10 U.S.C. § 2890 — Rights and responsibilities of tenants of

Page 2310 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES [§ 2886 opers, and contractors in the bidding process for a contract or other agreement for a military housing privatization initiative project. (f) FINANCIAL INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES.—(1) The regulations required by sub- section (a) shall address the following require- ments for each military housing privatization project upon the completion of the construction or renovation of the housing units: (A) The financial health and performance of the privatization project, including the debt- coverage ratio of the project and occupancy rates for the housing units. (B) An assessment of the backlog of mainte- nance and repair of the housing units. (2) If the debt service coverage for a military housing privatization project falls below 1.0 or the occupancy rates for the housing units of the project are below 75 percent for more than one year, the Secretary concerned shall require the development of a plan to address the financial risk of the project. (Added Pub. L. 110–417, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2805(a)(1), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4721; amended Pub. L. 112–239, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2803(a), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1084(a)(3), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 871; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title IX, § 901(n)(2), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3469; Pub. L. 115–91, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(d)(4), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1844.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 2885, added Pub. L. 104–106, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 551; amended Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, § 1073(a)(61), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1903; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. B, title XXVIII, § 2806], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–415; Pub. L. 107–107, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2805, Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1306, related to expiration of au- thority to enter into a contract under this subchapter, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 108–375, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2805(b)(1), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2122. AMENDMENTS 2017—Subsec. (a)(4)(B). Pub. L. 115–91, § 2801(d)(4)(A), inserted ‘‘, in an electronic medium pursuant to sec- tion 480 of this title,’’ after ‘‘notify’’ and substituted ‘‘and include’’ for ‘‘, and shall provide’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–91, § 2801(d)(4)(B), inserted ‘‘, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title,’’ after ‘‘submit’’. 2013—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–239, § 2803(a)(2), in intro- ductory provisions, inserted ‘‘during the course of the construction or renovation of the housing units’’ before period at end of first sentence. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 113–66 substituted ‘‘In the case of a project for new construction, if the project’’ for ‘‘If a project’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–239, § 2803(a)(1), added subsec. (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installa- tions, and Environment’’ substituted for ‘‘Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environ- ment)’’ in subsec. (a)(3) on authority of section 901(n)(2) of Pub. L. 113–291, set out as a References note under section 131 of this title. [§ 2886. Repealed. Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, § 3014(d)(1), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1926] Section, added Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VI, § 602(a), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1417, prohibited collection of amounts in addition to rent from members assigned to military family housing units or military unaccom- panied housing units. See section 2891a(f) of this title. SUBCHAPTER V—OVERSIGHT OF LAND- LORDS AND PROTECTIONS AND RESPON- SIBILITIES FOR TENANTS OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING Sec. 2890. Rights and responsibilities of tenants of hous- ing units. [2890a. Renumbered.] 2891. Requirements relating to contracts for provi- sion of housing units. 2891a. Requirements relating to management of housing units. 2891b. Considerations of eligible entity housing his- tory in contracts for privatized military housing. 2891c. Transparency regarding finances and per- formance metrics. 2892. Maintenance work order system for housing units. 2892a. Access by tenants to historical maintenance information. 2892b. Prohibition on requirement to disclose per- sonally identifiable information in requests for certain maintenance. 2893. Treatment of incentive fees for landlords of housing units for failure to remedy health or environmental hazards. 2894. Landlord-tenant dispute resolution process and treatment of certain payments during process. 2894a. Complaint database. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, div. B, title XXVIII, §§ 2811(k)(1)(B), (2), 2814(d)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4326, 4328, added items 2891c and 2892b and struck out former items 2890a ‘‘Chief Housing Officer’’, 2891c ‘‘Financial transparency’’, and 2892b ‘‘Prohibition on requirement to disclose personally identifiable information in elec- tronic requests for maintenance’’. § 2890. Rights and responsibilities of tenants of housing units (a) DEVELOPMENT OF TENANT BILL OF RIGHTS AND TENANT RESPONSIBILITIES DOCUMENTS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop two sepa- rate documents, to be known as the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights and the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Responsibilities, for tenants of housing units. (2) The Secretary of each military department shall ensure that the housing documents are at- tached to each lease agreement for a housing unit. (3) The rights and responsibilities contained in the housing documents are not intended to be exclusive. The omission of a tenant right or re- sponsibility shall not be construed to deny the existence of such a right or responsibility for tenants. (4) Each contract between the Secretary con- cerned and a landlord shall incorporate the housing documents and guarantee the rights and Page 2311 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 2890 responsibilities of tenants who reside in housing units covered by the contract. (5) The Secretary of Defense shall develop the housing documents in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments. (b) ELEMENTS OF TENANT BILL OF RIGHTS.