Military housing may have been taken over by private management companies, but any commander looking forward to that next plum assignment had better make it a priority to see that service members and their families are living in safe and secure homes.
That’s the message from lawmakers as the Pentagon continues to struggle with complaints of substandard conditions and health hazards in the privatized housing now widely being offered to the troops.
Rep. John Garamendi, California Democrat and chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, said during a hearing last week that some base commanders apparently don’t understand their full responsibilities.
“I want to make sure the base commanders are held responsible for the well-being of all the personnel on their base,” said Mr. Garamendi, adding that the issue will feature prominently in the annual defense authorization bill now being written on Capitol Hill.
Reflecting long-standing concerns and frustrations, the 2020 Pentagon budget contained a substantial housing reform package, including a “tenant’s bill of rights.” After complaints and lawsuits over degraded conditions in military housing, the bill of rights was intended to serve as “the foundation of enhanced accountability” for the quality of privatized military family housing, Mr. Garamendi said.
“We’re going to see if we can find some teeth and how we might find it to be enforced,” Mr. Garamendi said. “I don’t know any other way to enforce the bill of rights than to hold the base commander responsible.”
Lawmakers invited four private military housing companies to attend the hearing and testify about what they are doing to improve conditions on the properties they manage. The Corvias Group, Balfour Beatty Communities and Lendlease Americas all agreed to appear, but Clark Realty Capital opted against testifying. The refusal drew condemnations from Congress.
“We have serious complaints and other issues at their properties,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, the California Democrat who heads the military personnel subcommittee. “I had wanted to ask them questions about the lagging implementation of the tenant bill of rights and resident dissatisfaction at Fort Belvoir due to shoddy maintenance and improper remediation of environmental hazards.”
Horror stories
Ms. Speier said some of the management companies have failed their primary responsibility to provide personnel with safe and secure homes. The military horror stories are well-known: mold, water leaks and inadequate lead abatement efforts that have directly affected the safety of families, she said.
“I have visited Fort Hood and met military families who have been living in these unacceptable housing conditions,” said Ms. Speier, describing shocking situations such as a baby’s crib riddled with mold. “You are solely responsible for the correction of these defects and the management of these properties.”
The concerns were bipartisan.
Military families “should not have to worry about excessive mold, pest infestation, asbestos, open sewage, radon gas and other environmental health conditions in some of the housing units,” said Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the subcommittee. “They also should not have to worry about cumbersome property management issues regarding lagging response times, withholding work, and in some instances retribution for bringing housing problems forward. We must do better.”
Lendlease Americas, the U.S. subsidiary of an Australian real estate and investment company, manages more than 5,000 military housing units at Fort Hood.
Carolyn Tregarthen, managing director of Lendlease, said company officials embraced every provision in the tenant’s bill of rights and have improved their operation. That includes more frequent inspections, additional property services and more opportunities for communication with their tenants.
She said Fort Hood was a top priority for her and every other member of her team.
“We are aware certain families are not satisfied, and that concerns me very much,” Ms. Tregarthen said. “The issues of a few don’t represent the experiences of the vast majority who live in Lendlease communities.”
She said the company is spending more than $7 billion to build more than 15,000 new homes and renovate more than 25,000 existing homes. Under a finance deal, the company will be receiving a further $1.1 billion for additional housing improvements.
“Nearly half of that will be used at Fort Hood,” Ms. Tregarthen said.
The Arlington-based Clark Realty Capital operates thousands of military homes, including Washington-area communities at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Joint Base Andrews and Fort Belvoir. The firm’s decision not to attend last week’s congressional hearing did not win them any fans among lawmakers.
“It raises concerns about their willingness and ability to be transparent and responsive with Congress as we conduct oversight of the privatized military family housing program,” Mr. Garamendi said.
He suggested that congressional investigators or the comptroller general might need to “delve into the structure of Clark and its subsidiaries.”
“Clark Realty, you are clearly in the sights of this committee and we will assess which of our oversight tools might be brought to bear to get answers,” Mr. Garamendi said.
Clark Realty did not say why it decided not to send a representative to the hearing.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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