FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you desire to live in government housing, please submit an advance application for assignment (DD Form 1746) through the Housing Management Office (HMO) at your losing installation with a complete copy of your PCS orders. The effective date of the application is the date you depart your prior installation (including members with TDY enroute) or the date ordered to active duty.

Applications can also be submitted upon arrival during your first visit to the HMO. HMO staff will be able to assist in the completion of the application and will review PCS orders and housing options with you. For walk-in applications, as long as you apply for government housing within 30 days of arrival, you will be placed on the waiting list effective the date you departed from your previous installation. After 30 days, the application date will be the date of the walk-in. Please be sure your application identifies and includes supporting documentation for an impending promotion or gain of dependents so that you can be placed on the appropriate waiting list.

For privatized housing, applications and/or information about the application process for that location can be found on the Property Management Office's website.

Military members are entitled to various allowances to ensure the transition to a new location is as smooth and stress free as possible. For information about your allowances, visit the Defense Travel Management Office website. If you have any questions, contact the local Housing Management Office.

For families, we understand that where your children attend school plays a large factor in the decision of where to live. For your convenience, all community housing listings in the Automated Housing Referral Network site (AHRN.com) include a link to schools in the area surrounding the listed house. For specific information about schools at your new location, contact the local Housing Management Office and they will be able to provide additional resources.

Members should give at least 40 days advance notice of intent to terminate government-controlled family housing upon PCS, separation or retirement. However, if this is a short notice assignment, please contact the Housing Management Office (HMO) immediately so they can schedule your termination inspections. You will be scheduled for a pre-termination and final inspection of your home. The pre-termination inspection is to provide you with important information to help you in meeting final inspection requirements. If you have a copy of your orders, please provide a copy to the HMO. They will also assist you with submitting an advance housing application to your gaining installation if you are planning on living on base at your next location.

For information about out-processing from privatized housing, contact the local Property Management Office.

Moving to an overseas location requires additional planning to make sure you and your family are prepared for the transition. There are many things you can do before you arrive to ensure the process to get settled in your new home and community is seamless.

For a list of specific items to consider prior to your move, see the Referral and Relocation Assistance section on each overseas base page. The local Airman and Family Readiness Center is another great resource to obtain pertinent information about the area. If you have any questions or require additional support, please contact the local Housing Management Office for more information about preparing for your move.

Most junior enlisted unaccompanied Airmen live in the dormitory. It is mandatory for Priority 1 (key and essential personnel) and Priority 2 (E-1 to E-3 and E-4 less than 3 years service) unaccompanied personnel to live in the dormitory. Other unaccompanied personnel may live in the dormitory on a space-available basis. Generally, an E-4 living in the dormitory who reaches 3 years of service may voluntarily occupy a room on a space-available basis without Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) or move into local community housing with BAH. In certain circumstances, such as to make space available for more junior personnel, you may be authorized to move out before reaching E-4 with greater than 3 years of service. The most senior Airmen are released first. Your Airmen Dorm Leader or UH Management Office representative will advise residents when early release is necessary.

The Air Force assignment standard is one private room for each permanent party. The new Air Force construction standard provides a private bath for each bedroom and a shared kitchen and common area, similar what you may find in the local community. Not every installation has the newest style dorms, however, so you may be in a dormitory that shares a bathroom with another Airman. You will still have a private room.

Unaccompanied Housing (UH) is provided for unaccompanied Airmen in the ranks of E-1 to E-3 and E-4 with less than 3 years of service. Within each private sleeping room, Airmen are provided furnishings and supplies required for comfortable living. Room arrangements and the furnishings provided vary from base to base. Before shipping any personal items please contact the UH Management Office at your gaining installation for location specific information.

Once you know what furnishings you will be provided at your gaining installation, you should only bring supplemental items that can comfortably fit in your private sleeping room with the government issued furniture. Personnel with extensive household goods may submit a commander-endorsed request to the UH Management Office to reside in community housing and receive a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) when the annual cost of moving and storage would exceed 50 percent of authorized BAH. (Moving cost + 12 months storage) / by 12 months > (monthly BAH rate) / 2) For more information, contact the UH Management Office.

