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Consumer complaints and general information

We regulate manufactured housing construction and installation (mobile homes) and prefabricated buildings. For specific requirements for manufactured homes, see Minnesota Rules 1350; prefabricated buildings, Minnesota Rules 1360; and industrialized/modular buildings, Minnesota Rules 1361.

We handle all inspection requests and consumer complaints for manufactured homes (Housing and Urban Development – HUD), modular homes (Interstate Industrialized Building Commission – IIBC) and prefabricated structures.

Warranties

Manufactured structures (HUD)

  • Purchase of a new manufactured home:  Warranties implied by Minnesota Statutes 327B.02 run for a period of one year from the date of delivery of the manufactured home to the consumer customer. When a homeowner wants to make a claim covered by either an express or implied warranty, the homeowner must notify the dealer, or the manufacturer, within a reasonable time after discovering the problem, but no later than 90 days after the expiration of the warranty. Either the manufacturer or the dealer, or both of them working together, must repair the manufactured home at its site within a reasonable amount of time after receiving notice from the owner (see Manufactured Homes Parks Handbook).

  • Purchase of a used manufactured home:  See Minnesota Statutes 327.32, Subd. 1a. There is no statutory requirement to provide a warranty for a used manufactured home.

Modular (IIBC) and prefabricated structures (Minnesota State Building Code)

Purchase of modular and prefabricated structures:  Warranties implied by Minnesota Statutes 327A.02 run for a period of: 

  • during the one-year period from and after the warranty date, the dwelling must be free from defects caused by faulty workmanship and defective materials due to noncompliance with building standards;

  • during the two-year period from and after the warranty date, the dwelling must be free from defects caused by faulty installation of plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling systems due to noncompliance with building standards; and

  • during the ten-year period from and after the warranty date, the dwelling must be free from major construction defects due to noncompliance with building standards.

Complaints

An inspection to determine code compliance may necessitate the removal of permanent parts of the construction, such as interior wall paneling, exterior siding, etc. Such removal will be done by the owner or their agent, not personnel of the Construction Codes and Licensing Division.  

Who can file a complaint for a manufactured home?

  • Only the title holder or lessee of the manufactured home can file a complaint. 

Who can file a complaint for an industrialized modular structure?

  • Building officials, owners and/or occupants of the modular structure.

Who can file a complaint for a prefabricated structure?

  • Building officials, owners and/or occupants of the prefabricated structure. 

Download a complaint form. 

For all types of complaints, you must include/attach the following, if applicable:

  • All correspondence with individual parties – retailer or manufacturer

  • Sales/purchase agreement

  • Notice of compliance form (used home sales only)

  • Contracts for title/deed

  • Listing agreements

  • Sale-commission statement (brokered home sale)

  •  Closing paperwork

  • Addendums

  • Certificate(s) of insulation disclosure (new home sales only)

  • Certificate(s) of health hazard disclosure (new home sales only)

  • Certificate(s) of dispute resolution (new home sales only)

  • Registration for application for title

  • Any other documentation relevant to the sale

For complaints specific to home installation, also include/attach the following, if applicable:

  • Installation certificate (support and anchoring)

  • Support and anchoring plans (plan and section views) and list all materials employed

  • Site-specific soils evaluations to the local frost depth or soils reports for/to the same

  • Engineered slab designs

  • Notice of re-installation above the frost line (used home sales only)

  • Drain-waste-vent piping details including systems test verifications for drain-waste-vent and water piping, any other documentation relevant to installation

  • Documents that assign specific installation or purchase obligations – “Buyers Obligation Sheets”

Questions

Contact us at MSconsumercomplaint.DLI@state.mn.us or 651-284-5092.