Reassessing the basic allowance for housing for Army personnel in a rapidly changing housing market

Abstract: Rising housing prices and inflation since 2020 have brought attention to the adequacy of the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for military personnel. The authors of this report assess the adequacy of BAH and the BAH rate-setting methodology from the standpoint of Army personnel, in the context of recent changes in the housing market. The authors first assess the BAH methodology by considering the housing choices made by Army personnel and whether soldiers are making choices consistent with the way the allowance is set. They then assess the adequacy of BAH and the housing procured by members by using the 2017–2021 American Community Survey data to assess the extent to which the housing expenditures of active duty soldiers are comparable with those of income-matched civilians and civilians with comparable demographic characteristics. They also assess the extent to which there are observable differences between soldiers and civilians in neighborhood amenities across six exemplar installations. Finally, they assess the extent to which the BAH methodology adequately captured changes in housing prices, particularly given the dramatic increases in both rents and home sale prices in the years since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read the full article
Report a problem with this article

Related articles

  • More for Policy & Practice

    ‘Grown up’ children from armed forces families: Reflections on experiences of childhood and education

    Abstract: This research set out to investigate the experiences of ‘grown up’ children from armed forces families, to gather their reflections on childhood and education, and to seek their advice to inform the current armed forces community, policy-makers and practitioners. The Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP) defines a child from an armed forces family as “a person whose parent or carer serves in the Regular Armed Forces, or as a Reservist, or has done at any point during the first 25 years of that person’s life” (SCiP, 2017: para 2) and the Office for Students refers to this definition in their documentation relating to student characteristics (OfS n.d. para 8, see also OfS, 2020: para 11). In this research we use the term ‘grown up’ to indicate individuals over the age of 18 recognised to have reached the legal age of adulthood in the UK. This group of individuals are currently overlooked in research, policy and practice as the focus continues to be on serving members of the armed forces, veterans, and families, including school-aged children.