US Military Housing, Barracks, and Housing Allowance

US Military Housing, Barracks, and Housing AllowanceUS Military Housing, Barracks, and Housing AllowanceFree, or nearly free, housing is given to everyone in the military. But how they provide housing depends on your marital status, dependents, and rank. Military Housing for Married Couples or Those with Dependents If you are married and living with your spouse or minor dependents, you will either live in on-base housingor be given a monetary allowance called BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) to live off-base. The amount of BAH depends on your rank, your drehort, and whether or bedrngnis you have dependents.If you are in the Guard or Reservesand entitled to a housing allowance, you will receive a reduced BAH, called BAH Type II, anytime you are on active duty for less than 30 days. If you are on orders to serve on active duty for 30 days or mora, youll receive the full housing allowance tarif, the same as active duty personnel. If you have dependents, you will receive the housing allowance, even when staying in the barracks at basic training and/or technical school/AIT/A-School. This is because the military makes it mandatory for you to provide adequate housing for your dependents. This will be included as part of your regular paycheck, half on the first of the month and half on the last duty day of the month. For basic training and/or technical school/AIT/A-School, you will receive the BAH amount for the location where your dependent(s) are residing. However, if you are not married and/or divorced and are paying child support, you do not receive full-rate BAH while living in the barracks. In this case, special rules apply, and the member receives BAH-DIFF.Special rules apply for military-married-to-military couples.Unlike basic pay, BAH is an allowance, not a pay, and is therefore not taxable. Military Housing for Singles If you are single, you can expect to spend the next few years of your military service residing on-base in the dormitory, or barrack s. Policies concerning single military members living off-base at government expense vary from service to service, and even from base to base, depending on the occupancy rate of the barracks/dormitories on the particular base. Army policy allows single members in the paygrade of E-6 and above to live off base at government expense. However, at some bases, E-5s are allowed to move off base at government expense, depending on the barracks occupancy rates of that base.The Air Force policy generally allows single E-4s, with more than three years of service, and above to reside off-base at government expense.The Navy policy allows single sailors in the paygrades of E-5 and above, and E-4s with more than four years of service to reside off base and receive a housing allowance. The Marines allow single E-6s and above to reside off base at government expense. On some bases, depending on the barracks occupancy rate, single E-5s, and even some E-4s are authorized to reside off base. Dormit ories If your recruiter promised you condos, youre out of luck. However, all of the services have implemented plans to improve single housing (dormitories/barracks) for enlisted personnel. The Air Force was the first service to get started on the program and are arguably ahead of the other services. All airmen, outside of basic training and technical school are now entitled to a private room. The Air Force started with remodeling barracks into a concept called one-plus-one, which provided a private room, a small kitchen, and a bathroom/shower shared with one other person. The Air Force has now upgraded their program using a concept called Dorms-4-Airmen. All new Air Force dormitories (except basic training and technical school) are now designed using this concept. Dormitories under this program are four bedroom apartments. Airmen have a private room and private bath and share a kitchen, washer and dryer, and living room with three other airmen. The Armys standard is a two bedroom apartment, designed for two Soldiers. Each soldier gets a private bedroom, and theyshare a kitchen, bathroom, and living room. The Navy had a serious dicke bretter bohren mssen when this initiative started. Thousands of their junior sailors were living on ships, even when their assigned ships were in port. To construct enough barracks on Navy base to provide single rooms for all of unterstellung sailors would cost a fortune. The Navy solved this problem by getting permission from Congress to use private industry to construct and operate privatized housing for lower-ranking single Sailors. Like the Army, this design is a two-bedroom apartment. Each Sailor will have a private bedroom, a private bathroom, and share a kitchen, dining area, and living room with another Sailor. However, under the Navys Homeport Ashore initiative, Sailors assigned to ships which are in port must share a bedroom until additional funding becomes available to build new complexes. Like privatized family housin g the Sailor would pay the complex management monthly rent (which is equal to their housing allowance). The rent covers all utilities and rental insurance. The plan calls for the apartment complexes to include fitness facilities, media centers, and technology centers. The Marines have taken a different route. The Marine Corps believes that lower-ranking enlisted Marines living together is essential to discipline, unit cohesion, and esprit de corps. Under the Marine Corps program, junior Marines (E-1 to E-3) share a room and a bathroom. Marines in the pay grades of E-4 and E-5 are entitled to a private room. Dormitory rooms are normally subject to two types of inspections First, there is the normal, or periodic inspection which may or may not be announced in advance. This is where the commander or First Sergeant (or other designated person) inspect your room to make sure you are abiding by the standards (bed made, trash empty, room clean, etc.) The second type of inspection is called a Health and Welfare Inspection. This type of inspection is always unannounced, often occurs about 200 A.M., and is comprised of an actual search of the dormitory rooms for contraband (drugs, guns, knives, etc.) At times, these HWIs are accompanied by a randomurinalysis test, looking for evidence of drug