In early June, the Army announced that it had fully implemented its Tenant Bill of Rights for 36 of 44 Army installations that utilize privatized housing.
Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense, signed the original bill in 2020, calling it, “a promise we should have made back in the late ‘90s when the Army was laying the groundwork for private companies to take over military housing operations and upkeep.”
And while many installations immediately applied 15 of the 18 points when it was originally signed, the remaining three have only just been agreed upon after months of discussion.
The key item, according to several U.S. Army Installation Management Command officials, was a universal lease.
“It was all tied to coming up with common documents, and the common document was the universal lease,” said Connie Glenn, chief of G4 Housing Division, IMCOM. “The universal lease has been, or will be, implemented Army-wide to all privatization projects.”
And while the document itself resembles a typical lease, it also includes two other key provisions: a dispute resolution and rent segregation.
The “dispute resolution” provides service members a formal and informal dispute process where they can withhold their rent payment (housing allowance) while their dispute gets resolved — they also have the ability to review a seven-year maintenance history of the property before signing anything.
Whereas the “rent segregation” ensures that, “tenants who feel they have been negatively impacted by an unfulfilled work order can request a portion of their rent money be withheld for up to 60 days, if necessary, to encourage the housing management company to resolve the issue.”
The main point behind these additions and especially the idea of a universal lease is to ensure that Soldiers and their families become more familiar with the leasing process and better understand their rights as they move from installation to installation.
“The Tenant Bill of Rights is designed to provide a common ground for Soldiers and Families in regards to housing,” Doug Delzeith, DPW Housing Branch manager said. “To clarify, this means that Soldiers and their Families will experience a standardized documents process that will enhance their quality of life regardless of where they are stationed.”
Full Story: Army To Enact Final Privatized Housing Tenant Bill of Rights by author Eric Pilgrim. Originally published on army.mil on 7/22/21.
