Warren, Ossoff, Jacobs Lead Reintroduction of the Restore Military Families' Voices Act

Warren, Ossoff, Jacobs Lead Reintroduction of the Restore Military Families' Voices Act

Bill would protect military families from abusive landlords

Text of Bill (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA) led the reintroduction of the Restore Military Families' Voices Act, which would bar private military housing companies from requesting that tenants sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) as a condition of housing and related services. It would also strengthen existing tenant protections against landlord retaliation in private military housing. In the Senate, this bill is cosponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Many military families living in private housing, both on and off-base, are forced to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions with little-to-no recourse to hold landlords accountable. In some cases, landlords have required service members to sign NDAs when they ask for housing repairs or reimbursements for financial losses that military families incur due to poor housing conditions. This practice allows companies to silence military families when they attempt to seek recourse for poor housing conditions and avoid accountability for providing military families with subpar housing.

The Restore Military Families' Voices Act would:

• Bar landlords from requesting that tenants sign NDAs. While requiring NDAs as a condition of housing is already prohibited under current law, this bill would ban landlords from even requesting that service members sign NDAs given the power imbalance between them and their tenants.
• Expand NDA protections to cover all housing services and privatized military housing tenants. Current legal protections regarding the use of NDAs only extend to the start of a lease, renewal of a lease, or end of a lease for servicemembers. This bill would strengthen these protections to apply to both the provision of housing and any related services by private landlords.
• End the loophole that allows landlords to require NDAs for legal settlements. A loophole under existing law allows landlords to require NDAs in connection with legal settlements. This bill would close that loophole and prohibit this practice to protect tenants.
• Strengthen tenant protections against retaliation in privatized military housing. This bill clarifies that tenants of private military housing have the right to report inadequate housing conditions to Members of Congress as well as the DoD's Chief Housing Officer and the Inspector General (IG) without fear of retaliation.
• Streamline the retaliation investigation reporting process, providing a more timely, transparent, and accurate process. This bill requires the IG to report the results of retaliation investigations to the Secretary of the military department concerned in addition to the Congressional Committees of jurisdiction.

"Too often, American military families are living in unsafe or unacceptable living conditions but are silenced or afraid to speak out," said Ranking Member Warren. "This bill will expand protections for military families, ensuring that they have access to adequate housing and do not have to fear retaliation for requesting the treatment they deserve."

"Privatized housing companies have abused non-disclosure agreements to take advantage of servicemembers and military families," Sen. Ossoff said. "I am introducing the Restore Military Families' Voices Act with Senator Warren to ensure that servicemembers and their families have quality housing and can freely report unsafe conditions without fear of retaliation."

"Our military families sacrifice so much for all of us, but they should never sacrifice their right to live in a safe home or to share their stories. But unfortunately, many of our service members and their families have experienced unsafe homes, and landlords and private companies have silenced them with NDAs," Rep. Sara Jacobs said. "We must ensure our military families receive the support they deserve, and a good step forward is to bar private military housing companies from asking military families to sign NDAs as a condition for housing services. I'm thrilled a version of this bill passed in the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act markup in the House last week."

This bill is endorsed by the National Military Family Association, the Military Housing Coalition, and Change the Air Foundation.

"Military families should never be afraid to speak out about mold, pests and other unsafe housing conditions," said Besa Pinchotti, CEO of the National Military Family Association. We're grateful to Senator Warren for introducing the Restore Military Families' Voices Act, which would prohibit privatized military housing companies from requesting NDAs and provide important protections for whistleblowers. Every military family deserves a safe and healthy home, and this legislation will help ensure their voices are heard when there's a problem."

"For too long, military families have faced barriers when raising concerns about their housing. This legislation protects their right to speak openly, strengthens safeguards against retaliation, and reinforces the accountability military families deserve," said the Military Housing Coalition.

