Apache Junction Manufactured Home and Park Model Permit: The HUD, State, and City Split

A manufactured home or park model cannot be set in Apache Junction until the city issues an installation permit. Three levels of government each own a piece of the job. Federal HUD rules govern how the home is built. The Arizona Department of Housing sets how it is installed and anchored. The city permits and inspects the foundation, the utilities, and the site. These homes make up a large share of Apache Junction's housing, and the city adds its own standards on top of the state and federal ones. The split matters most on two questions: whether your lot needs a permanent foundation or only skirting, and whether the home is new enough to be titled here at all.

Who handles what: HUD, the state, and the city

Three layers stack on one home. HUD sets the federal build standard. The home leaves the factory with a red HUD label showing it was built to 24 CFR 3280. A home earns that label only if it was built on or after June 15, 1976. An older unit is a mobile home. The city will not let a mobile home be installed unless it holds a state certificate showing it was brought up to code. The Arizona Department of Housing, through its Office of Manufactured Housing, sets the install rules. The city code points straight to the state rules:

M H installation shall comply with the requirements of Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 41, Chapter 37, Article 3 § 41-4001 thru 4010 and Arizona Administrative Code, Title 4, Chapter 34, § R4-34-101 thru 805.

The City of Apache Junction is the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) for the local permit. Its Division of Building Safety and Inspection issues the permit. It reviews the foundation and site, runs the inspections, and issues the Certificate of Installation that clears the home for use.

The permit path

You cannot install a manufactured home or park model without a city permit. The same holds for its electrical, plumbing, and mechanical connections. You apply through the city's permit intake. The set permit runs with separate trade permits for the hookups. Two limits catch buyers early. On a vacant lot in the modular districts (RS-7M, RS-10M, RS-20M, RS-54M, and RS-GR), the home must be titled no more than two years before the permit year. So you cannot drop a decade-old used home on a bare lot. The home also needs the HUD label. A park model is treated as an RV set. It follows the maker's install instructions and must be secured against tipping over.

Foundation, anchoring, and skirting

Where the home sits decides how it is held down. Apache Junction splits a private lot from a park. On a single-family lot in the larger districts, the home goes on a permanent foundation:

set upon a permanent foundation, as specified by the manufacturer and approved by the Arizona Department of Housing, Manufactured Housing Division, and that the space at the perimeter, between the home and the ground, be enclosed by concrete, concrete masonry units, brick or stone, with required access.

A permanent foundation carries the home's loads down to the soil through its footing. It is a poured base, not a strap-and-anchor tie-down. In a licensed home or RV park, the rule is lighter. The home is skirted in a uniform way and needs no permanent foundation. The city sets size minimums that change by location. On the larger lots, a home has two sections, each at least 12 feet by 36 feet, with a masonry perimeter, a 3:12 roof pitch, and a driveway at least 12 feet wide.

Utility hookups and the final inspection

The home has to be tied to power, water, and sewer through permitted work. If the temporary connections shipped with the unit are not used, the city requires hard connections made to the adopted codes. Any ABS drain pipe run above ground has to be rated or shielded against the sun. Apache Junction sits in Pinal County. A lot off the city sewer runs its waste through a Pinal County septic permit, a separate county track. The set ends at the final inspection. The skirting or foundation, the stairs and landings, and the site drainage all have to be done first. Only then does the city issue the Certificate of Installation.

A real Apache Junction example

For example, say you place a new double-wide on a vacant RS-20M lot, two sections each 14 by 40 feet. Because it is on a private lot, it needs a permanent foundation approved by the Arizona Department of Housing. The perimeter is enclosed in masonry. It gets a 3:12 shingle roof, a 12-foot driveway, and a carport or garage at least 10 by 20 feet. The home must be titled within two years and carry the post-1976 HUD label. You pull the city set permit plus the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits. The Certificate of Installation issues after the final inspection, once the foundation, egress, and drainage pass. That same home in a manufactured home park would need only uniform skirting, at least 400 square feet of floor area, 48 square feet of storage, and a 9-by-19-foot parking pad. Get the setbacks right on the site plan either way.

How this connects to your other Apache Junction steps

Which district your lot is in, and the modular (M) sub-districts that allow these homes, come from Apache Junction residential zoning and setbacks. The set permit moves through the same city permit intake as a site-built house. It is checked during the Apache Junction inspection sequence. Any attached addition is built to the 2018 codes the city adopted. For how these homes compare to other build types, see modular versus stick-built versus custom homes in Arizona and the steps to building a custom home in Arizona.

Source

The city installation permit, the foundation and skirting standards, and the state and HUD references are published by the City of Apache Junction Division of Building Safety and Inspection and in the city's MH, PM, RV Construction Standards on the Applications, Forms & Typical Details page. The state install standards the city cites live in A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 37.

Site minimums swing hard between a private lot and a licensed park, and the zoning district on your deed decides which set you are held to. Have the Division of Building Safety and Inspection confirm the standards for your exact parcel before you put a deposit on a home.