Texas Manufactured Housing Bond
In Texas there is no single “manufactured housing bond” amount. The license class you hold under Tex. Occ. Code § 1201.106 sets the figure the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs requires: $100,000 for a manufacturer, $50,000 for a retailer or broker, and $25,000 for an installer. Get the class right and the amount, the form, and the filing follow.
This is the same statute and the same TDHCA that also decides when a second lot needs its own bond, why a change of ownership doesn’t, and how 60 days’ cancellation notice can quietly suspend your license. All of it is below.
The four bond amounts Texas assigns by license class
Most people searching for the Texas figure assume it scales with revenue or lot count. It doesn’t. Section 1201.106(a) hard-codes one penal sum per license role, tied to the consumer-protection risk of the activity — a manufacturer’s defects reach thousands of homes, so it carries four times an installer’s exposure. Here is the entire ladder:
Texas manufactured housing bond amounts by license class
Fixed by Tex. Occ. Code § 1201.106(a) — the same figures on TDHCA Forms 1017 and 1044
Manufacturer
$100,000
Builds HUD-code homes. Out-of-state makers without a Texas warranty facility post a second $100,000 bond (§ 1201.106(b)).
Retailer
$50,000
Sells new or used homes to the public — the highest-volume license.
Broker
$50,000
Arranges used-home sales without taking title. Same figure as a retailer under the statute.
Installer
$25,000
Sets the home on its site to TDHCA standards. Lowest statutory amount.
Source: Tex. Occ. Code § 1201.106(a)(1)–(4); TDHCA Manufactured Housing Division Forms 1017 & 1044
A salesperson employed by a licensed retailer files no separate bond — the retailer’s bond covers the sales floor. If you carry more than one role (many vertically integrated companies do), you file a bond for each. Want a premium estimate before you apply? Run your class and credit through the Texas manufactured housing bond calculator, or see the credit factors carriers weigh in our guide to surety bond cost.
What § 1201.106 puts in writing
Official Texas Requirements
"An applicant for a license or a license holder shall file a bond or other security under Section 1201.105 for the issuance or renewal of a license in the following amount: (1) $100,000 for a manufacturer; (2) $50,000 for a retailer; (3) $50,000 for a broker; or (4) $25,000 for an installer. … To ensure the availability of prompt and satisfactory warranty service, a manufacturer that does not have a licensed manufacturing plant or other facility in this state from which warranty service and repairs can be provided shall file a bond or other security in the additional amount of $100,000."Texas Occupations Code, Manufactured Housing Standards Act • Tex. Occ. Code § 1201.106(a)–(b)
The obligee is the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) — not the Department of Licensing and Regulation, and not the DMV. Naming the wrong agency is the most common reason a Texas filing bounces. The bond is written on TDHCA’s own continuous manufactured housing licensing bond form (Form 1025) and answers to Texas buyers and the State, never to the licensee.
One bond, or several? Texas draws the line at 300 feet
This is where Texas differs from almost every other state, and where most guides go quiet. Two sections decide whether a change costs you a whole new bond or just a one-page endorsement. Section 1201.107 requires a separate bond for each business location — and treats any property not contiguous to, or beyond 300 feet of, a bonded location as its own location needing its own bond. Section 1201.108 goes the other way: a change of ownership or location does not demand a new bond, only a 10-day notice to TDHCA and an endorsement that continues coverage without a gap.
When a Texas manufactured housing change needs its own bond
§ 1201.107 separate-location rule vs. § 1201.108 endorsement mechanism
| Your situation | Separate / new bond? | Governing rule |
|---|---|---|
| Second sales location across town | Yes — its own bond | § 1201.107(a): a bond per business location |
| Storage lot 300+ ft from your bonded location | Yes — its own bond | § 1201.107(b): non-contiguous, beyond 300 ft |
| Lot within 300 ft of your bonded location | No — already covered | § 1201.107(b): contiguous / within 300 ft |
| Change of business ownership | No — file an endorsement | § 1201.108: 10-day notice + endorsement, no gap |
| Change of business location | No — file an endorsement | § 1201.108: continuing endorsement to the original bond |
| Home on a permanent foundation, sold as real property | No bond required | § 1201.107(c): statutory exemption |
A manufactured home installed on a permanent foundation and sold as real property, and a temporary nonprofit trade-show location, are exempt from the bond requirement under § 1201.107(c).
