January 30, 2017 –
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – Beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, the Department of Defense made a change to the basic allowance for housing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
Service members in areas or pay grades set to receive the new BAH rates will see an average increase of $41 per month. The other service members who would receive a rate reduction due to the change will be grandfathered into their previous higher rate until they do a Permanent Change of Station move or receive a promotion. If they are promoted and their new rank receives a lower rate, they will continue to receive their previous higher rate.
BAH rate adjustments occur annually and can fluctuate each year when they are evaluated. However, this year the rates are designed to only cover 97 percent of service members housing cost, which was a one percent drop from last year.
“We encourage Airmen to use their BAH wisely especially when PCSing to a new duty station,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Vineyard, 633rd Comptroller Squadron military pay supervisor. “BAH must not be counted as a source of income. The allowance is specifically for housing and it should be used for that purpose.” According to Vineyard, each year the Finance office processes over 2,000 newly assigned Airman during in-processing, and on many occasions service members have difficulties finding places to rent that accommodates their income. He strongly recommends that service members who are new to the area seek counsel from their supervisors before they are released for house hunting.
“Too many service members are PCSing and looking at just rent with very little knowledge of the area,” said Vineyard. “We encourage them to do their research on the cost of living and seek rent that’s lower than their BAH.”
For a more information of BAH rates, visit www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bah.cfm.