FEMA Temporary Housing Units: Mobile Homes and Manufactured Housing After Disasters

When a federally declared disaster displaces households from their primary residences, FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (IHP) can authorize the placement of temporary housing units — including mobile homes and manufactured housing — at approved sites. This page covers how that authorization works, what types of units are deployed, the eligibility conditions that trigger or exclude placement, and the specific decision rules FEMA applies when choosing between housing options. Understanding these mechanisms matters because temporary unit placement directly determines how quickly displaced survivors can return to stable shelter.

Definition and scope

FEMA's temporary housing unit (THU) program falls under the FEMA Individual Assistance Program, which is activated following a major disaster declaration that includes the Individual Assistance designation. Under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 5174), FEMA may provide manufactured housing units directly to eligible disaster survivors who cannot find adequate rental housing in the affected area (Stafford Act overview).

The program distinguishes between two primary unit types:

• Travel Trailers (TT): Smaller, towable recreational-vehicle-style units typically used for short-term or site-limited placements. FEMA phased out most travel trailer deployments following documented formaldehyde contamination issues identified after Hurricane Katrina (2005).
• Manufactured Housing Units (MHU): HUD-code manufactured homes, structurally more durable than travel trailers, and the primary unit type deployed since FEMA's post-Katrina policy reforms. MHUs range from approximately 240 to over 1,000 square feet.

The scope of THU deployment is geographically and programmatically bounded. FEMA may place units only in presidentially declared major disaster areas and only for applicants who meet IHP eligibility requirements — meaning the disaster caused their primary residence to be uninhabitable or inaccessible.

How it works

Temporary housing unit deployment follows a defined operational sequence:

1. Disaster declaration and IHP activation. A presidential major disaster declaration with Individual Assistance must be in effect. FEMA then opens registration for affected counties or parishes.
2. Applicant registration and inspection. Survivors register through DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA. FEMA inspectors assess whether the primary residence is uninhabitable.
3. Direct Housing mission trigger. If the applicant cannot secure rental housing because the local rental market vacancy rate is insufficient — FEMA typically uses a threshold of less than 15% vacancy as one indicator — the Direct Housing mission may be activated (FEMA Individual Assistance Program).
4. Site assessment. FEMA or a designated contractor evaluates candidate sites for utility hookups (water, sewer or septic, electricity), setback compliance, soil stability, and flood zone status. Units cannot be placed in a 100-year floodplain (FEMA Flood Zone A or V) without a site-specific waiver.
5. Unit assignment and installation. MHUs are transported from staging areas and installed on approved pads. Setup includes blocking, tie-downs, and utility connections consistent with HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (24 CFR Part 3280).
6. Occupancy period. FEMA authorizes initial occupancy for up to 18 months. Extensions require FEMA Administrator approval and documented need. The FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance program may bridge survivors during the transition from hotel stays to MHU placement.
7. Deactivation and unit recovery. At the end of the occupancy period, FEMA removes units, which may then be sold to occupants, transferred to other agencies, or auctioned.

Common scenarios

Three placement scenarios account for the majority of THU deployments:

Commercial group sites. In large-scale disasters affecting thousands of households — such as Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Harvey (2017), and Ida (2021) — FEMA establishes group sites at commercial parks, fairgrounds, or publicly owned land. These sites can host dozens to hundreds of units with shared utility infrastructure. Group sites allow faster mass deployment but can concentrate displaced populations far from their original neighborhoods.

Private site placement. Survivors with adequate land — typically their own damaged property or a relative's lot — may receive a unit placed on their private site. Private placement is generally preferred operationally because it keeps survivors near their support networks and reduces site development cost. Site eligibility still requires the utility and flood-zone assessments described above.

Commercial park placement. FEMA may also place units in existing commercial mobile home parks that have available pads with hookups. This option is faster than group site development and leverages existing infrastructure, but depends on local park availability.

Information on applying for assistance, including temporary housing, is available through the FEMA assistance application process and the broader FEMA disaster survivor assistance framework.

Decision boundaries

FEMA applies a structured priority order when selecting housing options, moving from least to most operationally intensive:

1. Rental assistance (Rental Assistance Program): The preferred first option. FEMA provides funds to survivors to rent existing housing in the local market.
2. Lodging expense reimbursement / Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA): Hotel or motel stays funded by FEMA when rental units are immediately unavailable.
3. Manufactured Housing Unit on private site: Triggered when rental stock is unavailable and the survivor has a suitable private site.
4. MHU in a commercial park: Used when no private site is available but commercial park pads exist.
5. Group site development: The highest-cost, most complex option — deployed only when no adequate private or commercial sites can absorb the displaced population at scale.

A critical exclusionary boundary is flood zone status. Per National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations and FEMA's own siting policy, MHUs may not be placed in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — Zones A or V on FEMA Flood Maps (FIRMs) — without written FEMA authorization. This restriction stems from 44 CFR Part 60 and FEMA's floodplain management standards.

Units are also ineligible for placement where state or local zoning prohibits manufactured housing. Because zoning authority rests with local governments, FEMA cannot override municipal restrictions, which has historically limited placement options in urban counties following disasters in states such as Louisiana and New York.

For the full scope of FEMA programs and their intersections, the FEMA authority overview provides a structured entry point into disaster assistance, declarations, and mitigation programs.