Army Housing Denying Us 3 Bedroom Home For 2 Kids!?

Question

I just moved onpost at Ft. Stewart, GA. They gave us a 2 bedroom, even though I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old of OPPOSITE sex. And if you have ever seen the rooms in the onpost housing here, you know there is no way they fit everything for 2 young children (the only way to fit 2 kids comfortably would be with bunkbeds but they are too young) Anyways, they told us we are not allowed a 3 bedroom house until our oldest was 5 years old and in school. Today I heard something about it being a Georgia law that children of the opposite sex in all government housing were required to be able to have their own rooms. Does anyone know of any truth to this rumor? One more question for anyone knowing of regulations when it comes to being on post...My 6 month old is starting to crawl and sit up and since we never got to see the apartment choices (inside them) except on what they looked like outside, he is stuck with bruised knees and way too many bumped heads, because have HARD FLOORS. I

Answer 1

Ya know, we lived in a 3 bedroom on post when my dad was a CSM when I was in highschool.

Two teenage boys and a teenage girl in the house.

We never once had a 4 bedroom house on post.

You want decent housing, then have your husband move in the barracks and move back home.

It's BS that they let married couples live in houses on post as E-1 thry E-4 anyway, while making single Platoon Sgt's live in a barracks.

Why should a married soldier, receive more BAH than a single soldiers does ??

It's not like they works harder.

Answer 2

First about the Ga law thing....it is true that children of the opposite sex are required to have separate rooms...BUT not at the age your children are. I was told that they have to be 5 years apart (this from a manager with a rental company)
As far as not liking the housing....I would see about the housing off post. You have more say in what you get and so you can make sure you get the amount of rooms and types of floors you want. (though with a 6 month old that's crawling you'd need everything padded if you wanted to avoid bumped and bruised knees and head so I'd put the floor type at the bottom of my must have list)
So all in all I'd just say to start looking around for better housing. The BAH should allow you to get decent housing. When we were at Ft Benning, Ga we had a 3 bedroom, 1600 sq ft apt w/ ammenities and we had money left to pay all the basic utilities and I'd think Ft Stewart would be about the same.....I know it's always supposed to be like that but it isn't so you should make sure you check what the BAH is there and ask the people at each apt complex what the utilities usually run in the size apt you want (Every place we've been at has been pretty accurate about that)
Good luck getting the housing you want. I know from personal experience that having housing you hate can make life pretty miserable. You just have to be proactive about solving the situation :-)

Answer 3

I lived with two of my parents in one room and slept in the same bed for 5 years. Then me and my mom rented a small room and shared a bed for 3 years. Try that, when you move into another country and you don't know the language, you get bullied and have no privacy because you share a house with 10 different people who you don't know, and you don't get any care because your mother works 18 hours per day. Still you have to go to school, cook, do shopping, homework, clean, iron and do everything like you're living alone. It was all because of money difficulties and stuff, it's all good now. When today I look back 6 years it's scary. That's how life is. Some good some bad.

Answer 4

I used to live in base housing and the rule they quote is correct. You don't rate a 3 bedroom place until one of the kids becomes school age.
Almost all base housing has hard floors. You can go buy carpet to fit the room and put it down to help with the sore knees. Besides, would you really want your infant crawling on carpet that was used by someone else that did God knows what in the room?
These are the rules on base housing, you'll either have to live with it, or rent a place out in town. Maybe you should be happy with what you got, free rent and utilities. A lot of people are on a long waiting list to have what you're complaining about.

And to 88Mikewife, I am VERY familiar with the military pay structure, more so most likely than you! I am still in the military and have been for 27 years! I know all about BAH and the housing market and what is required to rent out in town. We are entitled to decent housing by serving, its just that you don't seem to understand that what you desire and what the military offers are not always going to be the same.
I have gone and answered numerous complaints and inspected homes on base over the years made by young troops and their families as a representitve of the Command. Only a small number of the complaints were valid. In those, after I made my reports to the Command, I personally made sure the issues were fixed or the young troop and family were given new quarters immediately.
So again, I say the same thing, all the rules and regs are available for inspection by ANYONE thinking about moving into base housing. If the rules aren't to your liking, don't move into the housing.

Answer 5

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I was an Army kid in about the same situation as yours are. My father was an officer and we lived in base housing until I was 12. We lived in 2 bedroom housing until I went to kindergarten, then we got moved to a 3 bedroom house. I was 5 and my sister was 3. I don't remember having any problems with it. So, suck it up. At least you HAVE base housing.

When my wife and I moved up here to Fort Drum after she got stationed here, there was an 8 month wait list for housing. We wound up out in town, where rents have gone through the roof because of the base housing shortage. If she wasn't an officer, we would be living in a really crappy place.

When I was enlisted I hated hearing you spouses whine, and you know what, I don't like it any better now. I love how 88mikewife complained that the BAH would go straight out the window to pay rent. Well, that's what its FOR. Do you think that the Army should give you more money? Our BAH pays the rent and the utilities, and that's about it. Shut up, be happy you have housing, and go to Lowes and buy some cheap carpet scraps.