abuse. Some services/bases allow you to use your own furniture. Others are very strict about using the provided Government furniture, only. Even if you are required to use Government furniture, you can have your own stereo, television, or computer system. All in all, fruchtwein single enlisted people look forward to the day when they can move out of the dormitory. Moving Out At fruchtwein locations, single members can elect to move out of the dormitory and get a place off-base at their own expense. That means the government will not give them BAH (Housing Allowance), nor will the government give them a food allowance. Unless you get a roommate (or two) it can be hard to make en ds meet living off base with just your base pay. By law, the services cannot allow single members to move off base at government expense unless the base-wide dormitory occupancy rate exceeds 95 percent. That means over 95 percent of all dormitory rooms on the base must have people living in them before anyone can be allowed to move out of the dormitories and receive a housing allowance. The wrinkle is that space is allocated to specific units, and your unit may be overcrowded while others have space available. As a result, the base-wide occupancy rate is less than 95 percent, and you wont be authorized to move off-base. When the base-wide occupancy rate exceeds 95 percent, the offer to move off-base is based on rank. You may not be allowed to move as those with a higher rank move out, and the occupancy rate drops below 95 percent. You could still be stuck on-base, with a roommate.The solution to this problem is to periodically reallocate dormitory spaces, but most bases are reluctan t to tackle the project any more often than every five years or so. This mismanaged system is a source of frustration among single military members. On-Base Housing Most places have limited on-base housing, so there is usually a waiting list (sometimes, more than one year) To qualify for on-base housing, you must be residing with a dependent (in most cases, that means spouse or minor children). The number of bedrooms youll be authorized depend on the number and age of the dependents residing with you. Some bases have very, very, nice housing on other bases, the housing barely qualifies for slum status. Utilities (trash, water, gas, electric) are normally free. Cable TV and phones are not. Furniture is normally not provided (although many bases have loan closets, which will temporarily loan you furniture). Appliances, such as stoves and refrigerators, are usually provided. Many on-base houses even have dishwashers. Clothes washers and dryers are usually not provided, but most un its at least in the States have hookups. Additionally, many bases have laundromats located close to the housing area. Overseas, many housing units are Condo-Style, and there is a laundry room with washers and dryers located in each stairwell. Government Family Housing The inside of occupied housing units are not normally inspected as dormitories are. They may be inspected without notice if the commander receives any safety or sanitary problem reports. The outside of the housingis an entirely different matter. All of the services are pretty strict about dictating exactly how the outside of the house and yard will be maintained. Most of them employ personnel who will drive by each and every housing unit once perweekand write tickets for any discrepancies noted. Receive too many tickets in too short a period, and you will be requested to move off-base. In the states, most on-base family housing units are duplexes, or sometimes fourplexes. For officers and more senior enlisted mem bers, on-base family housing in the states are usually either duplexes or single dwellings. Sometimes there are fenced-in back yards, and at other bases there are not. Usually, if the housing unit has a back yard, but no fence, you can get permission to install a fence at your own expense. You have to agree to take the fence down, when you moveout if the next occupant decides he/she doesnt want a fence. The same is true of almost any improvement you wish to make to on-base family housing. Usually, you can get permission to do self-help improvements, but you must agree to return the house to its originalstateif the next person to move in doesnt want to accept your improvement. Overseas, on-base family housing units are generally in the fasson of high-rise apartment buildings Moving out of base housing is a lot harder than moving in. This is the one time when the inside of the house will be inspected, and it will be expected to be in immaculate condition. Many people hire professional cleaners before checkout. Some bases have programs where the base itself hires professional cleaners when an occupant moves out, making the process much easier. More and more military basesare moving to privatized family housing. This housing is maintained, managed (and sometimes built) by private industry. The rent for these privatized units is paid to the housing management agency by military payallotmentand is equal to the members housing allowance. Off-Base Housing Instead of living in the dormitories or residing in on-base housing, you may be authorized to live off-base. In this case, the military will pay you BAH. The amount of this nontaxable allowance is dependent upon your rank, marital (dependency)status and the area you (or your dependents) live in. Once per year, the military hires an independent agency to survey the average housing costs in all of the areas where significant amounts of military personnel live. The Per Diem,Travel and Transportation Allowance Commit tee uses this data to compute the amount of BAH you will receive each month. One of the nice features about the BAH law is that the amount of BAH you receive may never go down while you are living in an area, even if the average cost of housing in that area goes down. Once you move to a different base, your BAH will be recalculated for the current rate in the new location. An interesting aspect of BAH is the type of housing that the entitlement is based upon. BAH is based on acceptable housing for an individual (or an individual with dependents). For example, a married E-5 is reimbursed based on what DoD considers minimum acceptable housing, a two bedroom townhouse or duplex. For an