FY2023 NDAA: Military Housing

INSIGHTi

FY2023 NDAA: Military Housing

October 18, 2022

Congress may debate several military housing issues during consideration of the FY2023 National

Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Military housing involves a range of policies and appropriations that

support on-base housing infrastructure and provide tax-free housing allowances for some servicemembers

to rent or buy homes outside military installations. The House-passed bill, H.R. 7900, and the Senate

Armed Services Committee (SASC)-reported bill, S. 4543, include various military housing related

provisions that would, among other items, privatize some transient lodging facilities, expand oversight of

privatized family housing, and extend authorities to revise Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for

servicemembers. The committee reports from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and SASC

also seek information from the Department of Defense (DOD) about policies related to future BAH

levels, accessible housing for individuals with disabilities, and housing shortages.

Privatized Housing Expansion

Section 2814 of the House bill would require the Navy and the Air Force to privatize transient lodging

facilities within the United States over a four-year transition period to begin 11 years after enactment and

to be completed within 15 years after enactment. Transient housing is used by servicemembers who are

working temporarily at locations other than their home duty station. The Army initiated a similar

privatization effort in 2009. This measure in the FY2023 House-passed NDAA would require the Navy

and Air Force to consult with the Army to identify “best practices and efficiencies” in the privatization

process and to submit annual reports to Congress on the progress of the privatization effort. The bill

would also prohibit the Navy and Air Force from extending any “Government direct loans, Government

guarantees or Government equity” in carrying out a future privatization plan. The Congressional Budget

Office estimates that the privatization requirement, if enacted, would “increase direct spending by more

than $5 billion in at least one of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2033.”

The HASC report (H.Rept. 117-397) accompanying the House bill directs the Secretary of Defense to

provide a report on the “feasibility of privatizing unaccompanied housing to include barracks and

dormitories within the United States.” Unaccompanied housing is for servicemembers who are living

without dependents.

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Military Family Housing

Several measures, among others, in the House and SASC-reported bills aim to address the quality of

military family housing. For example, Section 2823 of the SASC-reported bill would require the

Secretary of Defense to develop a “mold disclosure document” and would require landlords of privatized

military housing to provide that information to prospective tenants before a lease is signed.

Section 2815 of the House bill would require the Secretary of Defense to create “a feedback tool, such as

a rating system” to allow servicemembers and spouses to provide anonymous feedback about the quality

of housing and services. The provision would also direct the Secretary of Defense to provide

congressional committees with an annual report summarizing the data collected by the feedback tool.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Authorities

For servicemembers who live off base, the current DOD policy provides a BAH that intends to cover

about 95 percent of local average housing costs. Between 2005 and 2015, BAH was calculated to cover

100 percent of local average housing costs. The FY2015 NDAA authorized – but did not require – the

DOD to begin reducing that benefit to its current level.

The HASC report accompanying the House bill stated that the committee “continues to be concerned

about the affordability of housing for service members.” The committee encouraged the DOD to consider

raising the BAH benefit to again cover 100 percent of estimated housing costs. The HASC report also

directed DOD to provide a report to Congress on the costs and issues related to such a change.

Section 603 of the SASC-reported bill would give the Secretary of Defense authority to make temporary

adjustment in BAH rates for a military housing area if the cost of adequate housing for civilians in that

military housing area differs from the current BAH rate by more than 20 percent. The Secretary was

previously granted such authority in 2019 and that authority expired on Sept. 30, 2022. DOD invoked this

authority in 2021. This latest provision in the SASC-reported bill would extend the Secretary’s authority

to September 30, 2024 and would cap the potential increase at 20 percent.

Accessible Housing

Both the HASC and SASC have expressed concern about accessibility for individuals with disabilities in

military housing. The HASC report directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing by March 31,

2023, on the prevalence of housing with accessibility features including zero-step entry and wheelchair

accessible doorways, hallways, and bathrooms on a home’s main level. The SASC report noted that the

Secretary of Defense has not yet provided a briefing directed by the SASC report accompanying the

FY2022 NDAA about current agreements requiring that five percent of newly constructed privatized

housing units be accessible or adaptable for people with disabilities and whether the DOD believes this

percentage should be changed in future agreements. The SASC committee report also wants the Secretary

to provide information on the number of individuals who have requested an accessible housing unit in

privatized military housing but cannot be supplied with one.

Military Housing Shortages

Section 2811 of the House-passed bill would require the DOD to conduct, for every military installation

in the United States, a Housing Requirements and Market Analyses (HRMA) at least once every five

years. Current DOD policy requires the military services to conduct HRMAs at four-year intervals but

there is currently no statutory requirement. The HRMA is a detailed study of housing demand and supply

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within a defined market area. These analyses help identify affordable housing shortages and support

decision-making about how to best meet the needs of servicemembers and their families.

The HASC has expressed particular concerns about housing shortages in the Air Force community. The

HASC report directed the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment

to brief the committee by February 15, 2023, on how the Air Force is addressing housing shortages.

Author Information

Andrew Tilghman

Analyst in U.S. Defense Infrastructure Policy

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