WASHINGTON, D.C. (Federal News Network) — For decades, service members and their families have faced hazardous conditions in privatized military housing, including prolonged mold exposure, which is associated with serious and potentially life-threatening health risks. Lawmakers now want to hold private housing companies financially accountable for unsafe living conditions.
A new bipartisan bill, titled the Military Occupancy Living Defense Act, or MOLD Act, seeks to introduce a comprehensive set of measures aimed at tackling systemic issues in privatized military housing — from inconsistent inspections to poor contractor accountability — that have left thousands of tenants exposed to hazardous conditions in their own homes.
“We lost our family dog, we lost most of our belongings, and our children lost their health as a result of that exposure. All five of our children are now medically disqualified to serve in the military. We had diagnoses ranging from brain inflammation, asthma to cardiac issues to POTS, and bilateral pediatric cataracts developed in both eyes after toxic exposure,” Erica Thompson, a military spouse and military families’ liaison for the Change the Air Foundation, said during a Jan. 15 press conference. “These are not isolated incidents — this is a systemic failure. The MOLD Act is a direct and urgent response from Congress to what is happening right now in military housing across the nation.”
Change the Air Foundation is one of the supporting organizations for the bill, advocating for and contributing to its drafting.
The bill is the latest in a series of efforts to improve military family housing, which is primarily managed by private companies and provides housing for roughly 700,000 service members and their families.
If passed, the bill would require the Defense Department to use independent third-party inspectors to conduct environmental health inspections upon every tenant turnover, in response to tenants’ safety complaints or following any remediation effort.
“It’s important that they’re testing in between tenants. We’re seeing some tenants get sick in homes…they move out and within two weeks there’s a new tenant in that home, and now they’re sick. This is going to prevent that from happening,” Thompson told Federal News Network.
While some bases conduct third-party inspections, they vary widely due to the lack of consistent standards. Additionally, current inspections are often limited to merely visual checks, and too often when tests are done, the results are not disclosed to families.
Under the bill, private landlords would face mandates to provide tenants with inspection reports and housing history records. Further, those documents should be stored in a centralized system accessible to oversight officials.
“Right now, if you want to move on base, almost half of the people in our survey weren’t even getting the seven-year history report,” Thompson said. “So people aren’t able to make educated decisions on whether or not this base is suitable for their family, especially if they are an [Exceptional Family Member Program] family or have medical sensitivities.”
Another provision within the bill would require the Defense Department to establish DoD-wide requirements for acceptable levels of humidity, with interim guidance issued first and permanent requirements finalized within a year.
The bill also tackles the issue of certification requirements for mold assessment and remediation. It would require all personnel responsible for assessing or remediating mold and water damage in military housing — including maintenance staff, contracted inspectors and indoor environmental professionals — hold and maintain current certifications from nationally recognized, independent nonprofit organizations. It would also mandate that all mold remediation work comply with established industry standards.
“We’re really supportive of the fact that this bill would require certain trusted certifications that are used widely in the industry. The other thing is to ensure that mold remediations are following the standard of care. That’s incredibly important so that people aren’t ripping walls open with families still in it and mold and toxins contaminating all of their personal belongings; that they’re not using bleach or kilz paint and calling that remediation. That doesn’t work, that’s not proper remediation,” Brandon Chappo, co-founder and director of public policy at the Change the Air Foundation, told Federal News Network. “So really, we’re just trying to put some basic, reasonable protections in place for these families that, frankly, should have already been in place.”
In addition, the bill would require private companies responsible for military housing to pay for mold remediation, all relocation expenses for military families who are forced to vacate unlivable units, as well as property loss. If companies don’t comply, tenants can withhold their rent.
No enforcing mechanism
Sean Timmons, a managing partner at the Tully Rinckey law firm, said the legislation does not spell out an enforcement mechanism to hold private landlords accountable if they fail to pay their tenants.
Timmons said when a contract is breached, the only way to enforce its terms — absent voluntary compliance — is through the courts, meaning military families would be forced to file lawsuits to recover money their landlords owe them.
“If you take these companies to court, you might under state law, but this is going to be a federal issue in the federal court, and there’s no mandatory fee-shifting,” Timmons said. “So companies are going to bury people alive in paperwork, in bureaucracy and excuses pointing the finger back at the residents versus their own liability and culpability.”
Timmons said if the legislation “had real teeth,” it would impose statutory fines and penalties on housing companies, allow affected families to recover damages and require companies to pay attorney fees when families are forced to sue.