—At a minimum, the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights shall address the following rights of tenants of housing units: (1) The right to reside in a housing unit and community that meets applicable health and environmental standards. (2) The right to reside in a housing unit that has working fixtures, appliances, and utilities and to reside in a community with well-main- tained common areas and amenity spaces. (3) The right to be provided with a mainte- nance history of the prospective housing unit before signing a lease, as provided in section 2892a of this title. (4) The right to a written lease with clearly defined rental terms to establish tenancy in a housing unit, including any addendums and other regulations imposed by the landlord re- garding occupancy of the housing unit and use of common areas. (5) The right to a plain-language briefing, before signing a lease and 30 days after move- in, by the installation housing office on all rights and responsibilities associated with ten- ancy of the housing unit, including informa- tion regarding the existence of any additional fees authorized by the lease, any utilities pay- ments, the procedures for submitting and tracking work orders, the identity of the mili- tary tenant advocate, and the dispute resolu- tion process. (6) The right to have sufficient time and op- portunity to prepare and be present for move- in and move-out inspections, including an op- portunity to obtain and complete necessary paperwork. (7) The right to report inadequate housing standards or deficits in habitability of the housing unit to the landlord, the chain of com- mand, and housing management office without fear of reprisal or retaliation, as provided in subsection (e), including reprisal or retaliation in the following forms: (A) Unlawful recovery of, or attempt to re- cover, possession of the housing unit. (B) Unlawfully increasing the rent, de- creasing services, or increasing the obliga- tions of a tenant. (C) Interference with a tenant’s right to privacy. (D) Harassment of a tenant. (E) Refusal to honor the terms of the lease. (F) Interference with the career of a ten- ant. (8) The right of access to a military tenant advocate, as provided in section 2894(b)(4) of this title, through the housing management office of the installation of the Department at which the housing unit is located. (9) The right to receive property manage- ment services provided by a landlord that meet or exceed industry standards and that are performed by professionally and appro- priately trained, responsive, and courteous customer service and maintenance staff. (10) The right to have multiple, convenient methods to communicate directly with the landlord maintenance staff, and to receive consistently honest, accurate, straight- forward, and responsive communications. (11) The right to have access to an electronic work order system through which a tenant may request maintenance or repairs of a hous- ing unit and track the progress of the work. (12) With respect to maintenance and repairs to a housing unit, the right to the following: (A) Prompt and professional maintenance and repair. (B) To be informed of the required time frame for maintenance or repairs when a maintenance request is submitted. (C) In the case of maintenance or repairs necessary to ensure habitability of a housing unit, to prompt relocation into suitable lodging or other housing at no cost to the tenant until the maintenance or repairs are completed. (13) The right to receive advice from mili- tary legal assistance on procedures involving mechanisms for resolving disputes with the property management company or property manager to include mediation, arbitration, and filing claims against a landlord. (14) The right to enter into a dispute resolu- tion process, as provided in section 2894 of this title, should all other methods be exhausted and, in which case, a decision in favor of the tenant may include a reduction in rent or an amount to be reimbursed or credited to the tenant. (15) The right to have the tenant’s basic al- lowance housing payments segregated, with approval of a designated commander, and not used by the property owner, property man- ager, or landlord pending completion of the dispute resolution process. (16) The right to have reasonable, advance notice of any entrance by a landlord, installa- tion housing staff, or chain of command into the housing unit, except in the case of an emergency or abandonment of the housing unit. (17) The right to not pay non-refundable fees or have application of rent credits arbitrarily held. (18) The right to expect common documents, forms, and processes for housing units will be the same for all installations of the Depart- ment, to the maximum extent applicable with- out violating local, State, and Federal regula- tions. (c) ELEMENTS OF TENANT RESPONSIBILITIES.— At a minimum, the Military Housing Privatiza- tion Initiative Tenant Responsibilities shall ad- dress the following responsibilities of tenants of housing units: (1) The responsibility to report in a timely manner any apparent environmental, safety, or health hazards of the housing unit to the landlord and any defective, broken, damaged, or malfunctioning building systems, fixtures, appliances, or other parts of the housing unit, the common areas, or related facilities. (2) The responsibility to maintain standard upkeep of the housing unit as instructed by the housing management office. Page 2312 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 2890 (3) The responsibility to conduct oneself as a tenant in a manner that will not disturb neighbors, and to assume responsibility for one’s actions and those of a family member or guest in the housing unit or common areas. (4) The responsibility not to engage in any inappropriate, unauthorized, or criminal ac- tivity in the housing unit or common areas. (5) The responsibility to allow the landlord reasonable access to the rental home in ac- cordance with the terms of the tenant lease agreement to allow the landlord to make nec- essary repairs in a timely manner. (6) The responsibility to read all lease-re- lated materials provided by the landlord and to comply with the terms of the lease agree- ment, lease addenda, and any associated rules and guidelines. (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS AND PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—(1) As part of the budget submis- sion for fiscal year 2021, and biennially there- after, each Secretary of a military department shall submit the then-current housing docu- ments to the congressional defense committees. (2) Any change made to a housing document must be submitted to Congress at least 30 days before the change takes effect. (3) Upon submission of a housing document under paragraph (1) or (2), each Secretary of a military department shall publish the housing document on a publicly available Internet website of the military department under the ju- risdiction of such Secretary. (e) INVESTIGATION OF REPORTS OF REPRISALS.