BAH rates to rise by an average of 6.9%

[unhappycamper]

Basic Allowance for Housing
2009 rates increase.


BAH rates to rise by an average of 6.9%
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 15, 2008 17:27:33 EST

Service members will receive a slightly smaller average housing allowance next year than they received a year ago.

Overall, the Pentagon will spend about $17.4 billion on the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2009, about $100 million less than in 2008.

The average 6.9 percent increase represents a 0.4 percent decline from the 2008 nationwide average. The number of locations where rates went up actually expanded, but the increases generally were not as large as in 2007, said Susan Brumbaugh, director of the Pentagon’s BAH program.

The new rates, which take effect Jan. 1, were announced Monday.

BAH is designed to cover service members’ off-base rental housing costs. It’s calculated using a complex formula that looks at median current rental rates, the average cost of utilities, and renter’s insurance rates for various types of h ousing in each of 369 housing markets across the 50 states.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/12152008tns_bahrates/%2e