Letter to Mr. Christopher Williams, President of Balfour Beatty Communities LLC - Tillis, Warren Question Private Military Housing Providers on Reports of Failure to Provide Appropriate On-Base Housing to Military Families with Disabilities
Letter
Dear Mr. Williams:
We are writing to request information on the availability and suitability of on-base military
housing for military families with disabilities across Balfour Beatty Communities' portfolio that
encompasses approximately 43,000 military residential units.
1
In July 2020, the Military Housing
Advocacy Network (MHAN) released the findings of a survey of military families that painted a
clear and troubling picture of housing problems for thousands of servicemembers and their
families, revealing that many military families are being denied access to Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant housing.2
Under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI),3
the Department of Defense
(DoD) has contracted with private companies like yours to develop and maintain nearly all
military housing installations in the country.
4 This initiative was intended to help the Armed
Services improve the quality of life for servicemembers and ensure that military families are able
to live in clean, safe, and secure housing. Amid media reports of decrepit housing conditions on
military bases,
5
a staff investigation that Senator Warren's office released last year found that
private housing providers were obtaining substantial profits and fees from their contracts but
failing to provide military families with the living conditions that they deserve.
6 The MHAN
survey reveals a new set of problems for military families living in on-base installations across
the country, suggesting that private housing companies that have partnered with the DoD do not
appear to be following federal laws that protect persons with disabilities.
1 Balfour Beatty Communities, "Find Your Home" page, https://www.balfourbeattycommunities.com/find-yourhome/military.
2 Military Housing Advocacy Network, "Accessibility of ADA Homes and Reasonable Accommodations for
Disabled Individuals in Privatized Military Housing," July 2020, http://militaryhousingadvocacynetwork.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/MHAN-Report-ADA-and-Accomodations.pdf.
3 U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, "Military Housing
Privatization," https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/FIM/Housing/Housing_index.html.
4 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Addressees, "MILITARY HOUSING: DOD
Needs to Strengthen Oversight and Clarify Its Role in the Management of Privatized Housing," March 2020,
https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/705552.pdf.
5 Reuters, "Ambushed at Home: The hazardous, squalid housing of American military families,"
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military/.
6 Letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren to the Senate Committee on Armed Services Chairman James Inhofe and
Ranking Member Jack Reed, April 30, 2019,
https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2019.04.30%20Military%20Housing%20Letter%20to%20SASC%2
0Chair%20and%20Ranking%20Member.pdf.
2
Many Military Families Have Disability-Related Needs,
Including Requiring an ADA-Compliant Home or Reasonable Accommodations
The DoD's Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)7
is an initiative that is vital for
providing military families with disabilities with necessary services and support throughout the
United States and at DoD installations worldwide. Specifically, this program supports its
members who have a family member with "a physical, emotional, developmental, or intellectual
disorder requiring specialized services so their needs can be considered in the military personnel
assignment process," given that families can face additional challenges and disruptions caused
by frequent service assignment moves.
8 As of 2018, around 8% of military dependent family
members (a total of 137,000 enrollees) were receiving this support.9 A study from the
Government Accountability Office found that, for some residents of private military housing,
"accessibility to services for an Exceptional Family Member Program family member played a
role in their decision to live in privatized housing versus a rental home in the community."10
The availability of services and support for EFMP families varies for each Service11 and may
even vary by assignment location within the same Service.
12 This is because "each service
(Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force) is responsible for administering its own EFMP,"
13
and, despite frequent reassignments and disruptive moves, "EFMP enrollment is not portable and
servicemembers must register for the program when transferring to a new duty station."
14 The
availability of resources needed by the servicemember at their designated station is supposed to
be verified by EFMP offices; if the required resources are not available, then military orders may
be modified or even canceled.15 This includes the provision of ADA-compliant houses and
reasonable accommodations16 for servicemembers with family members with disabilities.
Military Families with Disabilities Across All Service Branches
Report Being Denied an ADA-Compliant Home or Reasonable Accommodations
by Private Military Housing Companies
7 § 32 C.F.R. Part 75.
8 MyArmyBenefits, "Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)," https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/BenefitLibrary/Federal-Benefits/Exceptional-Family-Member-Program-(EFMP)-?serv=122.
9 Congressional Research Service, "Defense Primer: Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)," Bryce H. P.
Mendez, January 29, 2020, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/IF11049.pdf.
10 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Addressees, "MILITARY HOUSING: DOD
Needs to Strengthen Oversight and Clarify Its Role in the Management of Privatized Housing," March 2020,
https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/705552.pdf.
11 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Committees, "MILITARY PERSONNEL: DOD
Should Improve Its Oversight of the Exceptional Family Member Program," May 2018,
https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/691647.pdf.
12 Congressional Research Service, "Defense Primer: Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)," Bryce H. P.
Mendez, January 29, 2020, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/IF11049.pdf.
