Title 14Coast GuardRelease 119-73

§2943 Leasing and hiring of quarters; rental of in­adequate housing

Title 14 › Subtitle SUBTITLE II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 29— - COAST GUARD FAMILY SUPPORT, CHILD CARE, AND HOUSING › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - HOUSING › § 2943

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary can lease housing at or near Coast Guard bases so it can be used as public housing for Coast Guard members and their families at no rent when there is not enough adequate housing nearby. The Secretary can also lease housing, rent-free, for single members on sea duty or at remote offshore stations. These leases only happen if Congress provides money in the yearly appropriations. Leases in foreign countries can run up to 5 years and may allow advance payment if local practice requires it. The Secretary may call some inadequate housing "rental housing" and lease it to members and their dependents under rules the President approves. Rental spending generally must not exceed the average allowed for the Department of Defense, but funds can be moved to high-cost areas where needed. If the United States does not have enough quarters, the Commandant may hire temporary housing for personnel, including those on sea duty who lose shipboard quarters because of repairs or other problems. Dependents may not use these temporary accommodations.

Full Legal Text

Title 14, §2943

Coast Guard — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary is authorized to lease hous­ing facilities at or near Coast Guard installations, wherever located, for assignment as public quarters to military personnel and their dependents, if any, without rental charge upon a determination by the Secretary, or his designee, that there is a lack of adequate housing facilities at or near such Coast Guard installations. The Secretary is also authorized to lease housing facilities for assignment as public quarters, without rental charge, to military personnel who are on sea duty or duty at remote offshore Coast Guard stations and who do not have dependents. Such authority shall be effective in any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts. When any such lease involves housing facilities in a foreign country, the lease may be made on a multiyear basis for a period not to exceed five years, and, in accordance with local custom and practice, advance payment may be made for the lease. Such public housing facilities may be leased on an individual or multiple-unit basis. Expenditures for the rental of such housing facilities may not exceed the average authorized for the Department of Defense in any year except where the Secretary finds that the average is so low as to prevent rental of necessary housing facilities in some areas, in which event he is authorized to reallocate existing funds to high-cost areas so that rental expenditures in such areas exceed the average authorized for the Department of Defense.
(b)The Secretary is authorized, subject to regulations approved by the President—
(1)to designate as rental housing such housing as he may determine to be inadequate as public quarters; and
(2)to lease inadequate housing to members of the Coast Guard for occupancy by them and their dependents.
(c)Where sufficient quarters are not possessed by the United States, the Commandant may hire quarters for personnel, including personnel on sea duty at such times as they may be deprived of their quarters on board ship due to repairs or other conditions which may render them uninhabitable. Such accommodations shall not be available for occupancy by the dependents of such personnel.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 14, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 133a (
June 19, 1942, ch. 419, § 2, 56 Stat. 372) and on the following language contained in the Coast Guard appropriation act for 1949, “Pay and Allowances” and preceding years: “hire of quarters for Coast Guard personnel comparable to quarters assignable on a capital ship of the Navy, as authorized by the Secretary to meet emergency conditions, including officers and men on sea duty at such times as they may be deprived of their quarters on board ship due to repairs or other conditions which may render them uninhabitable: Provided, That under this authorization no funds may be expended for the hire of quarters for occupancy by the dependents of officers or enlisted personnel” (
June 19, 1948, ch. 558, 62 Stat. 562). Changes were made in phraseology. 81st Congress,

House Report No. 557

.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–282 renumbered section 475 of this title as this section. 1987—Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 100–180 redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, members of the Coast Guard, with dependents, may occupy on a rental basis, without loss of basic allowance for quarters, inadequate quarters under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard notwithstanding that such quarters may have been constructed or converted for assignment as public quarters. The net difference between the basic allowance for quarters and the fair rental value of such quarters shall be paid from otherwise available appropriations; however, no rental charge for such quarters shall be made against the basic allowance for quarters of a member of the Coast Guard in excess of 75 percent of such allowance except that in no event shall the net rental value charged to the member’s basic allowance for quarters be less than the cost of maintaining and operating the housing.” 1982—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–295 substituted “percent” for “per centum”. Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 97–322 repealed subsec. (e) which required that the Secretary, annually and not later than April 1, file with the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate a report of the utilization of subsecs. (a), (b), and (d) authority during the preceding calendar year, and subsec. (f) which prohibited utilization of subsecs. (a), (b), (c), or (d) authority after Apr. 1, 1973, unless all required subsec. (e) reports were filed with the Congress. 1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–136 inserted provisions authorizing the Secretary to lease housing facilities for assignment as public quarters, without rental charge, to military personnel who are on sea duty or duty at remote offshore Coast Guard stations and who do not have dependents, and further provided that such authority shall be effective in any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation acts. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–376 substituted “multi­year basis” for “multi-year basis,” and authorized advance payment for any housing facilities lease in accordance with local custom and practice. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96–470 struck out reference to subsec. (c). 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–546, § 1(30)(a), substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” wherever appearing. Pub. L. 94–478 inserted provision allowing leases for housing facilities in foreign countries to be made on a multi-year basis. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 94–546, § 1(30)(b), which was executed to subsec. (e) as the probable intent of Congress, substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” and struck out “commencing
April 1, 1973,” after “not later than April 1,”. Pub. L. 94–406, § 4(1), redesignated subsec. (f) as (e). Former subsec. (e), which provided that the authority conferred by subsecs. (b) and (c) of this section expire on
June 30, 1976, was struck out. Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 94–406, § 4(1), (2), redesignated subsec. (g) as (f) and substituted “(e)” for “(f)”. Former subsec. (f) redesignated (e). 1973—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 93–65 extended termination date of authority provided in subsecs. (b) and (c) from
June 30, 1973, to
June 30, 1976. 1972—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(1), substituted “The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” for “The Secretary” in first sentence. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(2), struck out reference to subsec. (a) and extended authority provided in subsecs. (b) and (c) to
June 30, 1973. Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(3), added subsecs. (f) and (g). 1970—Pub. L. 91–278 substituted “Leasing and hiring of quarters; rental of inadequate housing” for “Hiring of quarters for personnel” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (d), and added subsecs. (a) to (c) and (e).

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 11645. Authority of Secretary of Homeland Security To Prescribe Certain

Regulations

Relating to Housing Ex. Ord. No. 11645, Feb. 8, 1972, 37 F.R. 2923, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 13286, § 59, Feb. 28, 2003, 68 F.R. 10629, provided: By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: section 1. The Secretary of Homeland Security is designated and empowered to prescribe (or, under a delegation of the Secretary’s authority, the Commandant of the Coast Guard is authorized to prescribe)

Regulations

pursuant to section 475(c) [now 2943(c)] of title 14 of the United States Code, relating to the designation and leasing of rental housing, without the approval, ratification, or other action by the President. Sec. 2. Whenever the entire Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy, the reference to the Secretary of Homeland Security in section 1 of this order shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Navy.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

14 U.S.C. § 2943

Title 14Coast Guard

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73