December 12, 2024

Warren, Jacobs, Lawmakers Reintroduce Legislation Addressing Unsafe Conditions in Privatized Military Housing

Private housing companies that serve military families often evade responsibility when they fail to provide adequate housing

Bill Text | One-Pager

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, reintroduced the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act, legislation that would comprehensively reform our privatized military housing system in the wake of disturbing reports revealing unsafe and unsanitary conditions. 

In 1996, Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), which allowed the Department of Defense (DOD) to partner with private sector developers who would own, operate, and maintain military family housing and, in return, have access to federal direct loans, loan guarantees, and other incentives.

However, over the past several years, military families have come forward to expose the terrible conditions of privatized military housing—including toxic mold, rodent infestations, and lead-based paint— and raised the serious difficulties they have faced trying to get help with these conditions. 

“The Department of Defense owes a responsibility to our servicemembers to provide them and their families with safe and sanitary housing," said Senator Warren. "This bill will fundamentally reform a broken system and hold private housing providers accountable for their shameful failures."

“Our military families sacrifice so much for us – and the least we can do is ensure their housing is clean, safe, affordable, and meets their needs,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “While we’ve made progress in addressing inadequate housing across the country, we still have more work ahead to conduct necessary oversight, protect and empower tenants, and demand accountability for unacceptable conditions. Our military families deserve the best – and that’s why I’m proud to introduce the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act to deliver comprehensive reform to our privatized military housing system that often overlooks landlords’ negligence and silences military families.”

The Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act would:

  • Increase oversight by requiring the Secretary of Defense to establish formal written guidance for all housing contracts and to rescind contracts if providers do not correct breaches.
  • Demand transparency from housing providers by requiring an annual financial statement (equivalent to a 10-K) for the entire company and for each contract the provider has with DOD.
  • Establish tenant protections by codifying that all federal, state, and local housing protections that apply to those who live in the communities that surround bases also apply to servicemembers and by forbidding landlords from closing maintenance requests in the work order system until an independent inspector has approved the work. 
  • Provide medical care by directing DOD to establish a health registry for all servicemembers and families to screen and track for medical conditions acquired as a result of unsafe housing and by providing healthcare coverage for all dependents who develop environmentally-caused medical conditions associated with residing in privatized military housing.
  • Strengthen ethics by prohibiting all senior DOD officials and any Member of the House or Senate Armed Services Committees from owning any investments in an entity owned or controlled by a privatized housing provider (mutual funds excluded).

In the Senate, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) cosponsored the legislation. House cosponsors include Representatives Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) and James Moylan (R-Guam).

“This measure assures that our brave military men and women have safe and healthy homes, which they and their families deeply deserve and need. Many of our nation’s servicemembers and their families have suffered through nightmarish living conditions—including toxic mold, infestations of rodents, and lead-based paint—while in privatized military housing. The Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act will increase transparency, strengthen tenant protections, and guarantee servicemembers and their families access to quality housing,” said Senator Blumenthal.

"It is well past time to increase, stabilize, and regulate the housing supply available for servicemembers," said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland. "My district alone is home to over 40,000 active-duty service members and their families who deserve to be securely housed.”

“I am happy to announce that our office is co-leading with Rep Jacobs the Military Housing & Service Member Protection Act,” said Delegate James Moylan. “This act focuses on Increased oversight, Transparency, Tenant Protections, Medical care provisions, and a commitment to ethical practices. Our Warfighters deserve the BEST conditions when away from their appointed places of duty and our office is FULLY committed to ensuring this is realized. I will continue to work with congressional leadership to champion our service members quality of life both now, and always! Lastly… Go Army, beat Navy, HOOAH!”

The Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act has been endorsed by the Military Officers Association of America, the National Military Family Association, and the Military Housing Coalition.

Senator Warren has been in a leader in raising concerns about problems with privatized military housing and led the push to protect military families:

  • In September 2024, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) introduced the Restore Military Families’ Voices Act, which would bar private military housing companies from imposing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) on tenants as a condition for housing services.
  • In July 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) led colleagues in calling out the Department of Defense (DoD) for failing to protect military families living in military housing operated by private companies under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI).
  • In May 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren led an annual hearing highlighting personnel priorities for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the military services for the coming year, including military housing and child care.
  • In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Army Secretary Christine Wormuth on the need to increase military housing availability and the damaging impact of non-disclosure agreements between private landlords, servicemembers, and their families on housing safety at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 
  • In December 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced further enforcement of the Tenant Bill of Rights for military families as one of the key priorities secured in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), as well as creating a working group of DoD officials and military families to ensure ongoing oversight of deficiencies in privatized military housing. 
  • In December 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting information on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) plans to address the unhealthy prevalence of mold, lead-based paint, and asbestos in housing for America’s servicemembers.
  • In October 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raising concerns that Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) families had to pay out of pocket to modify their homes to meet their families’ needs and asking for additional information about DoD’s oversight of the program.
  • In June 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with other Senate Armed Services Committee members, announced the reintroduction of the bipartisan Military Housing Readiness Council Act, which would provide a platform for oversight and accountability of privatized military housing to give military families a voice and bring together experts to ensure military families have the safe housing they deserve.
  • In December 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing concern over reports that military families are being forced to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with privatized military housing companies in order to receive compensation for poor housing conditions.
  • In December 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced her provisions to require military housing companies to disclose mold and the health effects of mycotoxins before a lease is signed was included in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
  • In August 2022, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Military Housing Readiness Council Act, legislation that would ensure oversight and accountability on safe housing conditions for servicemembers and military families. The legislation would create a Military Housing Readiness Council comprised of DoD officials, servicemembers, military families, and military housing experts to ensure ongoing oversight of deficiencies in privatized military housing. 
  • In June 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced the Military Housing Oversight and Service member Protection Act as one of her key priorities for the FY 2023 NDAA. The proposal would ensure medical care for military families affected by unsafe housing by directing DoD to establish a health registry for all servicemembers and families and establishing a presumption of service-connected disability for servicemembers and lifetime medical care for dependents.
  • In February 2022 during a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing, Elizabeth Warren pressed Pentagon nominees for tough oversight as they improve military housing conditions.
  • In July 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced improving military housing as one of her key priorities for FY 2022 NDAA. 
  • In January 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Defense Secretary Austin for his public commitment to respond and make a priority to her requests about military housing issues during a SASC hearing.
  • In March 2021, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wrote to Defense Secretary Austin, and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, continuing the lawmakers' investigation into whether the largest military housing providers under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative are complying with federal laws that protect Americans with disabilities. 
  • In December 2020, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questioned the five largest private military housing providers about their reported failure to provide adequate housing to families with disabilities.
  • In May 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren released the findings from her three-month-long investigation of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative and of five private companies that have contracts with the military services to provide on-base housing under the program. She sent letters to then-SASC Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and then-Ranking Member Jack Reed, and to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, to provide each with the results of her investigation, revealing how and why private military housing developers failed to meet basic housing standards, which in some cases resulted in severe health problems for military families.
  • In April 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Representative Deb Haaland introduced the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act, a comprehensive bill to address a series of disturbing reports revealing unsafe and unsanitary conditions in privatized, on-base housing for military personnel and their families.

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