Every military installation with privatized housing but one will have implemented the MOAA-supported Tenant Bill of Rights by the end of the fiscal year, senior DoD officials said in early June, helping ensure access to quality housing for servicemembers and their families.

The update came as part of a briefing for military and veteran service organizations (MSOs/VSOs). Following a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on efforts to address oversight challenges, and a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing featuring testimony from DoD and service leadership in Energy, Installations, and Environment, this was a good opportunity to continue the dialogue and recommend solutions.

Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI)

The FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included the Tenant Bill of Rights, which was designed to help provide military families with “safe, quality, and well-maintained housing” aboard DoD installations. By the end of 2021, all 18 tenant rights were fully implemented at all but three installations with privatized housing. Now in mid-2023, there are still a few holdouts: Housing companies have implemented 16 of the 18 rights at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Joint McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The joint bases will be in full compliance by the end of the fiscal year, DoD officials said; however, due to complex, public-private partnerships between DoD and the MHPI projects, they could not provide a concrete timeline.

[RELATED: Senate Bill Supports MOAA’s Work to Restore Full Basic Allowance for Housing]

The briefing also covered other issues impacting quality of life in privatized housing:

• Full inspections by Military Housing Offices (MHO) are required prior to the MHPI companies assigning a new tenant.
• One-time inspections are nearly complete across the services, with MHPI company presence to repair issues on site.
• Incentive metrics for MHPI companies were revised following instances of fraud and abuse.
• 600 additional housing staff have been hired to address shortfalls in MHOs and to allow for military tenant advocates at all installations.

MOAA’s efforts to engage congressional support for the BAH Restoration Act during the spring Advocacy in Action campaign directly impact this area – a full allowance would provide needed funding for MHPI companies to make repairs and improve common areas, benefitting servicemembers and families living in privatized housing.

[ACT NOW: Urge Lawmakers to Co-Sponsor the BAH Restoration Act]

Single Servicemember Dwelling

The Air Force committed $1.7 billion over five years (beginning in FY 2022) to address maintenance issues in unaccompanied housing. The Navy, also responsible for Marine Corps housing, is working to implement an Unaccompanied Bill of Rights outlining commitments from DoD and expectations of servicemembers. The Army is requiring inspection of 100% of barracks rooms and working on a new barracks design to improve quality of life for single soldiers.

MOAA’s job is to ask the follow-on questions: What are those funds being used for? How are sailors and Marines learning about the new bill of rights? Who is conducting these inspections (is this a collateral duty or a third-party inspector)?

[RELATED: MOAA President: ‘We’re There to Take Care of Everybody’]

Housing Feedback Tool

Faced with reports of pervasive mold issues and rodent infestations in privatized housing units, Congress in 2019 enacted several MOAA-supported reforms, including a requirement that DoD create a publicly available database for complaints about privatized housing units. In a hearing in early 2022, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told witnesses she wanted this database completed by the end of the year.

Yet here we are again, in mid-2023, with DoD stating it’s “still in the works.”

One senior DoD official committed to ensuring decision-makers better understand the risks taken when underfunding barracks and military housing, saying, “Let’s get into the budget battles we need to in order to ensure the health and safety of our troops and military families.”

MOAA looks forward to continued engagement with DoD and service leaders responsible for housing our nation’s all-volunteer force.