WASHINGTON, DC (November 12, 2026) – The Military Housing Association (MHA) today marked the 30th anniversary of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), recognizing three decades of public-private partnership that has helped transform military family housing, support the readiness of the force, and strengthen the accountability, oversight, and resident protections that guide the program.
Congress authorized MHPI in 1996 in response to a national military housing crisis. Roughly 60% of military family housing was considered substandard, waitlists at many installations stretched for months or even years, and the federal government faced a repair and construction backlog estimated at more than $20 billion. Housing conditions were widely recognized as a quality-of-life and readiness concern. Through MHPI, the government contributed land and existing housing while private-sector partners brought capital, development expertise, and long-term property management.
Today, 79 MHPI projects include approximately 200,000 homes. Approximately $4 billion in government investment has leveraged more than $32 billion in privately funded development – roughly eight private dollars for every federal dollar. That investment has helped eliminate nearly 142,000 inadequate homes and has supported the construction of more than 75,000 new homes and the substantial renovation of approximately 50,000 others. MHPI owners and operators employ approximately 7,000 people nationwide, with thousands more supported through contractors, skilled trades, and local vendors.
That investment is about more than buildings. Quality housing is part of how the nation supports a ready force. When military families have stable, quality homes, service members are better able to focus on the mission and housing becomes one less burden in decisions about continuing to serve. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Omar Jones experienced that transformation personally. “I lived in military housing before and after privatization, and I would not trade back,” said Jones, who commanded U.S. Army Installation Management Command and now advises MHA. “As a commander, I saw how much a family’s home shapes a service member’s readiness. This anniversary is an opportunity to recognize what MHPI has accomplished, acknowledge where it fell short, and recommit to the families it exists to serve.”
MHA’s anniversary observance also acknowledges the challenges the program has faced, including those brought to light in 2019, when reporting on housing conditions at some installations prompted congressional hearings. Contributing factors included reduced government oversight capacity following 2013 sequestration and reductions in the housing allowance service members receive that lowered project revenues available for maintenance and reinvestment. In response, Congress, the Department of War, the military services, and housing partners worked together to strengthen the program’s accountability framework, including a Tenant Bill of Rights, a formal dispute resolution process, tenant advocates, standardized leases, move-in and move-out inspections, a Chief Housing Officer, and incentive fees more closely tied to resident outcomes.
“Congress acted, the industry implemented, and military families are better off for it,” Jones said. “Accountability mechanisms were built into the foundation of MHPI, and they have grown stronger over time. That foundation, and the partnership behind it, is what allowed the program to adapt and improve.”
MHA views the anniversary as both a milestone and a commitment to the next 30 years. Long-term ground leases and project agreements are designed for sustained stewardship, and MHA members are focused on what comes next: continued reinvestment in homes and infrastructure as communities age, modernized maintenance and resident communication, and programs that help military families feel at home wherever they are stationed. Shared performance data, resident feedback, and military oversight will continue to help housing partners identify issues early and improve outcomes.
Sustaining that progress will depend on the partnership itself. Continued collaboration among Congress, the Department of War, the military services, installation leaders, residents, and MHPI partners, supported by stable and predictable project revenues, will be essential to keeping communities strong and projects financially sustainable for future generations. “The next 30 years must be defined by continued reinvestment, strong oversight, and partnership,” Jones said. “A ready force depends on ready families, and ready families depend on homes and communities they can count on. Military families deserve housing and support worthy of their service. That was the mission in 1996, and it remains the mission today.”
Throughout the anniversary campaign, MHA will share program milestones, family and partner perspectives, information about resident rights and resources, the role housing plays in military readiness, and examples of continued investment across MHPI communities.