Source: Tex. Occ. Code §§ 1201.107–1201.108
The practical upside: growing operators often over-buy bonds they don’t need. A storage lot next door is already covered; an ownership change is an endorsement, not a re-application. Tell us your footprint and we’ll bond only what § 1201.107 actually requires — and handle each endorsement when your business changes.
Out-of-state manufacturers: the second $100,000 bond
A detail almost no competing page explains: under § 1201.106(b), an out-of-state manufacturer with no plant or other facility in Texas capable of providing warranty service must post an additional $100,000 bond — on top of the standard $100,000 manufacturer bond — so a Texas homeowner whose warranty work has nowhere to go can still be made whole. Build or contract a Texas warranty facility and the second bond falls away. TDHCA prints this requirement verbatim on Form 1017, so it is checked at licensing, not left to chance.
How a lapsed bond quietly suspends your license
In Texas the bond and the license are welded together. A Chapter 1201 license runs for two years (§§ 1201.114, 1201.116(c)), and the bond must stay continuous across the whole term. Let the bond drop and the license drops with it. Three deadlines are worth taping to the wall:
60 days’ cancellation notice — and instant suspension
If a bond is canceled, the license is suspended on the cancellation’s effective date. The surety must give the TDHCA director written notice at least 60 days beforehand (§ 1201.109(a)) — that window is your time to replace the bond before the license goes dark.
60 days to replace or restore
If your surety enters liquidation or receivership, you have 60 days from notice to obtain replacement security (§ 1201.109(b)). If a paid claim impairs the bond’s face amount, you have 60 days to restore it to full value (§ 1201.109(c)).
Late renewal penalties escalate fast
TDHCA sends an expiration notice at least 30 days out (§ 1201.115). Renew within 90 days of expiry and you pay 1.5x the normal fee; between 90 days and one year, 2x; one year or more and you cannot renew at all — you start over with a new original license (§ 1201.116(d)–(f)).
A continuous, on-time bond is the cheapest insurance against all three. See our guide on how to avoid a surety bond claim for the habits that keep a bond clean across a two-year term.
What Texas buyers and TDHCA can collect from the bond
The bond secures your compliance with the Manufactured Housing Standards Act — honest dealing, clear title, proper installation, and honest handling of the money that changes hands months before a home is delivered. A few kinds of loss dominate the claims:
Deposits taken, homes never delivered or refunded
A buyer prepays for a home that is never ordered, never delivered, or delivered as something other than what was contracted — the signature manufactured-housing claim.
Title and ownership-document failures
Selling without delivering clear title or the manufacturer’s certificate of origin, or failing to clear a lien on a trade-in, is collectible against the bond.
Misrepresentation and defective installation
Misstating a home’s year, condition, or HUD-code status, or an installer’s setup that fails TDHCA standards and causes loss, violates the Act’s honest-dealing and installation provisions.
The bond stays open to successive claims up to its full face amount, no matter how many years it has been in force — the surety is never liable beyond the penal sum (§ 1201.106(c)). And every dollar the surety pays comes back to you under your indemnity agreement: the bond makes buyers whole, it does not absorb your losses, and a paid claim follows your next application.
Know your license class? We’ll write the § 1201.106 amount on TDHCA’s Form 1025 — usually same day.
Start a Texas quoteFiling your bond with TDHCA, step by step
Confirm your license class
Manufacturer, retailer, broker, or installer — § 1201.106 sets the amount from the class, so this decision drives everything else.
Count your bonded locations
One bond per business location, plus any lot beyond 300 feet (§ 1201.107). A single company with three lots may need three bonds — or one if they cluster within 300 feet.
Apply and bind
Standard license-bond underwriting: owner credit, time in business, and any prior TDHCA complaints or enforcement, which can push the amount above the statutory floor.
File on Form 1025 with your license packet
The surety issues the continuous bond on TDHCA’s manufactured housing form; it goes in with your license application, fees, and background check. TDHCA won’t activate the license until the bond is on file.
