Service members stationed on Guam receive the Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) rather than the stateside Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) because Guam is classified as an Outside Continental United States (OCONUS) duty location, and although lawmakers on Guam and researchers inside the military have pushed to switch Guam to BAH, no transition has taken effect as of early 2026.
Why Guam Troops Get OHA, Not BAH
The military splits its duty stations into Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside Continental United States (OCONUS). Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory in the western Pacific, is OCONUS, and that single label decides which allowance applies.1DTIC. Transitioning Guam From OHA to BAH The authority for both programs sits in 37 U.S.C. § 403, which draws a line between housing allowances “inside the United States” and those “outside the United States.”2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC § 403 – Basic Allowance for Housing
Alaska and Hawaii are also technically OCONUS. In 1986, Congress moved them onto the CONUS-based housing allowance system through the Department of Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1986. That remains the only time an OCONUS location has been given BAH-style treatment in place of a cost-reimbursement program.3U.S. Government Accountability Office. Military Housing Allowances in Alaska and Hawaii
Guam itself is treated as a “non-foreign overseas area” for federal personnel purposes. It is not a foreign country, no Status of Forces Agreement exists, and residents hold full U.S. constitutional protections. Even so, locality pay is not authorized for federal civilian employees there, and service members fall under the overseas allowance regime.4Secretary of the Navy. Guam Area Information
How OHA and BAH Actually Differ for a Service Member
The two allowances are built on opposite principles. BAH is a flat monthly payment set from median housing costs in a Military Housing Area, adjusted for pay grade and dependency status. If a member finds housing below the BAH rate, they keep the difference. There is no lease verification and no individual approval.1DTIC. Transitioning Guam From OHA to BAH
OHA is a cost-based reimbursement with three separate pieces:
- A rental allowance that reimburses actual rent up to a rank-based ceiling. The ceiling is set so that 80 percent of members with dependents have their rent fully covered; members without dependents receive 90 percent of the with-dependent rate.5Defense Travel Management Office. Overseas Housing Allowance
- A utility and recurring maintenance allowance for utilities and minor repairs, set at the 80th percentile of costs reported by service members. Members without dependents who pay their own utilities receive 75 percent of the with-dependent rate.5Defense Travel Management Office. Overseas Housing Allowance
- A Move-In Housing Allowance (MIHA) covering one-time costs such as making a dwelling habitable, nonrefundable landlord fees, and, in some locations, security or safety modifications.6Department of Defense. DoD Overseas Station and Housing Allowance Process Guide
To draw OHA, a member has to submit a DD Form 2367 with a valid lease, which is reviewed and approved by the designated military authority. On Guam, OHA surveys run each year between January 1 and March 31, and rental allowance rates are reviewed every six months.7Defense Travel Management Office. OHA Data Collection and Surveys The utility allowance is updated annually from survey data, and the miscellaneous component of MIHA is recalculated every three years.8Department of Defense. OHA Fact Sheet
The practical takeaway: OHA is “use it or lose it.” A member who finds a unit below the cap does not pocket the savings; the government just pays less. Under BAH, the savings belong to the member. That single design difference is the source of most of the policy debate on Guam.
How OHA Rates Shape Guam’s Rental Market
Because service members on OHA have no financial reason to negotiate a lower rent, landlords on Guam routinely price to the OHA ceiling. A 2013 Center for Naval Analyses study found that landlords are legally permitted to “price discriminate” based on a tenant’s OHA level and that service members rent units “considerably larger” than BAH standards would support. A local realtor quoted in the study said it is “very difficult to compete with the military renter because of the generous housing allowance.”9Pacific Island Times. How the Military Housing Allowance Structure Warps Guam’s Rental Market
Guam Senator William Parkinson has described the result as a “two-tier market”: federally subsidized military renters bidding up prices while local families compete for the same units without similar support.9Pacific Island Times. How the Military Housing Allowance Structure Warps Guam’s Rental Market Median rent on the island has roughly doubled over the past decade, two-bedroom apartments regularly list at $2,000 or more, and more than 50 percent of Guam households are considered housing cost-burdened.
