Air Force chaplain files lawsuit over moldy conditions in Texas base housing

An Air Force chaplain and his family were sickened after moving into a home on a Texas base filled with mold, chipping lead paint and constant leaks, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Travis Allen, his wife Stacey Allen and their daughter moved to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Air Force Base in July 2022, and the chaplain described his experience that followed as an “utter betrayal” that he would not have believed possible if he hadn’t lived it.

“As I proudly wear my nation’s cloth, and support and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies, foreign and domestic, who is supporting and defending our family from the violence Hunt Military Communities visited upon us in the unsafe and insufficient homes they failed to properly repair and maintain?” Travis Allen said. “Our family experienced betrayal trauma from the lack of support from Joint Base San Antonio Texas senior uniform and civilian leadership at the tactical and operational level.”

He filed the lawsuit against AETC II Privatized Housing, which is part of Hunt Military Communities, in the Western District of Texas, alleging breach of contract, breach of implied warranty of habitability and common law fraud. The lawsuit requests a jury trial.

“The Allen family trusted these companies, which collectively have been paid billions of dollars, to provide safe housing while Lt. Col. Allen served our country,” James Moriarty, an attorney for the Allen family, said in a statement. “Instead, like so many military families, they were forced to endure persistent leaks, mold, lead hazards and repeated assurances that serious problems had been fixed.”

Nine families filed similar lawsuits against Hunt using the same legal team seven years ago alleging similar conditions in housing at Randolph. A jury awarded one of those families more than $91,000. The remaining cases are pending settlement outside of court, according to online court records.

This lawsuit from the Allen family seeks accountability from Hunt, Moriarty said.

Hunt declined to comment on the pending litigation but disputes the allegations in the lawsuit, Carolyn Baker, Hunt Military Communities spokesperson, said in a statement.

“We remain committed to providing safe, well-maintained housing to military members and their families and take all maintenance-related concerns seriously. We have established processes to assess and address reported issues, provide ongoing training for our staff, and engage qualified third-party professionals when specialized services are necessary,” she said.

Hunt manages more than 60,600 homes at 59 military bases, according to the company. It is one of several private companies contracted by the Defense Department to maintain and lease the homes on bases in the U.S.

When Travis Allen was offered the home he eventually leased at Randolph he had to first spend time in temporary lodging while necessary repairs were made, according to the lawsuit. That included fixing a leak.

The officer signed the lease in the kitchen of the home while work occurred throughout.

“Despite the assurances of the Landlord Companies, the family lived with high humidity, constant plumbing leaks, mold, lead paint chips, and roaches for a year and a half until they were ultimately displaced for repair work,” according to the lawsuit.

Pest control came twice to spray the home, but the worker told the family he could not spray under the home because there was too much standing water, according to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Travis Allen’s daughter, then 10 years old, began to develop respiratory allergies and asthma that she did not have before moving in. She tested positive for lead in her blood.

Travis Allen’s health also began to suffer while in the home, and he was diagnosed with an underlying autoimmune disease. Treatments would not start to make an impact until after the family moved out, according to the lawsuit.

In December 2023, officials from Hunt told the Allen family the plumbing under their home had been completely redone, yet they were displaced the following month for more remediation.

The temporary unfurnished home they moved to also had a mold problem in the heating and cooling system, according to the lawsuit. The remediation, scheduled for two weeks, turned into six months.

“The family hired their own inspector for both homes. Extensive mold was found in both homes and although they never saw mice or rats while they lived there, the crawl space at [the temporary home] was covered in multiple layers of mouse and rat feces,” according to the lawsuit.

The family moved off base in July 2024, and both homes remain vacant, according to the lawsuit.

Before filing a lawsuit, Travis Allen said he first went through informal and formal dispute resolution procedures with housing and Randolph leadership. He also conducted six congressional inquiries through two members of the House and four senators. However, he said these avenues failed to bring accountability.

“Our family felt the only path to bring Hunt Military Communities to justice was to file a lawsuit to hold them accountable for not properly repairing or maintaining the home we rented from them and the hospitality suite we were displaced to due to mold,” he said.