S. 5020 – Improving Housing Performance Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated July 21, 2026 at 2:11 AM UTC

The Improving Housing Performance Act directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study how manufactured homes perform in areas that are prone to natural hazards such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and extreme heat. The goal is to identify ways to strengthen building and installation standards so these homes can better protect occupants and remain affordable. The findings and recommendations must be reported to Congress within six months of the law’s enactment.

Key Provisions

HUD must hire an independent, third‑party organization to conduct the study within 90 days of the law taking effect.
The study will evaluate how manufactured homes built to current federal standards perform in high‑risk locations and will propose improvements to those standards, building materials, design, and installation practices.
It will also develop data‑driven criteria for defining high‑risk areas, assess cost and affordability impacts of any changes, and examine industry efforts that already exceed current standards.
HUD must deliver a public report to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee within 180 days, summarizing findings, legislative or regulatory recommendations, cost analyses, and a plan for better data collection on home performance during extreme events.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4140)

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

July 16, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

July 16, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4140)

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

July 16, 2026

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about S. 5020 on the floor

2 Democrats

Sen. Jack ReedD-RI · Jul 16, 2026

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Disaster Relief Fairness Act, along with Senator Whitehouse. This bill would approve major disaster declarations requested under the Trump administration…

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Disaster Relief Fairness Act, along with Senator Whitehouse. This bill would approve major disaster declarations requested under the Trump administration for incidents that meet or exceed FEMA's damage thresholds. I wish that this bill was not needed, but it is because President Trump has chosen to block disaster assistance based on political partisanship.

According to the Urban Institute, roughly 84 percent of disaster requests from States that voted for President Trump in 2024 have been approved under this administration, compared to just 42 percent from States that voted for Kamala Harris. Further, POLITOCO reported that Republican-led States have waited 39 days on average for a decision compared to the 80-day average for Democratic-led states.

This winter, Rhode Island was struck by the largest blizzard in State history. Over 3 feet of snow fell on the State in a 24-hour period--the highest 1-day snowfall on record for Rhode Island. The storm hit Rhode Island with the

intensity of a category 2 hurricane, with heavy winds up to 74 miles per hour. It caused widespread power outages and tragically resulted in two fatalities and hundreds of emergency room visits. Local businesses faced prolonged closures due to disruptions to transportation, utilities, and public services across the State.

Following the storm, the State of Rhode Island worked with FEMA to develop a preliminary damage assessment of the storm's impact. The assessment found over $19 million in damages, amounting to more than nine times the threshold required for a major disaster declaration. Under any other administration, this disaster declaration would have been approved on the merits, given its historic nature and FEMA's own damage assessment. However, after months of waiting, on July 2, 2026, President Trump denied the request from Rhode Island with no explanation. On the same day Trump denied Rhode Island's request, he also denied requests from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts that all reportedly exceeded FEMA's damage thresholds. Yet, that same week, he approved disaster aid for six Republican-led States.

Disaster aid and helping communities recover from deadly storms should never be political. Yet President Trump's record proves that he cannot be trusted to adjudicate disaster money fairly without invoking his own partisan biases. The Disaster Relief Fairness Act would address that problem by granting all disaster declarations requested between January 20, 2025 and January 20, 2029 that meet the Federal requirements and thresholds for assistance. This will help ensure that States and Tribes get the relief they need--regardless of who they voted for--and allow them to fully recover from disasters.

I urge my colleagues to join Senator Whitehouse and me in supporting this legislation.

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · Jul 16, 2026

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of my legislation to require a study on how to improve the resiliency of manufactured homes in areas that are at high risk of natural hazards and weather…

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · Jul 16, 2026

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of my legislation to require a study on how to improve the resiliency of manufactured homes in areas that are at high risk of natural hazards and weather…

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued July 16, 2026

II

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 5020

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 16, 2026

Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To require a study on manufactured homes in areas at high risk of natural hazards and weather extremes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Improving Housing Performance Act.

2.

Study on manufactured homes in areas at high-risk of natural hazards and weather extremes

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

High risk areas

The term high risk areas means geographic locations that are susceptible to heightened frequency of natural hazards and extreme weather events, including floods, wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and extreme heat.

(2)

Manufactured home

The term manufactured home has the meaning given the term in section 603 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402).

(3)

Performance

The term performance, with respect to a manufactured home, means the ability of a manufactured home to keep individuals safe and to reasonably withstand natural hazards and weather events, including floods, wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and extreme heat, over time.

(4)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

(5)

Standards

The term Standards means the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards established under section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403), as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

(b)

Study required

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall commission an independent, third-party study in accordance with subsection (d)(2) that—

(1)

shall be made available in accordance with subsection (d); and

(2)

evaluates data and other evidence about the performance of manufactured homes that are—

(A)

built and installed in accordance with the Standards; and

(B)

located in high risk areas.

(c)

Research objectives

The study required under subsection (b), and the report required under subsection (d), shall—

(1)

make recommendations on how to improve the Standards that shall inform future updates to the Standards considered by the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee established under section 604(a)(3) of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403(a)(3)) and adopted by the Secretary; and

(2)

include substantive sections relating to—

(A)

establishing clear, data-driven criteria for identifying high risk areas;

(B)

an evaluation of the best available data and other evidence about the performance of modern manufactured homes in high risk areas, and the identification of improvements to the Standards, building materials, and design, construction, and safety standards that could improve manufactured home performance;

(C)

an evaluation of the best available data and other evidence about the performance of manufactured homes in high risk areas based on the requirements of the Standards regarding installation of such homes, and the identification of potential updates to installation-related Standards that could improve performance;

(D)

the effects that improved building materials and design, construction, and safety standards, respectively, are expected to have on the cost and affordability of developing and living in manufactured homes in high risk areas, to the extent that industry is already developing manufactured homes with such improvements;

(E)

the extent to which the manufactured home industry is already developing manufactured homes to performance standards that exceed—

(i)

the Standards; and

(ii)

the improvements recommended under subparagraph (B); and

(F)

the identification of deficiencies in data available as of the date of the report regarding the performance of manufactured homes in high risk areas.

(d)

Report to congress

(1)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and make publicly and permanently available on the website of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a report that includes—

(A)

findings from the study required under subsection (b);

(B)

recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes to improve the performance of manufactured homes, including estimated implementation timeframes;

(C)

an analysis of the effects of implementing the recommendations described in subparagraph (B) on the overall performance and affordability, respectively, of manufactured homes, including the upfront costs to produce and install the manufactured homes, as well as the long-term costs of owning, renting, or operating the manufactured homes in high risk areas; and

(D)

a strategy for improving data collection on manufactured home performance during and after natural hazards and extreme weather events.

(2)

Commission and preparation of report

The report required under paragraph (1) shall be prepared by not less than 1 independent and non-partisan research organization with expertise in the performance of manufactured homes and the Standards relating to natural hazards and extreme weather events.