Manufactured Home Installation

The Kootenai County Building Department issues Setting Permits and Mobile to Real Permits for installing mobile, manufactured or modular homes. Below are a number of FAQ's related to this issue.

Is it a mobile, a manufactured or modular home?

A mobile home, is a structure similar to a manufactured home, but was built to the mobile home code prior to June 15, 1976. The home is usually metal-sided, single wide or doublewide in size, and built on steel I-beams that run parallel under the home and support the floor joists. The home comes equipped with sets of wheels and a steel towing tongue, for towing.

Note: There are some restriction for placing Mobile Homes built prior to June 5, 1976, in Kootenai County, please contact the Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Department at (208) 446-1070.

After June 15, 1976, mobile homes were constructed to the Federal Manufactured Housing and Safety Standards Act (HUD Code). The mobile home was now referred to as a Manufactured Home. The industry adopted the name change with the new construction and safety requirements.

A manufactured home will have a construction seal (HUD label) on the outside of the structure. Its primary floor supports are steel I-beams and are usually placed on concrete supporting piers that set on the ground or on concrete strips or pad. It's transported to the site with detachable axles and a steel towing tongue.

A modular home is a prefabricated home built to the Uniform Building Code Standards. This structure has regular wood beams and a wood floor joist system. This structure is not classified as a mobile or manufactured home. It is placed on a site built foundation or basement. It does not have axles or a towing tongue.

When is a permit required for installing a mobile/manufactured home?

A permit is required when setting (installing) a mobile/manufactured home, new or existing, on private property within the unincorporated jurisdiction of Kootenai County. Permits are required prior to setting the home. Mobile/manufactured homes set within a Mobile Home Park are under the jurisdiction of the State of Idaho, Building and Safety Division.

What information is necessary to apply for a permit to set a mobile/manufactured home or a Mobil to Real permit?

Fill out the information outlined on the Application Worksheet. The following information is required:

• Parcel Number. A twelve digit number. This can be obtained from your property tax statement or from the Assessor's Office.
• Name of property owner. If a mobile/manufactured home is being set on property by someone other than the owner of the property, proof, in person or in the form of a letter, must be presented to show the owner of the mobile/manufactured home has permission from the owner of the property to place structure on the property.
• Property owners telephone number.
• Mailing Address of the property owner.
• Contractor's Name. In the case of a mobile/manufactured home permit, the contractor will be the name of the dealership where you bought the home. Or if it is an older home, the name of the person who will be physically installing the mobile/manufactured home on to the property.
  
  State of Idaho requires all installers to be tested and licensed to install mobile/manufactured homes. This Department will verify that the installer is currently licensed. If not, you will be required to select an installer who is licensed. In lieu of a licensed installer, the owner may install the mobile/manufactured home themselves, thereby accepting any liability for the proper installation. If this is the case, enter Self on this line.
• Mechanical Contractor's Name.-- This information is only needed if the mobile/manufactured home is being installed over an engineered basement and the basement heat source is gas fueled. If this is the case, the name of the licensed gas installer and his telephone number will be required. If the homeowner is installing the gas lines enter Self on this line.
• Has Project Received Red Tag? If so, date. This line shall be filled out only if the installation of the mobile/manufactured home has begun prior to obtaining a permit and the property has received at "Stop Work Order" (red tag).
• Type of permit applied for. There are several types of permit classifications. The following is an explanation of the various types:
• A Setting Permit is when a mobile/manufactured home is just set (installed) on the property. The mobile/manufactured home is placed on concrete piers, spaced no more than 6 feet apart. This setting allows the home to be removed at some later date and taken to another site.
• When you apply you will be given a "Manufactured Home Installations 501-A-34" guide for specific requirements for blocking.
• Owners of mobile/manufactured homes seeking to obtain loans on their homes are required, by the lending institutions, to offer the homes as collateral for these loans. As collateral, these homes are required, by the lending institutions, to be anchored (tied down) to the property they are setting on. This process of anchoring these homes is referred to as a Mobile to Real conversion. These homes will be required to meet the minimum standards set forth in the Idaho State Code.
• A Mobile to Real Permit is when the home is set on the property, but it is also placed on concrete ribbon strips or concrete pad. Holdown anchors are cemented into the concrete strips and straps are connected to the holdown anchors. These straps are then looped over the steel I-beams, located under the mobile/manufactured home, and fastened back to the holdown anchors. The code requires each I-beam to have a holdown anchor two (2) feet from each end and one every eleven (11) feet apart. This is the Idaho State Manufactured Home Installation.
• o When you apply you will be given a "Manufacturer's Illustrated Guide."
• It is recommended that when placing a manufactured home on private property, that the home be anchored at the time of installation, even if it is not required at the time. This will allow for a conversion to real property at a later date, without incurring further expense, permits and fees. If the anchoring meets the Idaho State Manufactured Home Installation requirements, converting will only be a matter of paperwork.
• Another type of Mobile to Real Permit is when an existing mobile/manufactured home is being converted to real property for the purpose of qualifying for a bank loan. This is achieved by using the above "Manufacturer's Home Installation Guide."
• All manufactured homes, new or moved, will be required to meet the forty (40 lb.) pound snow load roof requirements, effective as of October 1, 2002, for minimum roof loading.
• Number of existing buildings on the property. List the number of other structures on the property.
• Directions to site from Coeur d'Alene. Please write in the directions from the Kootenai County Building Department to the property. Please indicate mileage and use directional indicators, such as, North or Right turn, etc. Please indicate what side of the road the property is on and any identifying markers.
• *If manufactured (mobile) Home: Make What is the name of the Manufacturer, such as Fleetwood, Oakwood, etc.
• Year What year was it made?
• Size What is the length and width of the home.
• Utility CompanyWhat Company services this area?
• Heat system and Brand of Windows This information is not required, unless the structure is being installed on top of an engineered, heated basement.
• Applicant's Name Please sign the application.

