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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Requires Manufacturers to Repair or Replace Defective Manufactured Homes
Last action · February 5, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsor: Mike Pushkin
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 5255 establishes legal duties for manufactured home manufacturers to repair, replace, or refund defective new manufactured homes when express warranties are not met. The measure requires manufacturers to bear all compliance costs, prohibits shifting warranty expenses onto dealers, and provides consumers with civil remedies and mandatory pre-dispute resolution options.
Purchasers of new manufactured homes gain specific statutory enforcement mechanisms to compel manufacturers to fix major structural or mechanical defects or issue full purchase price refunds, altering how warranty disputes are resolved in the state.
- Manufactured homes are regulated differently from site-built housing under federal and state standards, often relying on express manufacturer warranties rather than traditional builder guarantees. context
- State-level lemon laws for motor vehicles and manufactured housing generally establish specific repair attempts and statutory timeframes before allowing consumers to seek court remedies or replacements. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers are assigned direct statutory duties to repair, replace, or refund defective homes, bear all compliance costs, and comply with third-party dispute resolution rules.
Consumers
Consumers receive new statutory remedies, including the right to civil action, warranty enforcement protections, written disclosures for returned homes, and access to dispute resolution.
Dealers
Authorized dealers are prohibited from absorbing manufacturer warranty costs, must disclose certain retail repairs exceeding five percent of the suggested retail price, and are protected from manufacturer liability claims in the absence of improper repair work.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a new manufactured home has a dangerous defect?
Can a manufacturer shift repair costs onto a local dealer?
Must a consumer go to court immediately over a warranty dispute?
What disclosures are required when selling a previously returned manufactured home?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 5, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Feb 5, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 5, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 5, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift of Warranty Costs to Manufacturers
The bill explicitly invalidates any contractual provisions that shift manufacturer warranty compliance costs or performance duties onto local dealers.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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