The cost of renting has become a major challenge for military families, particularly those living off base. A recent study found that median U.S. rent increased 25% from 2021 to 2023, while median household incomes only rose 5%. While the Defense Department has increased housing allowances, they remain insufficient for many service members. Lawmakers are now calling for an investigation into whether private landlords are using RealPage's rent-pricing system to inflate costs, potentially exploiting military families.
During his 11 years as a Marine, Brenden Taylor and his family have moved several times. But when they left Okinawa, Japan, in 2022 for Camp Pendleton in Southern California, finding an affordable home to rent using his military housing allowance became an almost impossible challenge. Finally, they found something they could afford in Murietta, a 45-minute drive from the base.
They asked the Defense Department to determine whether service members’ landlords are using RealPage’s system, driving up rents, and to answer a list of questions outlining its strategy to shield service members from improprieties. Because so many active-duty service members’ families live off base, area rents have a big impact on them. In setting its housing allowance, the Defense Department collects data on rental housing costs for 300 military housing areas in the United States and monitors the Consumer Price index, Census Bureau surveys and other information.
The family of five is fortunate to live on the base, she said, but she noted that rents on base seem to rise alongside rents in nearby neighborhoods off base. Given that the government owns the land on which the base sits, Villaman is puzzled by the dynamic.
Housing Economics Military Housing Rents Housing Allowance Realpage Landlords
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