Applications must be done in person. Mailed, e-mailed or faxed application will not be accepted. The Building Department is located at:

451 N. Government Way, Lower Level
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816-9000

Application may be applied for Monday through Friday, except legal Holidays, between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

What other information will I need to apply?

See the Example Site Plan sheet.

Applications do require the approval of the Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Department, prior to applying with the Building Department. The Planning and Zoning Department telephone number is (208) 446-1070.

If this is a new manufactured home, request the Dealership to provide you with the Manufacture’s requirements for setting this model. Bring that installation instruction with you when you apply. The Building Department can not issue the permit without these instructions.

If you are applying for a Mobile to Real Permit, obtain the "Intent to Covert a Mobile Home to Real Property" form the Kootenai County Mobile Home Department. Bring this form to the Kootenai County Building Department at the time of application for a Mobil to Real Permit.

The Building Department will hold this form until the final inspection of the tie down system is made. When the system is approved, this form will be signed by the Building Inspector and return to you. You will then have your signature notarized by a Public Notary. Once this is done, return the form to the Kootenai County Recorder’s Office for a recording instrument number. Note: Until all these steps are completed, the mobile/manufactured home is not classified as real property.

When will I receive the permit?

The approvals of other impacted agencies are required prior to the Building Department issuing the permit. The application for the permit may require signed approvals of the Fire Department, the sewer district, the highway district having jurisdiction in the area of the property, and the Department of Mobile Homes.

Prior to applying for a permit to install the home, it is recommended that you check with the sewer district in your area for sewer/septic approval.

Other approvals from the Building Department may be required, if erosion and storm water controls are necessary. The Planning and Zoning Department approval is required if you are building in a potential flood plan.

Once the approval signatures are obtained and all regulations are met, the permit can be issued. No site preparation is to take place until the permit is issued.

What is the cost of the permit?

Fees for Setting, Mobile to Real, or Setting and Converting to Real Property permits are all the same depending on whether it is:

• Single wide mobile/manufactured home $300.00
• Double wide mobile/manufactured home $300.00

What inspections will be required?

The Kootenai County Building Department will do the following inspections:

PRIOR TO POURING THE CONCRETE:

• Site Disturbance Inspection:-The inspector will check the site, prior to any site preparation, for erosion control and stormwater control and will advise the owner if any requirements need to be met prior to site preparation.
• Site preparation, setbacks, footings and rebar placement:-The inspector checks for erosion and storm water control and verifies that the minimum setback requirements from the property lines and other structures have been met.
  
  Footings (for foundation walls or concrete strips) will be measured for depth, length and width, to meet either the Manufacturer's installation requirements and/or the Idaho State Installation requirements.
  
