11-May-2007

In Williams v. Fox, (Tenn., March 15, 2007), the Supreme Court held that a modular house was not prohibited by a restrictive covenant banning mobile homes. The Tennessee Supreme Court held that unlike a mobile home or house trailer, a modular home is not built on a permanent chassis, and for that reason, it is not able to be readily moved to another location once installed or erected. Moreover, while mobile homes are titled as vehicles, modular homes are not. Once delivered and erected on the property, they become part of the property as a permanent improvement to the real estate similar to a "site built" home.

In this case, the restrictions did not mention a specific restriction against modular homes. The restrictions were only against mobile homes. If the restrictions had specifically mentioned modular homes also, then the Court would have likely upheld the restriction as it read.