H.R. 7188 — MOLD Act

This section sets forth congressional findings on deficiencies in privatized military housing, including negligent maintenance leading to hazardous conditions such as widespread mold exposure; financial burdens on military families for relocation, property loss, and medical costs; impacts on military readiness, morale, and unit cohesion; inadequate oversight and lack of independent audits; use of non-disclosure agreements to silence tenants; health risks such as respiratory illness and developmental issues in children linked to mold; and absence of TRICARE coverage (as defined in 10 U.S.C. §1072) for mold-related medical expenses including diagnostic testing and treatment. The findings note that approximately 700,000 service members and families reside in such housing operated by 14 companies across 78 U.S. developments and cite contractor fraud instances, including a 2021 guilty plea for falsifying maintenance records and a 2022 $500,000 federal settlement.

This section directs the Secretary of Defense to issue interim guidance within 180 days of enactment and final standards within one year of enactment for acceptable levels of relative humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water intrusion in all covered housing, including specified inspection and testing methods with results reported to the Secretary and tenants within 10 days of sample collection. It further requires (1) annual certifications of compliance by each Department of Defense housing office to Congress; (2) an independent third-party inspection protocol for privatized military housing (i.e., under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, 10 U.S.C. §§2871 et seq.) at each installation within 180 days of enactment, covering tenant turnover, complaints, and post-remediation with evaluations of HVAC, plumbing, mold, work orders, and contractor compliance, standardized pass/fail records submitted to the Secretary, Inspector General, and Armed Services Committees, and accessible to tenants and others; (3) remediation or tenant relocation within 30 days for failed units if tenants wish; and (4) a 24/7 hotline and website via the Defense Housing Feedback System for complaints with responses within five business days, progress tracking, and public anonymized data by installation. Finally, it requires all new or renewed privatized military housing project agreements to comply with these Department standards.