  The forms and the placement and tying of the rebar will be verified.
• Final Inspection:-Once the mobile/manufactured home is installed, blocked, anchored in the case of a Mobile to Real Permit, skirted and backfilled, a final inspection shall be requested by the owner. The inspector checks these items and any safety requirements, such as landings and stairs outside doors, see Manufactured Homes Additional Installation Instructions at this web site.

Kootenai County Building Department does not inspect the interior of a mobile/manufactured home; the State of Idaho conducts inspections at the time the unit is built.

For modular homes set on basements, other inspections will be required; please contact the staffs at the Building Department for further information.

When will the permit expire?

The permit will expire if the work authorized by the permit has not commenced or has stopped for a period of 180 days, or if no inspections are done within 180 days of the issue date or the last inspection. Each time an inspection is done, it extends the permit another 180 days. The permit may also be extended one time, if a written request for an extension of the permit is received and approved by the Building Official, prior to the permit expiring.

What other permits do I need?

Separate permits will be needed for any of the following structures:

• Room additions to mobile/manufactured homes
• Decks or covered porches
• Carports
• Garage

Storage sheds over 200 square feet in size (A Storage shed under 200 square feet in size may be constructed without a building permit as long as it is 20 feet away from any other building and meets the setback requirements for that zone).

A mobile/manufactured home is an engineered structure. Separate structures, as listed above, shall not be connected or supported by the mobile/manufactured home. These structures must be self-supporting with their own foundation system (if the mobile were to be removed the structures would still remain standing). The exception is, Kootenai County will accept an Idaho licensed Engineer or Architect's stamp design for attaching added structures to a mobile/manufactured home.

Are there additional manufactured home installation instruction?

1. Landings: A landing or floor is required on each side of a door. Exterior landings may have a slope not to exceed 1/4 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal (2 % slope). A door may open at a landing that is not more than 8 inches lower than the floor level, provided the door does not swing over the landing. Otherwise the landing must be level with the floor. Screen doors and storm doors may swing over stairs, steps or landings. Landings shall have a width not less than the width of the stairway or the width of the door, whichever is the greater. A minimum length of a landing measured in the direction of travel shall not be less than 36 inches, and the maximum landing size without an additional permit are 6 feet in width and 6 feet in length.
2. Stairways: Every stairway having two or more risers shall meet the following criteria. The rise of the steps shall not be more that 7 ¾ inches high. The riser height shall be measured vertically between leading edges of the adjacent treads. The run shall not be less than 10 inches as measured horizontally between the vertical planes of the foremost projection of adjacent treads and at the right angle to the tread's leading edge. A minimum of 80 inches headroom is required. The minimum width of the stairway is 36 inches clear width at all points above the permitted handrail height and below the required headroom height.
3. Handrails: Handrails shall be provided on at least one side of each stairway with two or more risers. Handrails shall not project more than 4.5 inches on either side of the stairway and the minimum clear width of the stairway at and below the handrail height, including treads and landings shall not be less that 31.5 inches where a hand rail is installed on one side and 27 inches where handrails are provided on both sides. The top of handrails or handrail extensions shall be placed not less than 34 inches or more than 38 inches above the nosing of treads and landings. Handrails should be continuous the full length of the stairs. Ends shall be returned or terminate in newel posts or safety terminals.
   The handgrip portion of handrails shall not be less than 1 1/4 inches nor more than 2 inches in cross-sectional dimension or the shape shall provide an equivalent gripping surface. The handgrip portion of handrails shall have a smooth surface with no sharp corners.
4. Guardrails: Unenclosed floors, stairways, landings and ramps, which are more than 30 inches above grade or the floor below require guardrails. The top of the guardrail shall be not less than 36 inches except when conforming to handrail heights on adjoining stairways. Open guardrails shall have intermediate rails or an ornamental pattern such that a sphere 4 inches in diameter cannot pass through. The triangular openings formed by the riser, tread and bottom element of a guardrail at the open side of a stairway may be of such size that a sphere 6 inches in diameter cannot pass through.
5. Addresses: Physical address numbers shall be clearly readable from the street or road fronting the property and shall contrast with background color. If a structure is more than 75 feet from the road, or is otherwise not clearly visible from the road, its address shall be posted at the intersection of its access road and public or private road. The address sign shall be no less than 4 feet nor more than 6 feet above the ground on a substantial, maintained support structure.

For applications, plan requirements, etc.; see A Guide to Building in Kootenai County at this web site.

For permit fees for additional structures to a mobile/manufactured home, please contact the Kootenai County Building Department at (208) 446-1040, Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.