For the approximately 200,000 service members who may be eligible for extra cash in their housing allowance through the end of the year, military officials have provided more details on eligibility and how to apply.
Defense officials announced Sept. 24 that the temporary higher rates for Basic Allowance for Housing will take effect Oct. 1 in 56 housing areas across the country. The increase will be retroactive to that start date, so don’t worry if you haven’t yet applied or been approved.
The extra money is designed to ease the financial burden on service members and their families who have been affected by higher costs of rental housing and a shortage of housing in these designated military housing areas. It applies to troops with and without dependents.
Defense officials have estimated that about 200,000 troops DoD-wide could be eligible for the extra money, according to Army officials. If the maximum number of service members qualify for the extra money, it would cost the Defense Department about $159 million, according to DoD officials.
The increases range from 10 percent to 20 percent, and apply to eligible active-duty troops and full-time National Guard members in these 56 areas.
For example, one of the five military housing areas that will get the maximum 20 percent increase is Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, Calif. An E-5 with dependents in that area who qualifies for the increase would receive an extra $240 a month, with the BAH increasing from $1,206 a month to $1,446 a month.
The temporary increases end Dec. 31, because the new 2022 BAH rates take effect Jan. 1.
The 56 areas represent about 18 percent of the 306 military housing areas in the country.