The Installation Commander establishes local policy regarding social visits, so check with your UH Management Office for the local policy. At a minimum, guests must be at least 18 years old, be escorted at all times and are prohibited between hours 2400 - 0600 hours. Cohabitation is not authorized.

Housing Privatization (HP) is a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to continue providing quality housing for Airmen and their families. HP shifts the operations and maintenance responsibility of family housing in the continental U.S. and Alaska to the private sector whose expertise it is to build and manage housing, allowing Airmen to focus on the mission.

With this partnership, the Air Force and its private partners can provide new and/or renovated homes with modern amenities for Airmen and their families in communities where they choose to live. Rent under privatized housing is paid by allotment of your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). Unlike housing in the local community, rent for a privatized home may not exceed the "with dependent" BAH rate designated for your rank.

For more information about privatized housing, contact the local Housing Management Office.

Similar to living in the local community, you will sign a tenant lease agreement, typically for a one-year term. Your lease includes a military clause and a lease termination clause. You pay your monthly rent by authorizing an allotment of your BAH that is paid directly to the Property Manager. If your move occurs prior to the allotment start date, then you will need to pay the pro-rated rent directly to the Property Manager. The Tenant Lease Agreement spells out all relevant rent payment terms and conditions.

For more information about privatized housing, contact the local Housing Management Office.

The Air Force is working to privatize military family housing at all continental U.S. and Alaskan bases and the potential exists for this to occur during your tenure in government housing at one of these locations.

Housing Privatization (HP) is a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to continue providing quality housing for Airmen and their families. HP shifts the operations and maintenance responsibility of family housing to the private sector whose expertise it is to build and manage housing, allowing Airmen to focus on the mission.

With this partnership, the Air Force and its private partners can provide new and/or renovated homes with modern amenities for Airmen and their families in communities where they choose to live. Some amenities may include community centers, playgrounds and walking trails.

All residents in government housing will have the option of signing a lease with the private company. Rent under privatized housing is paid by allotment of your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). Unlike housing in the local community, rent for a privatized home may not exceed the "with dependent" BAH rate designated for your rank.

For more information about privatized housing, contact the local Housing Management Office.

Utility payments at privatized continental U.S. and Alaskan bases may vary depending on whether your house is metered or not.

- If the homes are metered, you will retain a portion of your BAH to pay the utilities directly
- If the homes are not metered, your rent will include these utility costs, up to your full BAH amount
- Depending on your location, you may be billed by your utility company or by the community itself

For specific information about utilities at your new location, see the Privatized Housing section on the base page or contact the local Property Management Office.

Active-duty military personnel and their families authorized to reside on the installation are target tenants for privatized housing. However, as part of the privatization initiative, if the occupancy falls below expected levels, housing will open up to a priority placement list of Other Eligible Tenants (OET).

At all privatized locations if occupancy falls below the specified thresholds, policy allows other active duty military, Guard/Reserve military and families, federal civil service employees, retired military and federal civil service, DoD contractors and the general public to apply for and live in privatized housing. OETs ensure the housing privatization project stays financially viable and is a crucial element of sustainability for each housing community.

For specific eligibility criteria, contact the Property Management Office.

Air Force members rely on military housing offices and Airman and Family Readiness Center Relocation programs to provide an array of relocation services, to include non-discriminatory and non-preferential housing listings, relocation sponsorship, and pre- and post-arrival information. Although Airmen, at their choosing, may augment this support with services like those provided by your company, the Air Force is prohibited from directing its personnel or family members to use the services of a non-federal entity, or otherwise offering either express or implied endorsement thereof.

The Air Force does have a partnership with the Automated Housing Referral Network (www.AHRN.com), a joint service, DoD-sponsored website that offers a single source of available housing to incoming military personnel and their families. Property Managers and Landlords can list available housing rentals located near U.S military installations on this website.