S. 3654 — MOLD Act

This section states congressional findings regarding deficiencies in privatized military housing, including substandard maintenance leading to widespread mold exposure, financial burdens on families, impacts on military readiness, use of nondisclosure agreements, links to health issues such as respiratory illness, lack of TRICARE coverage (as defined in 10 U.S.C. 1072) for mold-related medical expenses, and fraud by providers affecting approximately 700,000 service members and families in 78 developments operated by 14 companies.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to issue interim guidance within 180 days of enactment and final standards within one year for acceptable levels of relative humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water intrusion in covered military housing (i.e., privatized family housing units under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative), including environmental inspection methods and mold remediation standards, with testing results reported to the Secretary and tenants within 10 days of sample collection. It further requires (1) annual certifications of compliance by Department housing offices to Congress; (2) independent third-party inspections of privatized military housing at tenant turnover, upon complaints, and post-remediation, covering HVAC, plumbing, structural integrity, water intrusion, mold, work orders, and contract compliance, with standardized pass/fail records provided to tenants, installation commanders, the Secretary, the Inspector General, and congressional Armed Services Committees, and maintained in a secure portal; (3) remediation or tenant relocation within 30 days for failed units; and (4) a 24/7 hotline and website for complaints with responses within five business days, public data on complaints by installation, and written confirmation to tenants. Finally, it mandates that all new or renewed privatized military housing agreements comply with these standards.