Keep it continuous and endorse changes
Renew before the two-year mark, file a § 1201.108 endorsement for an ownership or location change, and restore the face within 60 days if a claim impairs it.
New to surety entirely? Start with how to get a surety bond, or weigh the bond against posting cash in our bond vs. cash deposit comparison — relevant because Chapter 1201 lets you post security instead of a surety bond, though tying up $100,000 in cash rarely beats an annual premium.
Bonds a Texas manufactured-housing operator often stacks
Manufactured-housing operators in Texas usually touch more than one of these:
Texas manufactured housing bond questions
Why is a Texas manufactured home broker bond $50,000 when a broker holds no inventory?
Because Tex. Occ. Code § 1201.106(a) groups brokers with retailers, not installers. A broker arranges the sale of used manufactured homes between buyers and sellers, and the statute fixes the same $50,000 security for that role as for a retailer — even though the broker never takes title. Only the installer sits lower at $25,000, and only the manufacturer sits higher at $100,000. It surprises new applicants who assume the bond scales with inventory; in Texas it scales with the consumer-protection exposure the Legislature assigned to each license class.
If I open a second lot or change ownership, do I need a brand-new bond?
A change of ownership or business location does not, on its own, require a new bond — under § 1201.108 you notify TDHCA at least 10 days before the change and file an endorsement continuing the existing bond without a coverage gap. A second sales location is different: § 1201.107 requires a separate bond for each business location, and any property that is not contiguous to — or within 300 feet of — a bonded location needs its own bond. So a corner move down the block can be an endorsement, while a lot across town is a new filing.
What is the extra $100,000 bond some out-of-state manufacturers have to post?
Under § 1201.106(b), an out-of-state manufacturer that has no licensed manufacturing plant or other facility in Texas capable of performing warranty service must file an additional $100,000 bond or other security — on top of the standard $100,000 manufacturer bond — so a Texas buyer whose warranty work is stranded has a funded remedy. A manufacturer with a Texas warranty facility avoids the second bond. TDHCA Form 1017 states the requirement in the same words the statute uses.
What happens to my license if the surety cancels my bond?
Your license is suspended on the cancellation’s effective date (§ 1201.109(a)). The surety must give the TDHCA director written notice at least 60 days before cancellation takes effect, which is your window to replace the bond before the license goes dark. Two related traps live in the same section: if your surety enters liquidation or receivership you have 60 days from notice to obtain replacement security (§ 1201.109(b)), and if a paid claim impairs the bond’s face amount you have 60 days to restore it (§ 1201.109(c)).
How long does a Texas manufactured housing license last, and what if I renew late?
A Chapter 1201 license is valid for two years, and a renewed license expires on the second anniversary of the renewal date (§§ 1201.114, 1201.116(c)). TDHCA sends a written expiration notice at least 30 days out (§ 1201.115). Miss the date and the penalties escalate under § 1201.116(d)–(f): expired 90 days or less renews at 1.5x the normal fee; more than 90 days but under a year, 2x the fee; one year or more, you cannot renew at all and must obtain a new original license. Because the bond must stay continuous across the term, a lapse in either the license or the bond puts the other at risk.
Can TDHCA make me post more than the statutory amount?
The § 1201.106 figures are the floor, not the ceiling. TDHCA can require additional security from a license holder whose complaint history or financial exposure shows the standard bond is inadequate, and it can pursue the bond for successive claims up to the full face amount no matter how many years the bond has been in force (§ 1201.106(c)). Disclose any prior enforcement or unresolved consumer complaints to your surety up front — it changes the underwriting, and it is the single most common reason a Texas manufactured-housing applicant is asked for a larger bond.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
General information, not legal advice. Bond amounts, license classes, and procedures are set by the Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1201 and TDHCA Manufactured Housing Division rules and can change. Confirm the current requirement and form with TDHCA, and request a quote for your specific license class and bond amount.
Tell us your license class — we’ll set the rest
Manufacturer, retailer, broker, or installer: we write the exact § 1201.106 amount on TDHCA’s Form 1025, bond only the locations § 1201.107 actually requires, and handle the endorsements when your business changes — free quote, no obligation.
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