13 Id.
14 Id.
15 Id.
16 A reasonable accommodation is "a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service that may
be necessary for a person with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public
and common use spaces, or to fulfill their program obligations." U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, "Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications,"
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/reasonable_accommodations_and_modifications.
3
The MHAN is a nonprofit organization that advocates for military families to make sure that
they have access to safe and appropriate conditions in on-base, privatized housing.17 In July
2020, MHAN released a report on ADA housing issues based on survey responses from military
families with disabilities regarding the availability of ADA-compliant homes and obstacles
experienced by these families in acquiring those homes or reasonable accommodations.18 Their
responses paint a bleak picture of substandard housing conditions on military installations for
military families with disabilities.
Of the 100 families surveyed, 89% needed a reasonable accommodation and 85% needed an
ADA accessible home.
19 Yet many of these families never received these homes or
accommodations and/or waited exceptionally long periods of time before their needs were met.20
Families reported they were not provided with ADA-compliant homes because they were
deprioritized due to their servicemember's low rank or because they already had a home (albeit
non-compliant); meanwhile, available ADA-compliant houses were instead provided to
incoming families without disabilities or were already occupied by families without disabilities.
21
Moreover, families were incorrectly "told their disability is not severe enough to justify an ADA
home."
22 For example, "[o]ne family was told that their child was not blind or in a wheelchair, so
they did not qualify."23 In many cases, families were asked by the housing company that runs
their military instillation to provide extensive documentation proving that they have a disability
-- "a violation of a disabled individuals' rights and extremely invasive for families."24
Moreover, 50% of families that did acquire ADA-compliant houses reported that they were
missing accessibility features -- "including but not limited to, proper flooring, ramps, grab bars,
and properly sized doorways/hallways" -- which were not adequately addressed by the housing
company after a maintenance request was submitted, according to 68% of respondents.25 Twenty
percent of families reported that they were charged for their accommodations by their housing
provider, and 46% reported they were outright denied accommodations.
26
Following the release of this initial report, MHAN has continued to collect responses to this
survey from military families with disabilities, which they have shared with us. From these
responses, we have found:
Problems obtaining ADA-compliant housing. Of the 78 military families that required an
ADA home due to a disability and listed at least one duty station, 13 of them were located on
17 Military Housing Advocacy Network, https://militaryhousingadvocacynetwork.org/.
18 Military Housing Advocacy Network, "Accessibility of ADA Homes and Reasonable Accommodations for
Disabled Individuals in Privatized Military Housing," July 2020, http://militaryhousingadvocacynetwork.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/MHAN-Report-ADA-and-Accomodations.pdf.
19 Id.
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 Id.
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id.
26 Id.
4
installations with housing facilities managed by Balfour Beatty Communities. Although these
respondents may not be a representative sample, the information they provided to MHAN
indicates that Balfour Beatty facilities may not be meeting the law or the needs of military
families with special needs. Of the 13 respondents in need of an ADA home, 12 said their
ADA home was not readily available when they arrived to their duty station and that they had
challenges getting into an ADA home; nine reported that there was no housing available, five
reported that they were not provided with ADA compliant housing, two reported that on-base
ADA housing was instead being occupied by families without disability, one reported they
were put on a waitlist for an ADA compliant home, and another family said that they were
denied accommodation due to their low rank. The average reported wait time for an ADA
home placement on these installations was 167 days.
Inappropriate or illegal challenges facing families in need of ADA-compliant housing.
Of the 13 respondents living on installations with facilities operated by your company, eight
reported they were required by housing management to provide a doctor's letter in order to
be given ADA-compliant housing or to be provided with reasonable accommodations.
Another family reported they had their health issues challenged by the housing management
company.
Barriers to the provision of reasonable accommodations for families in need. Of the 75
military families that required reasonable accommodations due to a disability and listed at
least one duty station, 15 of them were located on installations with housing facilities
managed by Balfour Beatty Communities. Six of these families said their ADA home was
missing accessibility features required for their family, eleven reported that housing did not
accommodate the request, and eight said housing did not respond in a timely manner to
requests for compliance. Even when they did receive accommodations, four families reported
that they were charged for them, and many faced long wait times; the average wait time for
approval was 57 days, and the average wait time for completion of accommodation requests
was 39 days.
The MHAN survey suggest that private military housing providers at multiple installations
across all four Services -- including Balfour Beatty - may not be complying with federal laws that
protect Americans with disabilities.
Denying or Delaying ADA-Complaint Homes or Reasonable Accommodations
for People with Disabilities Violates Federal Law
There are several federal laws that provide broad protections for individuals with disabilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is meant "to provide a clear and comprehensive
national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities" and
to ensure "that the Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing...standards...on behalf of
individuals with disabilities."
27 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act28 directs that "No otherwise
qualified individual with a disability in the United States
shall, solely by reason of her or his
disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
27 42 U.S.C. 12101.
