Base program and manufactured home parks
HUD Section 207: what it means today, and FHA loans for manufactured home communities
Section 207 is the original 1934 FHA rental housing section. Today it matters in two ways: most 223(f) purchase and refinance loans are insured under Section 207 pursuant to 223(f), and it covers manufactured home parks. Stand-alone 207 lending is close to extinct: HUD's file holds two active 207 manufactured home park loans. Mission-driven buyers of parks now use HUD's 2024 MHC program under 223(f).
Section 207 in one paragraph
Section 207 of the National Housing Act is FHA’s first rental housing insurance authority, dating to 1934. Later sections took over its jobs: 221(d)(4) for construction, 223(f) for existing properties. What remains is mostly a label and a statutory limit table. When HUD insures a 223(f) loan, it does so “pursuant to” Section 207, which is why the premium notice lists “207/223(f) refi or purchase for apts” and why 223(f) and Section 220 loans use the Section 207 per-unit limits.
Where Section 207 still shows up
| Use | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Purchase or refinance of existing apartments (207/223(f)) | The most used FHA apartment program; see 223(f) |
| Refinancing an existing housing co-op (207/223(f), MAP chapter 17) | Active, small; see Section 213 and co-ops |
| Manufactured home parks under 207 | Two active loans in HUD’s September 2026 file, both endorsed in 2011 to 2013 |
| 207 new construction or substantial rehab | Listed in the premium notice; no current MAP processing guidance and no FY2026 endorsements |
The panel beside this page shows the 207 manufactured home park loans in HUD’s active file. It is the thinnest program on this site, and we say so plainly: almost nobody originates a stand-alone 207 loan today.
Manufactured home communities: the 2024 MHC program
Standard 223(f) excludes manufactured home parks. Mortgagee Letter 2024-11 (June 4, 2024) created the Manufactured Home Community (MHC) program, which opens 223(f) to parks owned or bought by:
- states and units of local government;
- resident-owned communities and cooperatives;
- nonprofits, including consortia of nonprofits;
- CDFIs;
- Indian tribes;
- other entities approved by the Secretary.
It covers purchases and refinances of existing communities, and permanent financing of newly built or substantially rehabilitated communities that are complete and stabilized under the 223(f) three-year rules.
| MHC term | Rule |
|---|---|
| Max loan to value | 90% (subordinate financing reviewed case by case) |
| Min debt service coverage | 1.11x |
| Cash out | Not permitted |
| Use | No RVs or seasonal use; no option to purchase pads |
| Inspections | Common areas and infrastructure, not the homes |
| Co-op borrowers | General Operating Reserve required (3% of monthly carrying charges, stepping down as the reserve builds) |
| Process | Required concept meeting with a designated HUD underwriter; site visit; regional loan committee with a HUD headquarters member |
| Premium | 0.25% upfront and a year, the 223(f) rate |
HUD headquarters decides which regions process MHC applications, so the lender should confirm the region before the concept meeting. Everything not changed by the Mortgagee Letter follows standard 223(f) rules.
Statutory limits for parks
The 2026 indexed limit for Section 207 manufactured home parks is $31,553 per space, before the high cost percentage. The ROAD to Housing Act (July 2026) struck the separate per-space limit from Section 207(c)(3)(A). HUD has not published how it will implement that change, so treat the per-space figure as the one lenders use until it does.
HUD’s state housing finance agency risk-sharing rules also list mobile home parks (excluding the homes) as eligible projects; see risk sharing.
Sources
- 12 U.S.C. 1713, Section 207 of the National Housing Act
- HUD Mortgagee Letter 2024-11, Utilizing Section 223(f) for Manufactured Home Community Program (June 4, 2024)
- 90 FR 45789, Changes in Mortgage Insurance Premiums for FHA multifamily programs (Sept. 23, 2025)
- Annual indexing of statutory mortgage limits, CY2026 (91 FR 24597, FR Doc. 2026-08795)
- Public Law 119-101, 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, section 211
- HUD MAP Guide, Handbook 4430.G, 2020 edition, sections 3.7 and 17
- 24 CFR 266.200, eligible projects under HFA risk sharing
- HUD, Multifamily FHA insured mortgages, active file
Checked against these sources on October 30, 2026. HUD changes program rules by Mortgagee Letter and Federal Register notice; the lender's commitment governs any loan.
Short answers
What does "207/223(f)" mean on a HUD loan?
That the loan was made under Section 223(f), the purchase and refinance authority, and insured under Section 207, the base rental housing section. HUD's premium tables and statutory limit notices list them together, and the limits for those loans come from the Section 207 table.
Can I get a HUD loan for a mobile home park?
Not through standard 223(f), which excludes manufactured home parks. Since Mortgagee Letter 2024-11, the Manufactured Home Community program allows 223(f) purchases and refinances by states, local governments, resident-owned communities, cooperatives, nonprofits, CDFIs, tribes and other entities HUD approves. A private for-profit owner is not on that list.
What are the MHC program terms?
Standard 223(f) underwriting with the Mortgagee Letter's changes: up to 90% loan to value, at least 1.11x debt service coverage, no cash out, a required concept meeting, no RV or seasonal use, and no option for residents to buy their pads. HUD's inspections cover common areas and infrastructure, not the homes.
Does anyone still use Section 207 for new construction?
Very rarely. HUD's 2025 premium notice still lists 207 new construction at 25 basis points, but the MAP Guide does not describe separate 207 construction processing, and HUD's fiscal 2026 endorsement data shows no loans categorized as 207 new construction. Apartment construction runs through 221(d)(4).