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| Amanda and Brenden Taylor and their family. Brenden Taylor is a service member at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., who struggled to find an affordable home nearby. |
Feb. 4, 2025, 5:00 PM GMT+6
During his 11 years in the Marine Corps, Brenden Taylor and his family have relocated multiple times. However, when they moved from Okinawa, Japan, to Camp Pendleton in Southern California in 2022, securing an affordable rental home using his military housing allowance proved nearly impossible. After much searching, they eventually found a place they could afford in Murrieta, about 45 minutes from the base.
Rising rent prices are a widespread concern. From 2021 to 2023, the median rent in the U.S. rose by 25%, adjusted for inflation, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. In contrast, median household incomes for renters only increased by 5% during the same period.
These rising costs hit active-duty military families particularly hard. The Department of Defense provides an allowance to cover the cost of renting or owning private housing, but despite recent increases in this allowance, it remains inadequate for many families, according to a new survey by Blue Star Families, a nonprofit founded in 2009 by military spouses.
Only 26% of active-duty families reported that the allowance covered their monthly housing expenses last year, a sharp decline from 42% four years prior. The survey also found that 70% of active-duty service members and their families live off-base.
In response to the issue, 15 Democrats from the Senate Banking Committee, led by Elizabeth Warren and Ruben Gallego, have called on the Department of Defense to investigate the root causes of rising rental costs. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers raised concerns about the role of RealPage Inc., a private equity-backed property management software company, in inflating rent prices. Last summer, a lawsuit was filed against RealPage by federal prosecutors and eight state attorneys general, accusing the company’s system of allowing landlords to coordinate rents and hinder competition. Two more state attorneys general have joined the lawsuit.
"RealPage’s services may enable landlords to raise rents even more aggressively, to the detriment of military families," the lawmakers wrote, urging the Department of Defense to examine whether landlords are using the company's system to inflate rental prices and to take action to protect service members from these practices.
The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit claims that RealPage's system has led to substantial rent increases near military bases in cities such as Houston, parts of Florida, San Diego, and Spokane, Washington. RealPage denies the allegations, asserting that its system is compliant with the law and promotes competition in the rental market.
In December, RealPage moved to dismiss the lawsuit, citing a previous court ruling that rejected the claim of a price-fixing conspiracy. The Justice Department and state attorneys general have since amended the complaint, adding six landlords allegedly involved in the “anticompetitive scheme.” RealPage is set to respond to the updated complaint this week.
In a statement, Warren called for an investigation, emphasizing the need to protect military families from exploitative housing practices. Gallego added that the Basic Housing Allowance is designed to support military families, not to line the pockets of corporate landlords.
Because a significant portion of active-duty service members live off-base, local rent prices directly impact them. The Department of Defense collects data from 300 military housing areas across the U.S. to determine the housing allowance, including information from the Consumer Price Index, Census Bureau surveys, and other sources. As rental prices rise, the Department has increased the housing allowance. In January, the allowance went up by an average of 5.4%, following similar increases in 2023 and 2022. This year, the Department is expected to allocate nearly $30 billion in housing allowances for one million service members.
Housing costs are especially burdensome in San Diego County, says Renee Villaman, whose husband is stationed at Camp Pendleton. The Villaman family is fortunate to live on base, but Renee noted that rents both on base and in surrounding areas seem to rise together, raising questions about the government’s role in the trend.
“When rent goes up in Oceanside, what’s driving up rent on government land here?” she wondered.
There are multiple factors contributing to rising housing costs, including higher interest rates that push more people into renting and a housing supply that hasn't kept up with demand. Research also points to the increasing influence of corporate and private equity-backed landlords, who have raised rents in some areas by purchasing single-family homes and apartment complexes.
As out-of-pocket housing costs rise, military families are less likely to recommend military service to others, according to Blue Star Families’ research.
“Military families’ financial stability is absolutely key, not only for the families living it but for our overall national security,” said Lindsay Knight, chief impact officer at Blue Star Families. “The more we can shore up military family security, the more resilient and robust our all-volunteer force will be.”
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