Europe
Military personnel asked to take part in housing allowance survey
Stars and Stripes
March 4, 2015
The military is asking uniformed personnel in Germany to take part in an annual survey used to set utility and recurring maintenance allowances.
The survey is voluntary, but its results are “instrumental in ensuring accurate housing allowance rates for military families living off post,” according to a U.S. Army Europe news release.
All military personnel living in private rentals or leased housing off base can participate in the survey. Participants are asked to report all of their utility expenses from the previous year.
The survey takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete, according to the Defense Travel Management Office, which sets overseas allowance rates.
Last year’s survey resulted in a $14-per-month increase in utility allowances, and previous surveys have boosted the allowance by even more, according to USAREUR.
The survey is available at https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/oha-util-mar.cfm and continues through the end of March.
Spouses are authorized to take the survey in the place of deployed or otherwise unavailable personnel.