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Military Housing Colorado Springs - When Kristin Martin learned that her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, she quickly took charge of her life to secure housing for the family of five.

Housing on base was not an option – the waiting list for a four-bedroom house in the neighborhood was 14 to 16 months.

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Nor were the bases the only military hotels where new arrivals could pay low rates as they got their bearings—they were full, too.

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So Martin cast a wide net throughout San Diego and began applying for rental homes, all within sight.

"I woke up and the first thing I did was look at properties," Martin said. "I watched in the afternoon before I went to bed. I set alerts. It became a full-time job.

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They have to start paying rent a month before they actually move in. And at $4,200 a month, her rent was about $700 more than the monthly Basic Allowance for Housing, known as BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

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"We'll probably be here two or three years, so that could be the $20,000 we're paying out of pocket for more rent than BAH," Martin said last month after completing his family's fourth move in 15 years.

"It affects us personally, but then I think how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I can't imagine the struggles (they) go through."

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, with subsidies for salaries exceeding the private sector. But amid record rent increases, the Defense Department has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable housing, service members and housing activists say.

This forces many to settle for substandard homes, deal with very long commutes, or pay thousands out of pocket for something they didn't budget for.

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Kate Needham said, "We have families coming in who are on very long waiting lists and are sitting in houses they can't afford, like an AirBnB rental, or they're in a hotel or camping in tents. Wash or live in an RV." , a veteran who founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

"I don't think the citizens really understand - they might think we're living in free housing and having a good time, making a lot of money. And that's not the case at all."

Needham's group provides micro-grants to needy military families, some of whom have turned to food banks because their pay doesn't cover such basics.

Reports of military families without housing have alarmed members of Congress, who are pushing legislation that would force the Defense Department to rethink how it handles housing.

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A common complaint is that with rising rents across the country, housing allowances, which vary by rank and are recalculated annually, have not kept pace with rental markets, despite being provided to around two-thirds of the working population. , who are like Martians, must stay away from the base.

Housing allowances for all ranks have increased an average of 18.7% since January 2018, according to a data analysis by The Associated Press of the five most populous US military bases. In that period, rents have risen, according to real estate company Zillow. These markets soared 43.9%: Carlsbad, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; El Paso, Texas; Killeen, Texas and Tacoma, Washington.

And because of how tough the off-base markets are, on-base housing has become a hot commodity, with long waiting lists at many bases.

Needham argues that the disparity between military housing allowances and the current market should alarm managers who are already struggling to recruit the next generation.

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"If you can't do your job, why would you stay in a job?" Needham said. "People feel mistreated by the military in so many different areas — issues of sexual assault, lack of attention to medical care, lack of attention to mental health. It's just another tick in the box, like, 'Me Why would I go to the army?' And if you don't have enough numbers, that's a long-term national security problem.

The Defense Department did not comment on whether housing issues became a retention issue. But defense officials said military housing offices monitor the markets and provide tools to help families find "suitable, affordable housing, whether on or off base," including referral services.

"The Department of Defense is committed to ensuring that service members and their families have access to affordable, quality housing within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station," it said.

At MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, housing allowances used to be in line with the local market. In January 2020, a senior airman without dependents received a monthly housing allowance of $1,560, compared to the typical Tampa-area rent price of $1,457, according to Zillow. But rental prices have since shot up to $2,118 a month in July, while a senior airman's housing allowance currently stands at $1,647.

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With such a disparity and the notoriously long commutes that base residents face, it's no wonder that nearly all of MacDill's 572 homes are full. As of last week, the base was at 95% capacity with a waiting list of 548 families, according to Second Lt. Kristin Nielsen, MacDill Public Affairs Officer.

"We are very vulnerable," said Stephanie Poynor, a property manager from Tampa and wife of a retired soldier. "DOD needs to recognize how much our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and costs are truly suffering in this market."

Tampa real estate agent Renee Thompson, a relocation specialist, said it's common for service members to rent homes that are an hour's drive from the base.

"No home in today's market will even come close to a service member's BAH," said Thompson, who served in the military. "It's really disappointing."

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Nielsen said the annual housing allowance calculation takes six to nine months, making it a "lagging indicator of the current dynamic housing market."

Officials are looking at adding on-base and off-base housing for MacDill, which houses about 18,500 active duty members, she said. But because of the need for budget approval from Congress, such long-term solutions are years away.

Even at Mountain Home Air Force Base in rural Idaho, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside Boise, one of the nation's hottest markets, housing is hard to come by.

Col. Jamal Mayes, deputy commander of the 366th Fighter Wing for support, said housing allowances have increased, but not enough to keep up with rising prices.

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Brand new airmen are usually housed in dormitories for about 36 months, but since the demand for housing on base is so high, they often only spend 18 to 20 months.

With few options, Mays said some pilots have taken to living in RV parks or traveling farther afield, including to Twin Falls, where they sometimes face icy roads for up to two hours, perhaps only ideal if they have to be on base for emergencies. respond, not to mention the cost of fuel, he said.

Defense officials last fall issued tentative BAH increases for October through December 2021 in 56 home markets — including Mountain Home and Tampa. Still, even though rents have continued to rise, there's no sign of a similar surge this fall.

Even if January sees a jump in housing grants, it could end food stamp eligibility for some military families struggling with food insecurity. This is because the Department of Agriculture counts BAH as income when determining a household's eligibility for the SNAP government assistance program.

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Frustrated by the Department of Defense's lack of transparency in calculating the housing allowance, the U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., has introduced a measure that would give the department a year to rethink its process and report back on how accurate the current system is. Is.

The BAH is "kind of an algorithm that needs to be updated on a regular basis," said Strickland, whose district includes the massive Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, where many military families struggle to find affordable housing. His proposal is part of a national defense bill that passed the House in July and awaits Senate approval.

This story was first published on August 20, 2022, it was updated on August 23, 2022 to correct that Colonel Jamal May is the 366th Fighter Wing's deputy commander for support, not commander for support.

Sign up for The Morning Headlines, a mix of what you need to know to start the day in Colorado. When Kristin Martin learned her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, it took her life to quickly secure housing for her family of five.

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Housing on base was not an option – the waiting list for a four-bedroom house in the neighborhood was 14 to 16 months.

Nor were the bases the only military hotels where new arrivals could pay low rates as they got their bearings—they were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net in San Diego and began applying for rental homes,

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