West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 42 - Labor › Title 42 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DIVISION OF LABOR › Series 42-19 - West Virginia Board Of Manufactured Housing Construction And Safety › Section 42-19-3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
In addition to the definitions in this section, the
				  definitions in W. Va. Code §
									21-9-2 are incorporated herein by
				  reference.
3.1. "Act" means the West
				Virginia Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act, W. Va.
				Code §
									21-9-1
et seq
.
3.2. "Advertisement" means any method used by
				a manufacturer, dealer, distributor, or contractor to promote its business to
				the general public. If a manufacturer, dealer, distributor, or contractor
				maintains an internet website, any such advertisement may direct potential
				customers to its online landing page for a link to the information
				required.
3.3. "Aggrieved consumer"
				means a consumer qualifying for compensation or repairs from the Recovery Fund,
				bond, or other financial assurance required in accordance with the Act and this
				rule.
3.4. "Board" means the West
				Virginia Board of Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety and its
				authorized representatives.
3.5.
				"Business location" means each physically separate and distinct operation or
				storage location maintained by a manufacturer, dealer, or distributor of
				manufactured housing.
3.6. "Cease
				and desist order" means an order issued by the Division of Labor pursuant to
				the provisions of the Act and this rule to an unlicensed person or entity who
				performs work for which a license is required or to a licensee who performs
				work outside of the license's classifications.
3.7. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
				the West Virginia Division of Labor and his or her authorized
				representatives.
3.8. "Contested
				case hearing" means an administrative evidentiary hearing before the Board in
				which a specific party's rights, interests, privileges, or obligations are
				determined in accordance with W. Va. Code §
									29A-5-1
et
				seq
.
3.9. "Contractor" or
				"installer" means any person, including a primary contractor or subcontractor,
				who performs operations in this state at the occupancy site which render a
				manufactured home fit for habitation. This definition does not include a person
				who does work on a manufactured home which is owned or leased by that person.
				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.
3.10. "DAPIA" means the
				Design Approval Primary Inspection Agency specified in the federal standards
				that is responsible for the evaluation and approval of a manufacturer's home
				design and its quality assurance manuals.
3.11. "Dealer" means any person engaged in
				business in this state in the sale, accepting on consignment, leasing, or
				distribution of manufactured homes, primarily to persons who in good faith
				purchase or lease a manufactured home for purposes other than resale. The
				phrase "engaged in business in this state" includes operating business
				locations physically within West Virginia and operating business locations
				physically outside West Virginia when the dealer knows or should know that the
				manufactured home is to be initially located at an occupancy site in West
				Virginia.
3.12. "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, but which does not result in an
				unreasonable risk of injury or death to the occupants of the home.
3.13. "Distributor" means any person engaged
				in business in this state in the sale and distribution of manufactured homes
				for resale. The phrase "engaged in business in this state" includes operating
				business locations physically within West Virginia and operating business
				locations physically outside West Virginia when the distributor knows or should
				know that the manufactured home is to be resold in West Virginia.
3.14. "Division" means the West Virginia
				Division of Labor and its authorized representatives.
3.15. "Federal standards" means the National
				Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974,  42 U.S.C. §
										5401
et seq
. and the federal manufactured housing
				construction and safety standards regulations codified in  24 C.F.R. parts 3280, 3282, 3284, 3285, 3286, 3288, and 3800.
3.16. "Final grading and water control" is an
				aspect of installation that means footing backfill, installing a water vapor
				barrier, and final grading of the site.
3.17. "Home placement evaluation" is an
				aspect of installation that means a soil compaction test, support system
				design, and a physical inspection of the site for compliance with all
				applicable installation standards as specified in section 10A of this
				rule.
3.18. "HUD" means the United
				States Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Secretary.
3.19. "HUD certification label" means the
				permanently affixed label placed on each manufactured home pursuant to  24 C.F.R. §
										3280.11.
3.20. "HUD
				data plate" means the permanently affixed data plate placed on each
				manufactured home pursuant to  24 C.F.R. §
										3280.5.
