HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Help is on the way for military families experiencing problems with their housing, Sen. Tim Kaine told military families during a roundtable discussion in Norfolk on Wednesday.
Families have been complaining for years about issues like mold, water damage and more. Both Kaine and Senator Mark R. Warner introduced legislation to protect military families living in private housing.
"It makes me angry because when it hits the news you would think the companies would decide, 'We've gotta be on our best behavior for a while.' To me, it's proof we need to make these reforms."
Part of the Defense Authorization Act will increase the controls military families have in these situations, creating a tenants' bill of rights. He also wants to see a database created where families can find a listing of issues people have reported about housing companies.
"They'll have rights that tenant should have, including the ability hold monies if you're not being treated right," Kaine said.
Kaine says part of the problem is with the military. He says they've grown lax on making sure the housing is up to par, but says the bill will put more pressure on them. He says housing companies better be responsive. "We're going to make sure that we're bird dogging them now and they're going to have to improve or their contracts are going to be canceled," Kaine said.
News 3 has been reporting on issues at Lincoln Military Homes for nearly a decade. In 2011, dozens of families came forward to detail how their homes were filled with mold.
During his swing through Hampton Roads, Kaine also toured the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
The facility is a Department of Energy nuclear physics national laboratory that provides world-class research and programs designed to help educate the next generation in science and technology.
