§2856a — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

§2856a Covered Military Unaccompanied Housing: Waivers of Covered Privacy and Configuration Standards and Covered Health and Safety Standards

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part IV— SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter 169— MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING › Subchapter III— ADMINISTRATION OF MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING › § 2856a

Last updated Apr 18, 2026|Official source

Summary

Commanders at a military base can ask their service Secretary for a temporary waiver so barracks that do not meet privacy, layout, or health and safety rules can still be used. Before a Secretary can approve a waiver, the Secretary must first try all other options: use any available privately owned military housing, change unit assignment goals so available compliant units can be used, and issue a certificate saying compliant barracks are not available so affected service members can get basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37. The installation commander must send the request, and the Secretary must make the decision personally (they cannot give that power to someone else). Any approved waiver ends 15 months after it is issued and cannot be renewed. By March 1, 2025, and each year soon after the President’s annual budget is sent to Congress (within 15 days), the Secretary of Defense must report to Congress and the Comptroller General about all waivers. The report must say how many waivers were issued; plans and timelines to fix the faulty barracks; strategies to fix problems and stop repeated waiver requests (including plans to modernize, build new housing, or change policies, excluding infrastructure policy changes); whether more waivers will be needed; a certification that each service followed the waiver rules and identified all noncompliant housing; cost estimates (including construction, sustainment/modernization, and any increase in basic allowance for housing); and the Department’s response status to the 2023 Comptroller General report “Military Barracks: Poor Living Conditions Undermine Quality of Life and Readiness” (GAO–23–105797). Definitions (one line each): “covered health and safety standard” — the minimum health and safety rules set by the Secretary of Defense (may cover mold, ventilation, fire safety, and similar issues). “covered privacy and configuration standard” — the minimum privacy and layout rules in DoD Manual 4165.63 (or its successor).

Title 10, §2856a

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any waiver of covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards shall be issued in accordance with the following:

(1)A commander of a military installation desiring a waiver of covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards shall submit to the Secretary of the military department concerned a request for such waiver.

(2)A Secretary of a military department may approve a request under paragraph (1) only if such Secretary has exhausted all options available to such Secretary to provide housing that meets covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards (as applicable), including the—

(A)use of available privately-owned military housing;

(B)modification of unit integrity goals to allow the use of each available unit of covered military unaccompanied housing that meets covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards (as applicable); and

(C)issuance of a certificate of nonavailability of covered military unaccompanied housing to allow eligibility for basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37.

(3)An official described in paragraph (1) or (2) may not delegate the respective authorities under such paragraphs.

(4)Any waiver of covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards issued pursuant to this paragraph shall terminate on the date that is 15 months after the date on which such waiver was issued. A Secretary of a military department may not renew any such waiver.

(b)Not later than March 1, 2025, and annually thereafter not later than 15 days after the submission of the budget of the President to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the Comptroller General of the United States a report on waivers issued under this section that includes—

(1)the number of such waivers that were issued during the period covered by the report;

(2)a plan to remedy the deficiencies, if any, of covered military unaccompanied housing that required the issuance of such a waiver, and a timeline to implement such plan;

(3)a strategy to remedy issues, if any, caused by covered military unaccompanied housing that did not comply with applicable standards;

(4)a strategy to remedy the factors, if any, that require a commander of a military installation to submit to the applicable Secretary of a military department a request for consecutive waivers of applicable standards, including a timeline for the implementation of such strategy;

(5)an analysis of strategies to remedy the factors described in paragraph (4), including—

(A)projects to modernize existing covered military unaccompanied housing to comply with applicable standards;

(B)projects to construct new covered military unaccompanied housing; and

(C)modifications to relevant policies of the Department of Defense, excluding such policies relating to infrastructure;

(6)an assessment of whether a need for future waivers has been identified;

(7)a summary of the analysis performed under subsection (a)(2), including a certification by the Secretary of each military department that the Secretary has—

(A)complied with the requirements for issuing a waiver; and

(B)identified all covered military unaccompanied housing that does not meet covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards;

(8)information about costs associated with remediation of covered military unaccompanied housing that requires such waivers, including—

(A)funding needs for military construction projects related to such remediation;

(B)funding needs for facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects related to such remediation; and

(C)any increase required to the basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37 for members of the armed forces that would otherwise be living in covered military unaccompanied housing but for the need for such remediation; and

(9)a description of the status of the response of the Department to open recommendations contained in the 2023 report by the Comptroller General of the United States titled “Military Barracks: Poor Living Conditions Undermine Quality of Life and Readiness” (GAO–23–105797), including any privacy and configuration standard or health and safety standard of a military department that differs from the covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards (as applicable).

(c)In this section:

(1)The term “covered health and safety standard” means the minimum health and safety criteria applicable to covered military unaccompanied housing established by the Secretary of Defense and may include standards relating to mold, ventilation, fire safety, or other related habitability conditions necessary to ensure safe occupancy.

(2)The term “covered privacy and configuration standard” means the minimum standards for privacy and configuration applicable to covered military unaccompanied housing described in Department of Defense Manual 4165.63 titled “DoD Housing Management” and dated October 28, 2010 (or a successor document).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2833(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 755, which directed amendment of “Subchapter III of title 10” by adding this section after section 2856 of this title, was executed to subchapter III of chapter 169 of this title, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(1), inserted “and covered health and safety standards” after “standards” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(2)(A), (B), in introductory provisions, substituted “Any” for “Effective March 2, 2024, any” and inserted “or covered health and safety standards” after “covered privacy and configuration standards”. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(2)(C)(ii), substituted “covered privacy and configuration standards or covered health and safety standards” for “covered habitability standards”. Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(2)(C)(i), which directed the insertion of “or covered health and safety standards” after “covered privacy and configuration standards” could not be executed because “covered privacy and configuration standards” does not appear in text. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(b), substituted “paragraph (1)” for “subparagraph (A)” in introductory provisions. Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(2)(D), inserted “or covered health and safety standards (as applicable)” after “covered privacy and configuration standards” in introductory provisions and in subpar. (B). Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(2)(E), inserted “or covered health and safety standards” after “covered privacy and configuration standards”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(3)(B), inserted “, and a timeline to implement such plan” after “waiver”. Subsec. (b)(3), (4), (5)(A). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(3)(A), substituted “applicable standards” for “such uniform standards”. Subsec. (b)(6) to (9). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(3)(C)–(E), added pars. (6) to (9). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 119–60, § 2822(a)(4), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) defined “covered privacy and configuration standard”. 2024—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 118–159 substituted “15 months” for “9 months”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Revisions to Rules, Guidance, or Other Issuances Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2833(d), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 757, provided that: “Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Secretary of Defense and Secretaries of the military departments shall revise any rule, guidance, or other issuance of the Department of Defense and the military departments under the respective jurisdictions of such Secretaries to include the procedures for the issuance of waivers of covered privacy and configuration standards [see section 2833(f) of Pub. L. 118–31, set out as a note below] pursuant to section 2856a of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)).” Termination of Existing Waivers of Covered Privacy and Configuration Standards Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2833(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 755, provided that: “Any waiver of covered privacy and configuration standards [see section 2833(f) of Pub. L. 118–31, set out as a note below] in effect on or before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023] shall terminate on March 1, 2024.” Covered Privacy and Configuration Standard Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2833(f), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 757, provided that: “The term ‘covered privacy and configuration standard’ has the meaning given in section 2856a of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)).” Definitions For definition of “covered military unaccompanied housing” as used in this section, see section 2856(c) of this title.