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SAN DIEGO — Where is the money going? 

That's the question from military families that CBS 8 talked to after the servicemen and women received an increase in their basic housing allowance. 

The basic housing allowance, or BAH, was supposed to help alleviate some of the economic problems those military families are facing. But as CBS 8 learned, some of the families say they won’t see a dime.

Some of the families we talked to say they're missing out on anywhere between $900 to as much as $4,000 dollars a month. These families say they've been promised money and better living conditions for years and haven't seen either. They spoke to CBS 8 under the condition of anonymity because they're afraid of retaliation.

"Where is the money going? Where is all the extra money - this $900 a month that they're getting - or my husband, they're getting over $4200 a month," “Michelle” asked in frustration.

That's the question from several military spouses and service members after the US government increased service members' basic housing allowance.

Meanwhile, the families we talked to Friday afternoon say they live in squalor. 

“Sasha” shared, "It would help families to get extra money but Liberty (the company who contracts military housing for the properties) has decided they want to keep that money and they don't want to put anything into the community." 

Complaints include mold issues, a concern CBS 8 covered back in 2019. The group of families gathered Friday says mold is still a problem. There are also reported maintenance requests that go unanswered and a lack of security. 

“Sasha” said, "They (housing security) are nowhere to be found. We're constantly dealing with homeless rummaging through our trash. Packages getting stolen. People's cars and garages getting broken into. It's frustrating because most of the time spouses are alone and we're fearing for our life in a sense because you have to keep your guard up to make sure nothing is happening and constantly checking your doors."

We're Working for You on this story so we reached out to Liberty Housing.

Liberty Housing says for every dollar they receive from the BAH:

“Kellie” shared that she feels like they're being taken advantage of. "They claim they're going to take it and use it for renovations and stuff like that but we've heard that for years. We're still having mold issues, we're still having people getting sick, still having people getting relocated for mold and sickness and they all have kids. We all have kids!"

Liberty Military Housing says in a statement about maintenance concerns: 

“Liberty Military Housing has been proud to serve our service members and their families for over twenty years. Our employee-owners, many of whom are connected to the military as spouses, dependents, or veterans, are committed to providing exemplary service and amenities in our communities to ensure our residents have the best experience in our homes on and around our Department of Defense Installations. 

We offer extensive services to our residents, including a robust maintenance program. To that end, if a resident has a maintenance concern we encourage them to reach out to us immediately. They can easily submit a service ticket via our Liberty at Your Service App or via our maintenance hotline (888-578-4141) which is available 24 hours a day, and the issue will be addressed by one of our outstanding technicians. Liberty has completed over 70000 work orders in the 12000 homes in San Diego this year, each completed work order receives a satisfaction survey. 

While not all surveys are returned, about 2/3rds of our families completed surveys this year and the average score was 4.73 out of 5.0, which is in the “Exceptional” range. At the same time, we do know that there may be instances where we have fallen short of expectations, in those instances we want to make it right. If, after a resident has submitted a work order, they do not feel their maintenance concern is being addressed appropriately, there is a three-step process for getting this resolved. The resident can escalate to the Liberty Regional Management team who oversees the local neighborhoods. If they still need support, each Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Military Housing office is staffed with government advocates assigned to assist active-duty families.

Finally, should the resident feel that the previous steps did not address the maintenance issue in question, there is a formal dispute process. The process was directed by Congress in the 2020 NDAA and is adjudicated by the Admiral/General with responsibility for the specific installation where the service member is assigned. Again, LMH is fully committed to ensuring our residents live in a safe and healthy environment every day, and that our communities provide the most comfortable living experiences for all of our residents.”

Liberty Military Housing said in a statement regarding BAH payments:

"We are aware of the recent Department of Department policy on increases to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). For most LMH residents, their lease agreement defines rent as the Basic Allowance for Housing for that geographic area. This is an integral principle of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), as authorized by the Federal Government, and allows LMH to maintain and sustain the houses and communities for our families. Rent equating to the current BAH also allows LMH to maintain rate protection and provides a buffer against rising housing rates, inflation, and the recent impacts of COVID out in the community. 

As a result, this DoD directed BAH increase ensures that families living with LMH will not have to personally incur any additional out of pocket expenses related to their housing costs. The Department of Defense (DoD) sets the BAH rates at 95% of the Cost of Adequate Housing (CAH), and while in this instance, the DoD has justifiably directed increases in the BAH, that has not historically been the case over time when BAH has not kept pace with the market in the community. 

LMH is absolutely dedicated to using your BAH dollars to provide you with the most quality living experience in our communities. These additional BAH dollars will be utilized to go directly back into improvements to our neighborhoods, renovating homes, and other amenities throughout LMH properties. Since 2019, Liberty Military Housing has directed the reinvestment of $800M back into improving military family housing across our portfolio.

 There are additional benefits to choosing to live in MHPI communities utilizing your BAH. You are guaranteed rate protection, which means your rent will never increase over BAH, year over year. Additionally, LMH does not charge for utilities or other additional fees often required in local communities, such as pet and parking fees or expensive security deposits. LMH remains dedicated to providing exemplary service to our residents with the highest quality homes in our communities across the nation and these BAH dollars will allow us to continue to do so for families living with us today and ensure the sustainment of these homes for the service members of tomorrow."

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At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our San Diego community. If there is something you would like us to investigate,  please share your idea  here or email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.

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