It has been nearly six years since the DOD released its Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights in February 2020. However, a new survey of military families shows that the Tenant Bill of Rights (TBR) is not giving families living in unsafe housing conditions the leverage they need to hold privatized housing accountable.
A new survey released by Change the Air Foundation in November 2025 has found that five years after the release of the TBR, more than half of families surveyed did not get their housing-related issues resolved after reporting them. Additionally, 86% had to report the same issue multiple times, and 66% reported their issues were marked “resolved” despite no satisfactory action taken.
Air Force spouse Erica Thompson is one of the families whose experience with the TBR and privatized housing isn’t living up to expectations.
“Right away, we knew we had issues with the HVAC system. And so we put in the service call, thinking it would just get fixed,” Thompson recalled of her arrival to Maxwell Air Force Base in June 2023. She reported being told, “you need a new HVAC, but we can’t afford to fix it.”
The Thompsons made it work, paying out of pocket for five dehumidifiers. But their living conditions were about to get worse.
“Our son started passing out in the home, and he has had no previous health issues,” said Thompson. “I was having tachycardia and cardiac issues … they opened up the walls, no containment, and so they contaminated the whole rest of the home.”
They were put in temporary lodging. When they returned home, they found the locks had been changed.
Thompson soon met Brandon Chappo, the co-founder of Change the Air Foundation whose personal experience in unsafe housing motivated him to launch the nonprofit. Chappo had no idea that service members and families were dealing with the same issues.
“[The TBR] was supposed to address some of this; the issue seems to not have moved at all and in some cases, it seems to have worsened,” said Chappo. “The survey data is kind of proving that.”
Although the TBR was rolled out in 2021, families may not be aware of its 18 provisions designed to protect families.
Fast forward to 2025, and the Change the Air Foundation findings reveal that families are struggling to access the Tenant Resolution Process of the TBR. The survey found that of those with an issue 78% reported the issue. Only 7% finished the process, something Change the Air says is “telling.”
And when housing companies are less than transparent, families are putting two and two together.
“One in 10 (9%) service members were able to compare their report with reports from previous tenants of the same house,” the report stated.
Twenty-nine percent said the reports were exactly the same and 21% said they were totally different. And Change the Air Foundation isn’t the only organization highlighting privatized housing issues.
“It just seemed like there were roadblocks at every turn,” said Chappo of his decision to stand alongside military families and advocate for legislative solutions. “So we decided, as a foundation, that we couldn’t look away.”
Change the Air Foundation recently celebrated the inclusion of a provision in the 2026 military appropriations bill that would require all branches to adopt industry-standard mold remediation guidelines in military facilities. But they know they have a long way to go to help families successfully advocate for safe housing.
Military Families Magazine reached out to the Department of Defense and Maxwell AFB for comment. We will update this story when we receive a response.
