WASHINGTON– The Division of Protection is working to enhance its army housing privatization initiative, or MHPI.
Patricia Coury, deputy assistant secretary of protection for housing, testified March 31 at a digital assembly of the Home Appropriations Subcommittee on Army Development, Veterans Affairs and Associated Companies listening to.
The division is resourced to offer secure, high quality, well-maintained housing the place army members and their households will need to stay, she mentioned.
The army providers have employed greater than 600 extra housing personnel to offer enhanced, high quality assurance, buyer care providers and advocacy for residents, Coury added.
Additionally, the division has considerably enhanced the MHPI program and oversight of the personal sector corporations that personal, function and preserve privatized housing tasks, she mentioned.
DOD is concentrated on 5 program oversight areas:
- Senior chief engagement to collaborate internally and inside MHPI corporations on housing points and essential corrective actions.
- Rebuilding belief with the army households and army members.
- Offering accountability in any respect ranges inside DOD and by MHPI corporations to carry out oversight as initially supposed on the outset of housing privatization.
- Offering transparency and communications to tenants and the division.
- Making certain the long-term monetary viability of the MHPI tasks and program.
The division issued a revised MHPI tenant invoice of rights on Aug. 1. That now contains all 18 rights, she mentioned.
“Based mostly on our work with the MHPI corporations that personal and function privatized housing tasks, they’ve voluntarily carried out these security rights in any respect however 5 of the practically 200 installations with privatized housing,” Coury mentioned.
Whereas the division continues to pursue agreements with the MHPI corporations on the 5 remaining installations, practically 96% of the army households who reside in privatized housing have entry to all 18 rights, she mentioned.
“Our progress implementing the tenant Invoice of Rights represents a foundational step in DOD’s ongoing efforts to enhance the MHPI program and to rebuilding belief and guaranteeing constructive residing expertise for army members and their households,” she mentioned.
Along with issuing the revised Tenant Invoice of Rights, Coury mentioned DOD has taken different actions to enhance oversight. These embody:
- Implementing departmentwide quarterly programmatic opinions.
- Establishing new DOD uniform housing commonplace and inspection necessities.
- Working with private-sector MHPI corporations to speed up venture funding to renovate or assemble new housing models and enhance the situation of current privatized housing.
“Our precedence going ahead is to give attention to implementing MHPI reforms supposed to enhance the security, high quality and habitability of privatized housing, whereas persevering with our enhanced oversight of the MHPI program and tasks,” she mentioned.
“The division is dedicated to making sure army members and households who select to reside in MHPI housing have secure, high quality properties and a constructive residing expertise,” Coury mentioned.
