It’s no secret that our military families have been put through the wringer when it comes to housing.  Between exposure to things like mold, lead paint, faulty wiring and vermin problems, we’re finally seeing officials step up to the plate to make some long overdue changes.

On February 16, 2021, Paul Cramer, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, spoke on the topic of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative. In this discussion, Cramer stated that the military departments have added more than 500 employees in the military housing offices in an effort to provide quality care assurance, customer care services, as well as advocacy for the residents.

Defense.org reports that Cramer’s department has drawn up the following policies to “reinforce and expand our programmatic oversight of MHPI housing projects.”

• Senior leader engagement to allow for internal collaboration as well as with MHPI companies on the topic of housing issues.

• Corrective actions to be taken in order to rebuild trust with military members and families.

• Department-wide accountability 

• Transparency alongside frequent communication with tenants

• Guaranteeing the long-term financial viability of MHPI projects and the program

Elizabeth A. Field, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management, has also expressed that there were 12 recommendations to address the problems they had found and that on February 16, 2021, the DOD (Department of Defense) has either fully or partially implemented all of the recommendations.  It is expected that the remaining work that has not been fully implemented yet will be completed by this year. Actions that the department has taken include the following:

• Quarterly reviews of the military department privatized housing portfolios with the focus being on quality and condition

• Creating a process to collect and calculate resident satisfaction data 

• Implementing criteria for monitoring the financial viability of privatized housing projects and risk assessments

• Issuing a Tenant’s Bill of Rights

• Creating a Common Lease Agreement

• Leading an effort to provide tenants with seven years of their unit’s maintenance history

Clearly, the issues surrounding military housing over the years have stirred up some conflict and left many families living in unsatisfactory homes.  It is nice to see the Department of Defense and all corresponding members stepping up to ensure that our military families are provided with safe and livable housing situations from this point on.

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