28 29 U.S.C. 794.
5
discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any
program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal
Service,"
29 including HUD and DoD. Housing nondiscrimination laws include the Fair Housing
Act (FHA),30 which "prohibits discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions
because of disability,"31 "requires owners of housing facilities to make reasonable exceptions in
their policies and operations to afford people with disabilities equal housing opportunities,"32 and
"makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or
services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities an
equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling and public and common use areas."33
The FHA, Section 504, and Titles II and III of the ADA "require housing providers to make
reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities,"34
which, according to the FHA, includes "a structural change made to existing premises, occupied
or to be occupied by a person with a disability, in order to afford such person full enjoyment of
the premises."35 These laws also "prohibit housing providers from refusing residency to persons
with disabilities, or placing conditions on their residency, because they require reasonable
accommodations or modification."36
According to HUD, "the requirement to provide reasonable accommodations and
modifications applies to, but is not limited to individuals, corporations, associations and others
involved in the provision of housing or residential lending" including property owners and
housing managers.
37 It also states that "a provider has an obligation to provide prompt responses
to reasonable accommodation requests" and that "[a]n undue delay in responding to a reasonable
accommodation request may be deemed to be a failure to provide a reasonable
accommodation."38 Moreover, "[u]nder Section 504, a housing provider is required to provide
and pay for the structural modification as a reasonable accommodation unless it amounts to an
undue financial and administrative burden or a fundamental alteration of the program."39
In order to better understand why EFMP military families are not receiving ADA-compliant
homes or reasonable accommodations, we request answers to the following questions no later
than January 15, 2021:
29 Id.
30 42 U.S.C. 3601.
31 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Disability
page, https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/disability_main.
32 U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, "A Guide to Disability Rights
Laws," February 2020, https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor63409.
33 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity,
"Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications,"
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/reasonable_accommodations_and_modifications.
34 Id.
35 Id.
36 Id.
37 Id.
38 Id.
39 Id.
6
1. Please provide the following information for each privatized military housing
project managed by Balfour Beatty Communities:
a. How many EFMP-enrolled families live at this installation? How many have
requested ADA-housing and/or reasonable accommodations?
b. What information and documentation is required for EFMP families to
establish their housing needs at Balfour Beatty facilities at this installation?
Does the office coordinate with the EFMP office to assist families in
meeting these requirements?
c. How many ADA-compliant housing units exist at this installation? What
percent of the housing units are ADA-compliant on this installation?
d. How do you inform military families about the availability of ADAcompliant housing?
e. How many ADA-compliant housing units on this installation are set aside
for military families with disabilities?
f. How many ADA homes are currently occupied by families with disabilities?
g. What is the protocol for an EFMP family that is moving to this base and in
need of an ADA home or reasonable accommodation?
h. What is the protocol once an ADA home becomes available? Do families
with disabilities get prioritized? Do families moving on base without
disabilities ever get moved into these units? How do you prioritize families
with special needs who are waiting to move over into ADA homes
compared to incoming residents?
i. How many families with disabilities are on the waitlist for an ADA housing
unit, and what is the average amount of time they spend on the waitlist?
j. Who manages the waitlist for ADA-housing, how does it work, and what
communication, if any, exists to let military families know where they stand
on it and the military housing office know that such homes are available?
k. Does servicemember rank factor in any way into the availability of ADAcompliant housing or the waiting time needed to obtain housing?
l. How many families at this installation have requested modifications to
housing so it is ADA compliant?
i. How many of those families received the requested
accommodations?
ii. What was the average waiting time for approval of
accommodations?
iii. What was the average waiting time for completion of
accommodations?
iv. Were any of these families required to pay for their own
accommodations or required to pay to return the home back to its
original condition upon move-out?
m. In the most recent fiscal year, how many complaints were received
regarding housing needs for families with disabilities? Please provide a
summary of the number and type of complaint.
n. How many of these complaints were resolved, and what was the average
time required to resolve a case?
7
o. What, if any, housing conditions for special needs families are stipulated in
your contract with the DoD? Is your company complying with the
obligations outlined in your contract? How frequently are these assessments
made? Please provide copies of all assessments.
p. Have you or are you currently receiving federal funding from the DoD for
this installation?
q. Has your company ever been fined or sanctioned by the DoD for problems
related to housing for military families with disabilities at this installation?
If so, please provide a detailed list of these fines or other sanctions.
r. Do you outsource property management to another company at this
installation? If so, which company? How long are the agreement terms with
this company? How do you ensure the subcontractor(s) is in compliance
with your contract with the DoD?
2. According to your website, Balfour Beatty Communities "strive to create thriving
communities that fully support the unique and evolving needs of our U.S. Service
Members and their families." What specific steps, if any, are being taken to ensure
that your company is following federal laws pertaining to the rights of people with
disabilities, including the Fair Housing Act, ADA, and Section 504?
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Source