§ 21-9-2 — Definitions

West Virginia § 21-9-2

• Jurisdiction: West Virginia
• Ch. 21: LABOR
• Art. 9: MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS

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(a) “Board” means the West Virginia Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Board created in this article.

(b) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the West Virginia State Division of Labor.

(c) “Contractor” means any person who performs operations in this state at the occupancy site which render a manufactured home fit for habitation. The operations include, without limitation, installation or construction of the foundation, positioning, blocking, leveling, supporting, tying down, connecting utility systems, making minor adjustments or assembling multiple or expandable units. The operations also include transporting the unit to the occupancy site by other than a motor carrier regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

Contractor does not include:

(1) A person who personally does work on a manufactured home which the person owns or leases; or

(2) A person who is licensed under §30-42-1et seq., of this code and is performing work on a manufactured home pursuant to a contract with a person licensed under §21-9-9 of this code.

(d) “Dealer” means any person engaged in this state in the sale, leasing, or distributing of new or used manufactured homes, primarily to persons who in good faith purchase or lease a manufactured home for purposes other than resale.

(e) “Defect” includes any defect in the performance, construction, components, or material of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part of the home not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended.

(f) “Distributor” means any person engaged in this state in the sale and distribution of manufactured homes for resale.

(g) “Federal standards” means the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, and federal manufactured home construction and safety standards and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of HUD to implement that act.

(h) “HUD” means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(i) “Manufacturer” means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling manufactured homes, including any person engaged in importing manufactured homes for resale.

(j) “Manufactured home” means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 or more feet in length or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure which meets all the requirements of this definition except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certificate which complies with the applicable federal standards. Calculations used to determine the number of square feet in a structure will be based on the structure’s exterior dimensions measured at the largest horizontal projections when erected on site.

(k) “Purchaser” means the first person purchasing a manufactured home in good faith for purposes other than resale.

Legislative History

2021 Reg. Sess., HB2006; 2008 Reg. Sess., HB4394; 2007 Reg. Sess., HB2710; 2002 Reg. Sess., HB4407; 2002 Reg. Sess., HB4644; 2001 Reg. Sess., HB2953; 1992 Reg. Sess., SB606; 1988 Reg. Sess., SB508; 1974 Reg. Sess., HB694