O-5 it is a four bedroom detached home. While whether or not one has dependents is a factor, the number of dependents is not. SeeWhat BAH Rates are Determined Fromfor more information. If you move intooff-base housingoverseas, your monthly entitlement is calledOHA (Overseas HousingAllowance) and is recal culated every two weeks. This is because currency rates can fluctuate dramatically overseas, causing housing expenses to go up and down. In addition to OHA, those overseas are entitled to some additional allowances, such as an initial move-in expense allowance, and reimbursement for costs to improve the security of the off-base residence. If you are authorized to reside off-base, its very important that you ensure your lease contains a military clause. A military clause allows you to break your lease in case you are forced to move on official orders. Special Considerations If you are married to a non-military member, and/or you have children, your spouse and children are considered to be dependents by the military. The military requires you to provide adequate support (which includes housing) to your dependents. Because of this, if you are married, you receive a housing allowance, at the with dependent rate, even if you are living in the single dormitories/barracks. Living in th e barracks/dormitories is mandatory during basic training and job-school and your dependents are not allowed to travel to basic training and/or job school at government expense. During these periods you receive BAH for the area that your dependents reside. When you move to your firstpermanentduty station, the rules change. Your dependents are allowed to move there at government expense. If they dont move there, that is considered your choice. In such cases, you receive BAH (at the with dependent rate) for the amount of your duty station, regardless of where your dependent is actually living. As long as you are still married, to give up BAH, you would have to reside in on-base family housing. However, unless your dependents move to your duty location, you are not authorized to reside in on-base family housing, because the rules say to qualify, your dependents must be living with you. If there is extra space available in the barracks/dormitories, you are allowed to live there, and sti ll receive your BAH. However, now that the military is trying to give all single people living in the dormitories their own room, most bases do not have any extra space available in their dormitories. Therefore, as a married person who has voluntarily elected not to be accompanied by their dependents, you will likely be required to live off-base. You will receive BAH for the area you are assigned to. If you are allowed to live in the dormitory/barracks, space available, you must be prepared to move out, with little or no notice, in case the space is needed (although most commanders/first sergeants will try to give at least two weeks notice, if possible). The rules change for overseas assignments. If you are assigned overseas, and elect not to be accompanied by your dependents, you can live in the barracks/dormitories on base, and still receive BAH to provide adequate housing support in the states for your dependent(s). How Military Family Housing Works Heres what will most like ly happen when you report to your first permanent duty station.Youll arrive with your family and stay in temporary family billeting. This is sort of an on-base hotel for incoming/outgoing military members and their families. Its a good idea to call billeting as soon as you know what day you are going to arrive to make reservations. Youll also be assigned a sponsor before your arrival (youll get a letter with the name and phone number of your sponsor). A sponsor is a person in your squadron who is assigned to help make your move easier. You can call your sponsor when you know your arrival date, and he/she can make the billeting reservations for you. There is a small cost for on-base family billeting. You can stay in on-base family billeting for a maximum of 30 days (the base can extend this to 60days if there is space available). If you cant get into on-base family billeting, youll have to rent a motel off-base.Whether or not you stay in on-base familybilleting or off-base motel, you will continue to receive your authorized housing allowance (and food allowance). Additionally, for the first 10 days following your arrival, youll receive a special allowance, calledTLE (Temporary Lodging Expense). This special allowance reimburses you for everything (meals and lodging), up to $180 per day, per family. After the 10 days is up, youll have to pay for billeting/motel out of your pocket (although youll still be receiving your housing allowance and sustenance allowance). Youll visit the housing office and (if you like), put your name on the on-base family housing list. At this time, they can tell you approximately how long it will take before an on-base house becomes available. If an on-base house is not immediately available (or, if you dont want to live on base), youll visit the off-base housing referral section, which is within the Housing Office. They can give you a list of local rentals that have decided to list themselves with the base. You are not obligated to us e this list. After you find a place that you want to live, you take a copy of the lease (before you sign it) to the housing referral office. They check the lease to make sure it contains a military clause that allows you to break the lease in case you have to move due to military orders. Make sure that the military hasnt put the location on the off-limits list, which is for places that have proven racial discrimination, known drug use. If you are living off-base, and youron-base family housingbecomes available, the military will hire a moving company to move your property from your off-baserental to your on-base family housing unit. Other Parts in This Series What the Military Recruiter Never Told YouChoosing a Military ServiceMeeting the RecruiterThe Enlistment Process and Job SelectionEnlistment Contractsand Enlistment IncentivesMilitary PayChow Hallsand Food AllowanceEducation ProgramsLeave (Vacation) and Job TrainingAssignmentsPromotionsMilitary Medical CareCommissaries and ExchangesMorale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Activities