2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · Senate bill

SB785

SB785 requires qualifying cities with zoning to provide at least one place where a new HUD-code manufactured home is allowed as a dwelling by right.

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Official caption: Relating to the regulation of new HUD-code manufactured housing.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Flores. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

SB785 requires qualifying cities with zoning to provide at least one place where a new HUD-code manufactured home is allowed as a dwelling by right.
A separate provision bars a city from requiring a specific-use permit, or another permit serving the same purpose, for a new HUD-code manufactured home when the home complies with federal law and the state manufactured-housing chapter and the city does not require a specific-use permit for other residential property in the same zoning classification.
The zoning requirement preserves city authority to protect historic landmarks and include property in local historic districts.
Existing law already treated a new-home installation application as granted unless the city denied it in writing with a reason within 45 days after receipt; SB785 retains that deadline and makes the city’s location-selection rule subject to the new zoning requirement. “New” is a legal category—not simply a recent manufacture date: it means a home that is not “used,” regardless of age.

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What does it do?

SB785 requires qualifying cities with zoning to provide at least one place where a new HUD-code manufactured home is allowed as a dwelling by right. A city may use a residential zoning category, a type of residential district, or a dedicated category for these homes. The category must actually apply to land inside the city; if the city has a comprehensive zoning map, it must show the qualifying areas. The act does not require every residential neighborhood to allow manufactured homes or specify a minimum acreage. Signed June 22, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2026—not September 2025. Final act; History.

A separate provision bars a city from requiring a specific-use permit, or another permit serving the same purpose, for a new HUD-code manufactured home when the home complies with federal law and the state manufactured-housing chapter and the city does not require a specific-use permit for other residential property in the same zoning classification. This is a conditional permit protection, not an exemption from all construction or installation requirements. New subsection (d-1).

The zoning requirement preserves city authority to protect historic landmarks and include property in local historic districts. It does not affect deed restrictions established before January 2, 2025. It also does not apply to a city where all residentially zoned areas had deed restrictions prohibiting manufactured homes on September 1, 2025, or to a city with no business- or industrial-zoned areas. Those exceptions are expressly attached to the zoning subsection, not stated as general exceptions to every provision of the act. Subsections (g) and (h).

Existing law already treated a new-home installation application as granted unless the city denied it in writing with a reason within 45 days after receipt; SB785 retains that deadline and makes the city’s location-selection rule subject to the new zoning requirement. “New” is a legal category—not simply a recent manufacture date: it means a home that is not “used,” regardless of age. The used-home definition generally turns on occupancy or issuance of a statement of ownership, with exceptions for sales models and specified unwound purchases. Prior municipal rules; New and used definitions; Retained deadline.

What changed along the way?

The introduced and Senate committee texts matched. Flores’s adopted Senate amendment removed a broad ban on “unreasonably” regulating installation, narrowed the special-permit ban to situations where other residential property in the same category does not need that permit, and added the by-right language, dedicated-category option, map requirement and historic/deed-restriction/city exceptions. It also required a “substantial area” and proposed a separate ban on zoning that directly or indirectly prohibited these homes within the city. Introduced; Senate committee; Senate amendment.

The engrossed and House committee texts matched. Guillen’s adopted House amendment removed the separate broad zoning-prohibition clause and replaced “a substantial area” with “an area.” It also postponed the effective date by one year, to September 1, 2026. The final law therefore requires an actual zoned area but does not retain the substantial-area wording. The Senate concurred May 30. House amendment; Both adopted amendments; All versions; Concurrence.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Buyers, retailers and installers may gain a clearer route to place new manufactured homes in cities that previously offered no suitable zoning category. Cities retain choices about the qualifying category and land, subject to the act, and must update a comprehensive map if they have one. The bill does not buy land, subsidize a home or guarantee an available affordable lot. Historic protections and deed restrictions can still matter for a particular property. Scope, conditions and exceptions.

All four fiscal-note records were reviewed. The final available May 27 note anticipates no state fiscal impact and no significant local-government fiscal impact. It supplies no estimate of additional homes, purchase-price savings or individual cities’ zoning and mapping costs. Final fiscal note.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.