See this and more inside the March/April issue of Military Spouse Magazine!
By Anne Blanch Rabe
They say that learning how laws are made is like watching sausage being made; we really don’t want to see how it’s done. However, military families need to understand the political and legislative process to advocate most effectively for ourselves.
You’ll hear discussion about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the end of most years. Often initiatives and even stand-alone bills that impact service members and family members end up rolled into the final NDAA for the next fiscal year.
At the end of 2019, in the fiscal year 2020 NDAA, a set of provisions laid out 18 rights of military service members and their families (tenants) residing in privatized housing. The provisions’ goal was to ensure that privatized housing tenants receive quality housing and fair treatment from the companies that operate and maintain privatized housing.
While permission to live on base is at the will of the base commander, with privatized housing now being widespread, it is not always the military that controls the day-to-day quality and standard of your housing. The Military Housing Tenant Bill of Rights is a step forward to addressing some of the substantive problem’s families have been facing and are, in some cases, still facing.
What does the Military Housing Tenants Bill of Rights mean for you if you live in privatized housing?
First, you need to know that just because legislation is passed doesn’t mean that changes will happen as written, and it doesn’t mean they will happen quickly. Kelly Hruska, director of government relations at the National Military Family Association (NMFA), is cautiously optimistic. “We are really glad Congress spoke, but even with the best of legislation it takes time to implement,” she said.
Once Congress passed the 2020 NDAA, the Department of Defense (DOD) needed to decide how to implement the tenant rights provisions. On Feb. 25, 2020, Secretary of Defense Esper, Secretary of the Army McCarthy, Acting Secretary of the Navy Modly, and Secretary of the Air Force Barrett, committed to implementing 15 of the 18 tenant rights by May 2020. There were also five tenant responsibilities included in the memo.
In short, the Tenants Bill of Rights offers some welcome guidelines, but as it currently stands, the implementation is without teeth. The three provisions the DOD said would take time to implement were access to maintenance history, a process for dispute resolution and withholding of rent until disputes are resolved. Eryn Wagnon, director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), said, “The implementation process has really shined a light on how much say the private partners have in negotiating the outcome even though the provisions have been directed by Congress.”
So where do things stand now?
Despite being required to be implemented by May 2020, provision 15—”The right to expect common documents, forms and processes for housing units will be the same for all installations (across the DOD)”—has not yet been implemented.
Advocates continue to encourage military families living in privatized housing or impacted by housing conditions to speak up. As NMFA’s Kelly Hruska asserts, “We can’t sweep this under the rug. We don’t know where things are working or not working unless people speak up.” Hruska encourages military families living in military privatized housing to become familiar with the Tenant Bill of Rights, and “If you are not comfortable reporting to the housing contractor, the housing advocate or your commander, tell someone who is.”
Advocates remain hopeful about announcements that the three provisions that will ensure accountability on the part of privatized housing companies—access to maintenance history, a process for dispute resolution and withholding of rent until disputes are resolved—will be forthcoming in 2021. Wagnon emphasized their value to tenants: “We hope the final items of the Bill of Rights, a dispute resolution process and ability to withhold rent, are implemented soon so tenants can feel confident in addressing potential housing issues.”
Finally, when asked said why it is important for military spouses to understand how final implementation of legislation can be different to initial proposals, Sarah Streyder, founder of Secure Families Initiative, responded, “The whole process can be intricate and daunting, but for anyone who wants to enact real change, it’s imperative that they follow the process through to its conclusion ([because] that’s the outcome that counts!).”
Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights