Is Your Modular Home Up-to-Date with CSA Standards?
The Flatlands Real Estate Team is a team of professional REALTORS® proudly serving the Saskatchewan real estate market. They are based out of Regina & Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan and specialize in residential homes & condos, commercial sales & leasing, cottage and recreational properties, as well as farm & acreage real estate.
Updated Sept 2023
What is a CSA Label
It is a certification label placed on a mobile or modular home by the manufacturing facility when the home is built. This certification label acts as confirmation that the home complies with Canadian construction standards for this type of housing. In order for the manufacturing facility to be qualified to affix these labels they must be certified by a recognized certification body (CSA, Intertek, or Quality Auditing Institute).
When the manufacturing facility is properly certified it ensures they maintain strict quality control and inspection programs, as well as employ well trained construction labourers, design staff with thorough building code knowledge, and skilled inspectors that monitor and inspect each home at each stage of the production process. In addition, Certification personnel conduct periodic inspections of the homes being produced in each manufacturing facility. The Certification Labels are numbered and a serial number is assigned to each home. A permanent record of the Certification Label number, the serial number, and the specifications of each home produced is maintained by the manufacturer.
Why is a CSA Label Important
These certification labels are used and relied on by mortgage lenders and insurance companies to confirm that the mobile or modular home was built to appropriate Canadian construction standards. If the certification labels are missing or have been accidentally removed during a renovation this could impact the current owner or prospective buyer from being able to obtain financing or insurance coverage. We have also observed through our real estate practice that municipalities will also rely on the certification standards that these labels are associated with in their zoning bylaws and land-use regulations. Which could restrict the ability for the home to be moved into a particular community, neighbourhood, or onto a specific building lot or parcel of land.
Some Modular Homes are not Up-to-Date with CSA Standards
According to information provided by the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission (SREC), modular homes built between 2002 and 2010 may not be up to CSA standards. The SREC has recently learned that some modular homes who display the CSA certification label (which signifies that standards have been met), actually fail to meet the necessary standards or codes even though the CSA label is present.
This issue has become troublesome in regards to the re-sale of modular homes. By failure to possess such certification, owners may find themselves facing several difficulties when trying to sell their home. A couple of these difficulties include having to pay for repairs out of their own pocket to bring them up to code, or in extreme cases being asked to remove units from the boundaries of a municipality. These setbacks ultimately have an effect on the overall value of a modular home.
The responsibility that newly constructed buildings meet the National Building Code within a given area falls upon individual municipalities. In the past municipalities assumed that when the CSA label certification label was present that the building conformed to the standards and the building codes. Which is now known not to be true for some manufactured / modular homes built between 2002 and 2010.
How To Find Your CSA Label
The CSA certification label can typically be found near the front door of the modular home’s exterior. This label must be present on the home to be able to confirm the certification status and construction standards of the mobile or modular home. If the label cannot be located, or documentation from the manufacturer confirming the certification history, the home must be re-certified.
The Modular Housing Association Prairie Provinces (MHAPP) provides comprehensive resources on their website and do have additional tips to help find your certificate label or “specification name plate” that should contain detailed information about the home including the Serial Number and the CSA Label Number. Be sure to check out their frequently asked questions section on their website and especially their document called “Are Serial Numbers and CSA Label Numbers Important?”.
Options in Saskatchewan for a missing CSA Label
Unlike BC or Ontario, Saskatchewan does not yet have an official re-certification program actively in place and widely available for mobile, manufactured, and modular homes. Our provincial safety authority that would oversee this area, TSASK (Technical Safety Authority of Sask), reportedly has in-development a program similar (identical) to the Silver label program that BC Safety Authority has for re-certifying mobile homes. It is possible this program may be up and running by now.
Last we heard on this is that TSASK had been meeting with insurance brokers such as SGI to see how this program would be taken but they hadn’t received conclusive information back from the insurance industry at the time. If there is no information on TSASK’s website about this program, we would encourage any affected mobile homeowner or prospective buyer to email customerservice@tsask.ca attention to the Chief Inspector (Electrical) and ask what is the delay in launching the Silver Label recertification program for mobile homes in Sask.
Alternatives to a proper re-certification program:
- Obtain a “municipal compliance certificate” – This is a report that can be obtained from the municipality where the mobile home is located (either the City, Town or Village you live in, or when located in the country side probably the local RM) regarding the compliance or non-compliance with relevant local bylaws like zoning, building & construction code, permit to occupy, etc.. This documentation can often serve as an alternative to a CSA sticker to demonstrate compliance with building codes and safety regulations.
In smaller municipal offices they may not be familiar with this type of certificate… so please be patient with them. It is a real thing that they can do, but it probably hasn’t been asked for at their office in years. Some persistence may be required. - Find a more mobile home friendly mortgage or insurance provider – For whatever reason some insurance providers or mortgage lending companies are just completely against doing mobile homes even with the original CSA stickers, and some are more friendly. For recommendations to reputable companies in this area, please contact us with details about your circumstances and location.
What To Do If You Are Buying or Selling Modular Homes In Sask
Make sure to hire a REALTOR® who has experience with modular homes. This experience has several benefits that could help the transaction run smoothly. A REALTOR® with experience will be able to guide you on how to go about re-certifying your home (if it is needed), which bylaws you have to consider and obey when entering a transaction. As well as, recommend important inspections and contract terms that could prevent obstacles down the road for both the buyer and seller.
If you are interested in buying or selling your modular home, or have any further questions in regards to CSA Standards, please feel free to contact us for some professional help.