— (1) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense shall investigate all reports of reprisal against a tenant for reporting an issue relating to a housing unit. (2) If the Inspector General determines under paragraph (1) that a landlord has retaliated against a tenant for reporting an issue relating to a housing unit, the Inspector General shall— (A) provide initial notice to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives as soon as prac- ticable after making that determination; and (B) following that initial notice, provide an update to such committees every 30 days thereafter until such time as the Inspector General has taken final action with respect to the retaliation. (3) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense shall carry out this subsection in co- ordination with the Inspector General of the military department concerned. (f) PROHIBITION ON USE OF NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS.—(1) A tenant or prospective ten- ant of a housing unit may not be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement in connection with entering into, continuing, or terminating a lease for the housing unit. Any such agreement against the interests of the tenant is invalid. (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a non- disclosure agreement executed— (A) as part of the settlement of litigation; or (B) to avoid litigation if the tenant has re- tained legal counsel or has sought military legal assistance under section 1044 of this title. (3) A party presenting a proposed nondisclo- sure agreement to a tenant shall notify such tenant that such tenant may, not later than 10 business days after such presentation, seek legal counsel with respect to the terms of and impli- cations of entering into such agreement. A ten- ant may not be required to sign such agreement before the end of such 10-day period. (Added and amended Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, §§ 3011(b), 3023, 3024(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1917, 1935; Pub. L. 116–283, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2811(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4323; Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, §§ 2822(b), 2823, 2839(e), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 751, 752, 761.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2839(e)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘each Secretary of a military department’’ for ‘‘the Secretary of Defense’’. Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2839(e), substituted ‘‘each Secretary of a military department’’ for ‘‘the Secretary of Defense’’ and ‘‘the military department under the jurisdiction of such Secretary’’ for ‘‘the De- partment of Defense’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2822(b)(1), substituted ‘‘Inspector General of the Department of Defense’’ for ‘‘Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment’’ and ‘‘tenant’’ for ‘‘member of the armed forces’’. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2822(b)(2)(A), in intro- ductory provisions, substituted ‘‘Inspector General de- termines’’ for ‘‘Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment determines’’, ‘‘tenant’’ for ‘‘member of the armed forces’’, and ‘‘Inspector General shall’’ for ‘‘Assistant Secretary shall’’. Subsec. (e)(2)(B). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2822(b)(2)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘Inspector General’’ for ‘‘Assistant Sec- retary’’. Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2822(b)(3), substituted ‘‘Inspector General of the Department of Defense’’ for ‘‘Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment’’ and ‘‘Inspector General of the military department con- cerned’’ for ‘‘Secretary of the military department con- cerned’’. Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 118–31, § 2823, added par. (3). 2021—Subsec. (b)(15). Pub. L. 116–283, § 2811(b)(1), struck out ‘‘and held in escrow’’ after ‘‘payments seg- regated’’. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 2811(b)(2), inserted ‘‘a’’ before ‘‘landlord’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 2811(b)(3), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a nondisclosure agreement executed as part of the settlement of litiga- tion.’’ 2019—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–92, § 3023, added subsec. (e). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 116–92, § 3024(a), added subsec. (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2019 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, § 3024(c), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1935, provided that: ‘‘Subsection (f) of section 2890 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to any non- disclosure agreement covered by the terms of such sub- section (f) regardless of the date on which the agree- ment was executed.’’ REGULATIONS Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, § 3024(b), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1935, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military depart- ments shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to give full force and effect to subsection (f) Page 2313 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 2891 of section 2890 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).’’ IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL REC- OMMENDATIONS RELATING TO STRENGTHENING OVER- SIGHT OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2825, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 752, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Secretary of Defense shall implement each rec- ommendation of the Comptroller General of the United States contained in the report titled ‘DOD Can Further Strengthen Oversight of Its Privatized Housing Pro- gram’ (GAO–23–105377), dated April 6, 2023, and reissued with revisions on April 20, 2023. ‘‘(b) NON-IMPLEMENTATION REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— If the Secretary elects not to implement any such rec- ommendation, the Secretary shall, not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, sub- mit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Sen- ate and the House of Representatives a report that in- cludes a justification for such election.’’ REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO MOVE-IN, MOVE-OUT, AND MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, § 3056, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1944, provided that: ‘‘(a) MOVE-IN AND MOVE-OUT CHECKLIST.— ‘‘(1) CHECKLIST REQUIRED.—The Secretary of De- fense shall develop a uniform move-in and move-out checklist for use by landlords providing privatized military housing and by tenants of such housing. ‘‘(2) REQUIRED MOVE-IN ELEMENT.—A tenant who will occupy a unit of privatized military housing is enti- tled to be present for an inspection of the housing unit before accepting occupancy of the housing unit to ensure that the unit is habitable and that facilities and common areas of the building are in good repair. ‘‘(3) REQUIRED MOVE-OUT ELEMENT.—A tenant of a unit of privatized military housing is entitled to be present for the move-out inspection of the housing unit and must be given sufficient time to address any concerns related to the tenant’s occupancy of the housing unit. ‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST.—The Secretary of De- fense shall— ‘‘(1) develop a uniform checklist to be used by hous- ing management offices to validate the completion of all maintenance work related to health and safety issues at privatized military housing; and ‘‘(2) require that all maintenance issues and work orders related to health and safety issues at privatized military housing be reported to the com- mander of the installation for which the housing is provided. ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall carry out this section in consultation with the Secre- taries of the military departments. ‘‘(d) DEADLINE.—The uniform checklists required by this section shall be completed not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 20, 2019].’’ [For definitions of ‘‘landlord’’, ‘‘privatized military housing’’, and ‘‘tenant’’ as used in section 3056 of Pub. L. 116–92, set out above, see section 3001(a) of Pub. L. 116–92, set out as a note under section 2821 of this title.] STANDARDIZED DOCUMENTATION, TEMPLATES, AND FORMS FOR PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, § 3057, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1945, provided that: ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall develop standardized documentation, templates, and forms for use throughout the Department of Defense with respect to privatized military housing. In devel- oping such documentation, templates, and forms, the Secretary shall ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, the documentation, templates, and forms do not conflict with applicable State and local hous- ing regulations. ‘‘(2) INITIAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 20, 2019], the Secretary of Defense shall issue guidance for the development of the following: ‘‘(A) Policies and standard operating procedures of the Department for privatized military housing. ‘‘(B) A universal lease agreement for privatized military housing that includes— ‘‘(i) the documents developed pursuant to sec- tion 2890 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 3011, entitled Military Housing Privat- ization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights and Mili- tary Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Re- sponsibilities; and ‘‘(ii) any lease addendum required by the law of the State in which the unit of privatized military housing is located. ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall carry out this subsection in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments. ‘‘(b) MILITARY DEPARTMENT PLANS.—Not later than February 1, 2020, the Secretary of each military depart- ment shall submit to the congressional defense com- mittees [Committees on Armed Services and Appro- priations of the Senate and the House of Representa- tives] a plan for the implementation of this section by that military department.’’ [For definition of ‘‘privatized military housing’’ as used in section 3057 of Pub. L. 116–92, set out above, see section 3001(a) of Pub. L. 116–92, set out as a note under section 2821 of this title.] [§ 2890a. Renumbered § 2851a] § 2891. Requirements relating to contracts for provision of housing units (a) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this sec- tion condition contracts entered into using the authorities provided to the Secretary concerned under section 2872 of this title and other au- thorities provided under subchapter IV of this chapter and this subchapter. (b) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.—A landlord providing a housing unit shall prohibit any employee of the landlord who commits work-order fraud under the contract from doing any work under the contract. (c) DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS.—Any deci- sion the commander renders in favor of the ten- ant in the formal dispute resolution process es- tablished pursuant to section 2894 of this title will be taken into consideration in determining whether to pay or withhold all or part of any in- centive fees for which a landlord may otherwise be eligible under the contract. (d) RESPONSIBILITY FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL COSTS.— (1) REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the Secretary concerned finds that a landlord fails to maintain safe and sanitary conditions for a housing unit under the contract and that, subject to paragraph (2), these conditions result in a tenant of the housing unit receiving medical evaluations and treatment, the landlord shall be respon- sible for reimbursing the Department of De- fense for any costs incurred by the Depart- ment to provide the medical evaluations and treatment to the tenant, whether such evalua- tions and treatment are provided in a military medical treatment facility or through the TRICARE provider network.