MARKR. WARNER BANKING, HOUSING, AND Wnited States Senate su0oe WASHINGTON, DC 20510-4006 INTELLIGENCE ULES AND ADMINISTRATION May 13, 2019 Mr. Tim Byrne CEO & President Lincoln Property Company 2000 McKinney Avenue, Ste. 1000 Dallas, Texas 75201 Dear Mr. Byrne: Tam writing to follow up on a recent roundtable my office held with senior officials from Lincoln Military Housing (LMH) and the U.S. Navy, as well as military families who live in your homes in the Hampton Roads area, I was deeply dismayed, and frankly outraged, by LMH’s refusal at the roundtable to make concrete commitments to improve their housing and address these families” daily difficulties. I ask you to share a conerete plan for how LMH will tackle many of the deplorable conditions that have been documented As you well know, LMH manages more than 5,700 units throughout Hampton Roads at Little Creek, Naval Station Norfolk, Oceana, Wallops, Dahlgren, and Quantico, among other locations in the Commonwealth of Virginia for Navy and Marine Corps servicemembers. A Reuters investigation from November: subsequent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee by servicemembers, the military and the private companies; and numerous meetings and roundtables that my office has organized with servicemembers and their families, the military, and private companies have all highlighted a number of unacceptable problems in the Military Housing Privatization Initiative that must be addressed immediately. The status quo cannot be allowed to continue, and our military families deserve safe and healthy housing. Servicemembers and their families have raised the following problems in privatized military housing, including at housing managed by LMH: © Credentials: Maintenance providers contracted by the private companies are frequently not qualified and/or certified to fix health hazards and other problems in housing. Servicemembers complain of superficial fixes or outright failures to fix hazards in their homes, whether that be mold, leaks, or lead paint hazards. © Excessive Fees & Compensation: Many families have alleged that they are required to pay excessive fees and have little to no recourse to challenge the charges even when they are not at fault. Moreover, some families believe that they have no ability to demand compensation from the companies when their furnishings are ruined in their houses — due to leaks or mold, or when they must pay for relocation costs or hotel stays when their housing is inadequate. 1 ntguiwatnersenate gov+ Air quality: Numerous families across privatized military housing have specific concerns with air quality in their homes, with particular concern related to mold and mold spores. Many families I have spoken to report that some family members, including children, have had allergic and/or respiratory reactions to mold in their homes; we have heard trom others who have suffered from lead and carbon monoxide poisoning, ‘These families have faced significant obstacles in getting more information and/or the resolution they need from private companies. * Comnnutication: Across the Commonwealth, we have heard concerns about a lack of transparency and inadequate communication between servicemembers and contractors about health hazards in homes, including lead and mold, the status of work orders, and the resolution of hazards. This has shown a disrespect for the needs of these families. Any plan must specifically consider the concerns outlined above and also address the following questions: 1) How will you improve your communication with tenants, so that the tenants and the military services have greater transparency regarding the safety of their homes, beginning, at move-in, as well as the status of work orders? Will you consider using an electronic sysiem, with a mobile app, which would enable tenants, military service representatives and the companies to track work orders in real-time? 2) How will you better resolve disputes between LMH and the tenants themselves, whether related to disputes over damages, fees, or whether or not a problem has been adequately addressed? Will you consider creating a third-party, independent dispute resolution ‘mechanism in coordination with the military services? 3) Can you describe how you will improve your mold remediation standard operating procedures and other processes fo improve air quality and reduce health hazards? Will you consider offering mold inspections, as well as air quality testing to residents, especially if suggested by a medical professional? Given the absence of EPA and federal standards around mold and mold spores, will you work to implement sensible standards, established by the mifitary services to ensure healthy air quality? 4) And finally, how will you significantly improve the quality of military housing overall — at move-in and beyond — to ensure that families no longer struggle with mold, lead, rodent infestations, asbestos and more, so that we are not in this situation again in another seven years? ‘This is not the first time that unhealthy conditions in military housing have been documented. In November 2011, T was made aware of similar complaints regarding mold at LMH housing in the Hampton Roads atea in Virginia, Working with Navy officials and impacted military families, 1 strove to ensure that both the Navy and LMH implemented a plan to reduce these hazards.As a result, you agreed to offer free mold inspection to any resident requesting the service, to hire an independent professional engineering firm to survey the conditions, to update training for maintenance teams, and more. The Navy also committed to improving tracking tools and enhancing oversight of property management performance. Unfortunately, these changes were inadequate. We have systemic issues that remain, which absolutely must be resolved for the benefit of our men and women in uniform, Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. I look forward to your response by May 24, 2019. Sincerely, Lh Wane, MARK R. WARNER United States Senator