.thebaymodular.com/our-process.

To keep it short, it looks something like this:

1. We discuss what your Solo ADU will look like, this is our design consultation

2. We submit a permit with your local city/county building department

3. We sign and start building your Solo ADU here in Oakland

4. We arrange time to construction your foundation at your home

5. We finish 95% your Solo ADU and deliver it to your home

6. We install your ADU on your foundation and hook it up to the utilities

We encourage more questions, please reach out to us through our Contact page for general questions about your property and ADU needs.