Answer 6

many housing areas have hard floors because it is cost efficent and it is less easier to damage if someon moves in with pets and kids they dont have to tear the carpet out if it gets ruined hensed the hard floars the px sells large area carpets that i know are big enought to cover a whole living room and there is regulations on children of the opposide sex sleeping in the same room but there is certain ages too because your youngest is 6 mos old im afraid nothing can be done for now about it if it were like a 5 year old and a 3 year old then something would have been done

all i can suggest is get some area rugs at the px like everyone else does and put your self on the waiting list for a 3 bedroom apt

the higher your husbands rank the better housing you will recieve they house according to rank also the army may not have had any 3 beddroom apts availble and had to give you a 2 bedroom

just simply go to housing and get your name on the list for a 3 bedroom it may be a long wait but its better than nothing

even if you couldnt see the inside you should have aksed questions about what you were moving in to any one with enought sense would have done that and atleast asked simple questions like how many bedrooms and bathrooms ect

ps beggars cant be choosers many people wait years to even get housing on post so be happy for what you got your children are still young and small they should be able to fit for now be gratefull for what you got some poeple have it way worse than what you do and quit complaining there are people that dont even have a home in this world there are some people in this world that some how live in dirt floor one room huts with 13 kids im sure you can manage with what you got

i kind of agree with the person above me the military lifestyle is a hard life if you cant take the heat then get out of the kitchen you are not going to get everything that you want!!!

Answer 7

Housing regs state that until the oldest child is 5, then opposite sex children can live in the same bedroom. With same sex children, they can stay in the same bedroom until the oldest is 10. Depending on what housing is available, the Army is well within its right to only issue you a 2 bedroom house. Doesn't really matter what Georgia says, federal wins!
As for hardwood floors... we've never had carpeting in our base housing. Our girls grew up, learned to crawl and walk, on hard wood floor. As they got older they also learned that you don't spray furniture polish on hardwood floors!!

If you don't like housing... rent something on the economy! It's a privilege, not a right!

Answer 8

Several things come to mind. It's the military..the whole lowest bidder thing. Hardwood floors are obvious cause carpet is too expensive to maintain and replace with every tenant change. I am sure if you wanted to go to somewhere like Home Depot and have them lay down carpet without permanently attaching it to the flooring, they'd install it that way.
Do they even have a 3BDR available for you? If not, have you checked to see if you can get a place off post and get compensated. A friend of mine had to do this cause there wasn't anything on post at Ft. Lee, VA to accomodate his wife and three kids. And, I KNOW that Ft. Lee has a much smaller permanent party than Stewart does. So, more ppl at Stewart, more the units get filled up.
If you think there is some sort of law requiring some standard, check with JAG. They'll let you know. If you don't want that, check with a civilian attorney. Technically though, a house on a military installation is NOT "government housing". That term refers to Housing Development Communities or what used to be called projects. [Gotta be politcally correct nowadays.]
No offense, but bottom line, enjoy your rent free accomodations no matter how small you may perceive them to be.
Edit after reading another answerer: Why would you expect money alloted to pay for housing to also pay for tickets to the movies or whatever? It is rent and utilities money, money for other things is what your real paycheck is for. And, I am very familiar with the pay structure in the military [which I am SURE is a lot more now than when I was in] and I am familiar with the cost of living out here in the civilian world. I'd love some free money from the gov't to pay things like utilities and mortgage, but I realise that comes out of my regular pay check. Boy I sure do miss all those extra pay categories I qualified for when I was in. About the only type of "extra" I get now is overtime. Still haven't convinced my employer to pay me an extra alottment for rent, write me a note so I don't pay sales tax at the grocery store, 100% of my medical & dental insurance premiums, etc. I really miss all that. YES, you are entitled to perks and benefits because your husband signed the dotted line. However, you are not entitled to be given $1000.00 of extra money [extra meaning above your paycheck] for something that will cost you $750.00. If you really want to live in a mansion, go become a doctor or attorney.

Answer 9

military family housing rules stipulate that all children under age 6 share a bedroom, regardless of gender. only rarely is this enforced Stateside, but as you can see, it can be enforced, especially when the availability of base housing is limited.

I doubt there is such a state Law and even if there were, MFH is private housing, not state, and thus wouldn't fall under that jurisdiction anyway. especially if it is PPV.

Get carpeting. You didn't have to accept MFH, you had the option of taking your BAH and living on the economy.

Answer 10

Military installations are federal installations and are governed by federal law as opposed to state law. That's why in the old days GIs could drink on base, but not off base in many states.

p.s. moving into base housing is a voluntary thing, if you didn't like what was being offered, you could have just moved to a place off-base...

Don't mean to be ugly, but sometimes people get more than they are entitled to, and then others complain because they didn't get more than they were entitled to...that's one of the problems with preferential treatment....

good luck

Answer 11

You were offered housing in accordance to housing regulations. You did not have to accept. Why didn't you look off base? Anyway, the housing regulations are the same everywhere, it's not just in GA.

GA law does NOT take precedent over housing regulations (federal law).

If you don't have enough room for the stuff, perhaps you should consider e-bay.

Buy carpet.

BTW, you won't like my answer, but complaining in here does NOTHING TO HELP YOU!