Senator Warren has been a leader in raising concerns about problems with privatized military housing and led the push to protect military families:

• In February 2026, Senator Warren published new responses from the DoD revealing the Department had entered into another 50-year-lease to extend the privatization of military barracks at Fort Irwin, removing accountability measures and threatening to cause housing quality problems for servicemembers.
• In September 2025, Senator Warren pressed Department Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers about the potential privatization of military barracks, given the long history of substandard conditions and exploitative practices by providers of privatized military family housing.
• In April 2025, Senator Warren pressured Trump's nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Dale Marks, to commit to holding private military housing landlords accountable.
• In February 2025, Senators Warren and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) urged the Department of Defense to investigate whether landlords were utilizing RealPage price-setting software to artificially raise rents for military families.
• In December 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Jacobs reintroduced the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act, which would comprehensively reform the privatized military housing system.
• In July 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) led colleagues in calling out the Department of Defense (DoD) for failing to protect military families living in housing operated by private companies under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI).
• In May 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren led an annual hearing highlighting personnel priorities for the DoD and called for increased investments in military services, including military housing and child care, for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.
• In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Army Secretary Christine Wormuth on the need to increase military housing supply and the damaging impact of non-disclosure agreements between private landlords, servicemembers, and their families on housing safety at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
• In December 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced further enforcement of the Tenant Bill of Rights for military families as one of the key priorities passed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2024, as well as the creation of a working group made up of DoD officials and military families to ensure ongoing oversight of deficiencies in privatized military housing.
• In December 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting information on the DoD's plans to address the unhealthy prevalence of mold, lead-based paint, and asbestos in housing for America's servicemembers.
• In October 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raising concerns that Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) families had to pay out of pocket to modify their homes to meet their families' needs and asking for additional information about DoD's oversight of the program.
• In June 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with other Senate Armed Services Committee members, announced the reintroduction of the bipartisan Military Housing Readiness Council Act, which would provide a platform for oversight and accountability of privatized military housing to give military families a voice and bring together experts to ensure military families have the safe housing they deserve.
• In December 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing concern over reports that military families are being forced to sign non-disclosure agreements with privatized military housing companies in order to receive compensation for poor housing conditions.
• In December 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced her provisions to require military housing companies to disclose mold and the health effects of mycotoxins before a lease is signed were included in the FY 2023 NDAA
• In August 2022, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Military Housing Readiness Council Act, legislation that would ensure oversight and accountability on safe housing conditions for servicemembers and military families. The legislation would create a Military Housing Readiness Council comprised of DoD officials, servicemembers, military families, and military housing experts to ensure ongoing oversight of deficiencies in privatized military housing.
• In June 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced the Military Housing Oversight and Service member Protection Act as one of her key priorities for the FY 2023 NDAA. The proposal would ensure medical care for military families affected by unsafe housing by directing DoD to establish a health registry for all servicemembers and families and establishing a presumption of service-connected disability for servicemembers and lifetime medical care for dependents.
• In February 2022 during a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing, Elizabeth Warren pressed Pentagon nominees for tough oversight as they improve military housing conditions
• In July 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced improving military housing as one of her key priorities for FY 2022 NDAA
• In January 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Defense Secretary Austin for his public commitment to respond and make a priority to her requests about military housing issues during a SASC hearing
• In March 2021, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wrote to Defense Secretary Austin, and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, continuing the lawmakers' investigation into whether the largest military housing providers under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative are complying with federal laws that protect Americans with disabilities.
• In December 2020, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questioned the five largest private military housing providers about their reported failure to provide adequate housing to families with disabilities.
• In May 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren released the findings from her three-month-long investigation of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative and of five private companies that have contracts with the military services to provide on-base housing under the program. She sent letters to then-SASC Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and then-Ranking Member Jack Reed, and to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, to provide each with the results of her investigation, revealing how and why private military housing developers failed to meet basic housing standards, which in some cases resulted in severe health problems for military families.
• In April 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Representative Deb Haaland introduced the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act, a comprehensive bill to address a series of disturbing reports revealing unsafe and unsanitary conditions in privatized, on-base housing for military personnel and their families.

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