The gap is stark in dollar terms. As of January 2026, even a single service member at the lowest rank with no dependents receives $2,250 per month for rent and $1,189.50 for utilities and maintenance under OHA.10Guam Pacific Daily News. Call to Change Military Housing Allowances Gets Some Support, but Realtors Opposed The average Guam civilian earns roughly $3,246 per month before taxes.11Prism Reports. Guam Military Marines Housing
These pressures are climbing as the Department of Defense expands its Guam footprint. About 5,000 Marines and 1,300 of their family members are relocating from Okinawa to the new Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, and the island’s military population is projected to grow from roughly 17,000 in fiscal year 2024 to nearly 24,000 by fiscal year 2033.12Guam Pacific Daily News. Underwood to Military: Rethink Scale of Mission on Guam Over Housing Shortage In September 2025, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific solicited 2,400 off-base housing units — 1,600 for families and 800 for unaccompanied personnel — from Guam’s existing private stock.13Pacific Island Times. Navy Seeks to Tap Guam’s Private Sector to Supply 2,400 Military Housing Units
The Push to Switch Guam to BAH
The most detailed proposal comes from a research paper by a U.S. Air Force major, published through the Defense Technical Information Center. It is an academic recommendation rather than an official DoD or congressional proposal, but its arguments have moved into local and federal debate.1DTIC. Transitioning Guam From OHA to BAH
The cost case: the CNA study projected that moving Guam to BAH would cut long-term DoD housing allowance costs by at least 6 percent, mainly because BAH rates would be pegged to median housing costs rather than reimbursing whatever a member spends up to a ceiling.9Pacific Island Times. How the Military Housing Allowance Structure Warps Guam’s Rental Market
The equity case: under OHA, service members who live with family or without a formal lease can be disqualified from receiving any housing allowance at all. BAH does not care whether a member owns, rents, or shares a dwelling, so it would close those eligibility gaps.1DTIC. Transitioning Guam From OHA to BAH
The fraud case: a 2010 Air Force Office of Special Investigations inquiry uncovered what it called a “systemic problem” of fraudulent housing leases on Guam going back to 1998. A follow-on Air Force Audit Agency review covering 2007 through 2011 put the Air Force’s potential monetary exposure at roughly $687,000. Members had submitted fake documentation, including leases from relatives with whom they shared a home, and “double digit cases” were prosecuted in U.S. District Court. The findings tightened OHA regulations across all OCONUS locations. Because BAH does not require lease verification, moving to it would largely close off that type of fraud.1DTIC. Transitioning Guam From OHA to BAH
Advocates keep coming back to the Alaska and Hawaii precedent. Before 1986, both states used a program called “Rent Plus,” which was functionally similar to today’s OHA and was found to be driving up local housing costs, particularly on Oahu. The FY1986 Authorization Act repealed Rent Plus for those states and moved them to the Variable Housing Allowance, the predecessor of today’s BAH, with a grandfather clause protecting members already receiving the old benefit.3U.S. Government Accountability Office. Military Housing Allowances in Alaska and Hawaii
Senator Parkinson has argued that a switch to BAH would “remove one of the most powerful inflationary forces in the market” by giving service members a reason to seek reasonably priced housing.14Post Guam. The Rent Is Too High: Lowering Rental Cost With the Free Market by Converting From OHA to BAH
The Arguments Against Switching
The Guam Association of Realtors formally opposes the change. At a January 2026 hearing on Resolution 117-38, GAR representative Monty McDowell warned that a “pocketable” allowance would push military personnel into direct competition with civilians for lower-cost rental units in the $1,200 to $2,000 range, the same tier local families depend on.10Guam Pacific Daily News. Call to Change Military Housing Allowances Gets Some Support, but Realtors Opposed
GAR also raised a technical objection: because OHA has shaped the market for so long, “a normal market price may not currently exist on Guam,” which makes it hard to calibrate an accurate BAH rate. Set the rate too high and inflated costs get locked in for years; set it too low and members face a significant income shock.
Some military families and housing officials have also flagged the loss of the separate utility allowance. Utility costs on Guam are notably high, with power customers facing significant fuel surcharges, and under BAH those costs would be folded into a single flat payment rather than reimbursed on their own.15Guam Pacific Daily News. Misunderstandings About Military Housing Allowances
GHURA Deputy Director Fernando Esteves has offered a different critique. He noted that OHA lets military personnel rent three-bedroom homes regardless of household size, with no “right-sizing” requirement, while local families of five struggle to find anything available. His concern was less about which allowance system to use and more about the absence of constraints on the type of unit service members occupy.10Guam Pacific Daily News. Call to Change Military Housing Allowances Gets Some Support, but Realtors Opposed
Where Things Stand in 2026
In November 2025, Senator Parkinson introduced Resolution 117-38 in the Guam Legislature, formally urging the U.S. Congress and the Department of Defense to transition Guam from OHA to BAH.16Post Guam. Resolution Seeks Remedy for Housing Crisis The resolution pointed out that the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act had already directed the Department of Defense to re-evaluate OHA and report on the appropriateness of a switch to BAH.14Post Guam. The Rent Is Too High: Lowering Rental Cost With the Free Market by Converting From OHA to BAH Internal discussions continue at the Defense Travel Management Office, but no transition has been implemented.
The FY2026 NDAA, signed into law on December 21, 2025, included Section 1102 expanding Living Quarters Allowance authority for DoD civilians on Guam, $105 million for 250 new family housing units, and implementation directives for a housing market analysis.17Office of Congressman James Moylan. President Signs FY2026 NDAA Into Law Delivering Major Guam Wins It did not include a provision moving service members on Guam from OHA to BAH. For now, if you are stationed on Guam, you draw OHA, submit a DD Form 2367 with your lease, and receive the rental, utility, and MIHA components separately.