Development and implementation of minimum health and safety standards for military family housing

(a) Standards (1) Initial guidance (A) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue interim guidance for acceptable levels of relative humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water intrusion to be applied at all covered housing. (B) Effect Interim guidance issued under subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect until final standards are published under paragraph (2). (2) Final standards Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue final standards for acceptable levels of relative humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water intrusion to be applied at all covered housing, which shall include— (A) acceptable levels of relative humidity indoors; (B) required ventilation and moisture control measures; (C) environmental inspection and testing methods; and (D) the standard of care for mold remediation adopted under subsection (f). (3) Reporting and availability of testing The final standards established under paragraph (2) shall require results of environmental inspection and testing methods under subparagraph (C) of such paragraph to be reported to the Secretary of Defense and made available to tenants of affected housing units not later than 10 days after sample collection. (b) Certification of compliance Not less frequently than annually, each housing office of the Department shall certify to Congress that the housing office is in compliance with health and safety standards for covered housing required under this section. (c) Establishment of independent inspection protocol for privatized military housing (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each installation of the Department of Defense conducts, using independent certified third-party inspectors, mold and environmental health inspections for all covered housing that is privatized military housing— (A) upon receipt of any tenant complaint regarding safety and habitability of a housing unit; and (B) following any remediation effort, structural repair, or response to an identified environmental hazard at a housing unit. (2) Elements of inspections Inspections conducted under paragraph (1) shall include, at minimum— (A) evaluation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, plumbing, electrical systems, and structural integrity; (B) inspection for signs of water intrusion, dampness, humidity, visible or non-visible mold, microbial growth, and other indoor air quality concerns; (C) review of current and past work order records and completion timelines; and (D) review of contractor compliance with privatized military housing contract requirements and housing regulations of the Department of Defense. (3) Recording and maintenance of records All findings of inspections conducted under paragraph (1) shall be— (A) recorded in a standardized Federal Government inspection record; (B) certified by the inspector with a clear pass or fail status; (C) maintained in an accessible, historical housing record for each housing unit; and (D) made available to the relevant installation commander and military housing office. (4) Documentation and submission of results The commander of each installation of the Department shall— (A) document results of inspections conducted under paragraph (1); and (B) submit the results of such inspections to— (i) the Secretary; (ii) the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Defense; and (iii) the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. (5) Access and transparency Inspection reports certified under paragraph (3)(B) and housing history records required under paragraph (3)(C) shall be— (A) provided in full to current tenants of the inspected unit; (B) made available upon request to any incoming tenants; and (C) maintained in a secure portal accessible to staff of the relevant military housing office, the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and military family advocacy personnel. (6) Remediation or tenant relocation In the case of a housing unit failing inspection conducted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that the unit is remediated or the tenants of such unit are relocated not later than 30 days after such failed inspection, if such tenants wish to be relocated. (d) Requirements for privatized military housing (1) Health and safety standards for military housing The Secretary of each military department shall ensure that all housing project agreements and renewals for privatized military housing under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this Act are compliant with the appropriate environmental health and safety standards established by the Department of Defense. (2) Future contract agreements and renewals For all housing project agreements and renewals for privatized military housing entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and to the extent practicable for agreements in place as of such date of enactment, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall incorporate enforceable provisions related to environmental hazard response, inspection, and tenant relocation protections which shall include— (A) enforceable environmental health and safety clauses; and (B) requirements that providers of privatized military housing bear full financial responsibility for— (i) required third-party inspections; (ii) maintenance; (iii) mold remediation; (iv) all relocation expenses for military families forced to vacate uninhabitable units; (v) property loss; and (vi) refunding any amounts paid through a basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37, United States Code, for military families forced to vacate uninhabitable units. (e) Certification requirements for mold assessment and remediation The Secretary shall ensure that all maintenance personnel, contracted mold assessors, indoor environmental professionals, and mold remediators responsible for assessing or remediating mold and water damage in covered housing shall possess and maintain current certifications issued by a nationally recognized, third-party, nonprofit certifying body, which may include the following: (1) The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification. (2) The National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors. (3) The American Council for Accredited Certification. (f) Standard of care for mold remediation All mold remediation activities conducted in covered housing shall comply with the American National Standards Institute and Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation, Fourth Edition, or any subsequent edition published by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification or successor organization. (g) Issuance of guidance Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1) issue guidance with respect to the implementation of this section; and (2) provide written notification to all providers of privatized military housing regarding the requirements of this section. (h) Withholding and abatement of amounts for privatized military housing units (1) In general The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall establish procedures to allow a tenant living in a unit of privatized military housing that receives a failed inspection result under this section to withhold or abate payment of the basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37, United States Code, for such unit. (2) Period The Secretary of Defense shall permit withholding or abatement under paragraph (1) of payment of the basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37, United States Code, for a unit of privatized military housing during any period in which the unit maintains a failed inspection and until the violations are remedied. (3) Release of payment Amounts withheld or abated under paragraph (1) with respect to a unit of privatized military housing shall be released if— (A) all violations are remediated; and (B) an independent inspector provides a written certification to the Secretary of the military department concerned verifying such remediation and the compliance of such unit with the requirements under this section. (4) Continued noncompliance If deficiencies in compliance with the requirements under this section are not corrected within a 30-day period— (A) the owner or operator of the affected unit of privatized military housing shall not have a right to receive current, future, withheld, or abated payments; (B) amounts withheld or abated under paragraph (1) may be returned to the tenant; and (C) the Secretary concerned shall— (i) pursue additional contractual remedies, including termination of the authority of the owner or operator of the affected unit to provide privatized military housing; and (ii) ensure that ongoing violations with respect to such unit are disclosed to any prospective tenant before they enter into a rental agreement for such unit. (5) Protection of tenants (A) In general An owner of a unit of privatized military housing may not terminate the tenancy of any tenant because of the withholding or abatement of payment pursuant to paragraph (1). (B) Authority of tenant to terminate During the period that payment is withheld or abated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a unit of privatized military housing, the tenant of such unit may terminate the tenancy by notifying the owner of such unit. (6) Administrative structure The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall administer this subsection by conducting or authorizing inspections, certifying clearance inspections, administering withholding and abatement functions, and enforcing payment conditions in a manner similar to that used by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). (i) Public reporting requirements Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall publish on a publicly available website of the Department of Defense, with respect to covered housing— (1) the number of mold complaints received, disaggregated by installation of the Department; (2) the results of inspections under this section and compliance rates; (3) remediation timelines and costs; and (4) the number of relocations made. (j) Definitions In this section: (1) Acceptable levels of relative humidity The term acceptable levels of relative humidity, with respect to an area, means an area with humidity levels that are less than 50 percent. (2) Covered housing The term covered housing means any military family housing owned, leased, or managed by the Department of Defense, including privatized military housing. (3) Environmental inspection and testing methods The term environmental inspection and testing methods means detailed visual inspection substantiated by mold testing measures that include air sampling, tape lifts, swabs, and carpet samples, and official laboratory analysis of such samples. (4) Mold The term mold means any form of multi-cellular fungi found in water-damaged indoor environments and building materials, including, cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium, chaetomium, trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum, streptomyces, and epicoccumoften. (5) Privatized military housing The term privatized military housing means military housing under subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code.