3.21. "Imminent safety hazard" means a hazard
				that presents an imminent and unreasonable risk of death or severe personal
				injury that may or may not be related to a failure to comply with an applicable
				federal standard.
3.22. "Informal
				presentation of views" means the opportunity for a manufacturer, dealer,
				distributor, or contractor to meet with the Division following a preliminary
				determination of a possible imminent safety hazard or serious defect or the
				issuance of a notice of violation.
3.23. "Inspections," as used in section 8 of
				this rule, means and includes evaluations of the following: a manufactured
				home's site location with respect to the home's design, construction, and
				specific site conditions; site preparation and grading for drainage; foundation
				construction; anchorage; completion of ductwork, plumbing, fuel supply, and
				electrical systems; optional features such as skirting; close-up examination of
				the home's interior and exterior; and operational checks and
				adjustments.
3.24. "Installation"
				or "aspect of installation" means the home placement evaluation, site
				preparation, installation of the support system, leveling and trimming the
				manufactured home, utility connections, installation of optional accessory
				items, and final grading and water control.
3.25. "Installation of optional accessory
				items" is an aspect of installation that means installation of fascia/skirting
				and ventilation.
3.26.
				"Installation of the support system" is an aspect of installation that means
				installation of footings, piers, foundation walls, or other equivalent support
				systems.
3.27. "IPIA" means the
				Production Inspection Primary Inspection Agency specified in the federal
				standards.
3.28. "Level and trim
				the manufactured home" is an aspect of installation that means positioning and
				leveling the manufactured home on its support system, anchoring the home,
				close-in, trim and adjustments, and non-electrical cross-over
				connects.
3.29. "Manufacturer"
				means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling manufactured homes,
				including any person engaged in importing manufactured homes into this state
				for resale.
3.30. "Manufactured
				home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in
				transport is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more 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 in the
				structure. The term also includes 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
				 24 C.F.R. §
										3282.13. 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. Unless
				otherwise stated, all references to a "manufactured home" means a new or used
				manufactured home.
3.31.
				"Noncompliance" means a failure of a manufactured home to comply with a federal
				standard that does not constitute a defect, serious defect, or imminent safety
				hazard.
3.32. "Notice of violation"
				means a notice issued by the Board to a licensee that a violation of the
				federal standards, the Act, or this rule has occurred which specifies the
				nature of the alleged violation and the amount of time in which the licensee
				has to correct or contest the violation.
3.33. "Person" means any individual, trust,
				estate, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or any other legal
				business entity recognized by this state, including any state or political
				subdivision.
3.34. "Purchaser" or
				"consumer" means an individual, other than a manufacturer, dealer, distributor,
				contractor, or transporter, purchasing a manufactured home in good faith for
				purposes other than resale or contracting for the installation of a
				manufactured home.
3.35. "Recovery
				Fund" means the State Manufactured Housing Recovery Fund established pursuant
				to W. Va. Code §
									21-9-10 and this rule.
3.36. "SAA" means the State Administrative
				Agency specified in the federal standards.
3.37. "Serious defect" means any failure to
				comply with an applicable federal standard that renders the manufactured home
				or any part of the manufactured home not fit for the ordinary use for which it
				was intended and which results in an unreasonable risk of injury or death to
				occupants of the affected manufactured home.
3.38. "Site" or "occupancy site" means the
				area encompassing the exterior perimeter of the manufactured home plus 10
				feet.
3.39. "Site preparation" is
				an aspect of installation that means clearing, providing access to, and rough
				grading the site.
3.40. "State"
				means the state of West Virginia.
3.41. "Support system" means the piers,
				foundation walls, and other equivalent systems approved in accordance with
				subsections 10A.2 and 10A.3 of this rule, and their footings, anchorage to the
				manufactured home, shims, and any combination thereof that, when properly
				installed, support the manufactured home.
3.42. "Transporter" or "transporter only
				contractor" means a person who, for compensation, transports a manufactured
				home upon a public road in this state to an occupancy site and who performs no
				installation work.
3.43. "Utility
				connections" is an aspect of installation that means the connection of utility
				services, including electric, gas, sewer systems, and
				water.