The U.S. Army recently released the results of two housing surveys in order to better understand the overall experience of residents who live in Army housing.
The fifth annual resident survey results show a drop in overall satisfaction rates from last year and come amid a several months-long effort by the Army to improve housing conditions after learning of residents’ concerns.
Across the Army more than 100,000 residents were invited to participate and 25,414 responded, although participation rates were lower than last year.
“Feedback from residents is extremely valuable for measuring and improving the quality of housing on Army installations,” said Alex Beehler, Assistant Secretary for the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “The results of this year’s survey will be used to continue identifying concerns of our residents, and will guide Army staff and the private housing companies on ways we can improve the quality of life for our Soldiers and their Families.”
Here at Fort Sam Houston, 308 of the 871 distributed surveys were received, a 35.4% response rate across eight neighborhoods.
Fort Sam Houston’s residents’ overall satisfaction rate was 76.3% for 2019, just above the Army average of 74.6%. However, that reflects a decline in satisfaction from 2018 when Fort Sam Houston scored 78.6%. A majority of respondents, 92%, reported satisfaction with the courtesy of maintenance personnel and 87% of respondents said they were satisfied with the responsiveness and ease of contacting maintenance. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the professionalism with which they were treated during the last twelve months of move-in or lease renewal.
Areas with the lowest satisfaction include:
-Appearance/condition of the community: landscaping and road/parking areas/sidewalks/common area conditions
-Characteristics of the homes: overall condition, landscaping, appliances, move in conditions, pest control
-Only 59% of those surveyed believe this is the best managed community of those they have lived in
-69% of respondents said they would seek housing in this community again and reported they are satisfied with this privatized community
“Since the housing crisis we have implemented several quality control mechanisms,” said Mark Greszler, Manager, Army Support Activity. “The Army RCI team conducts routine spot checks on five percent of all maintenance calls and takes part in 100% of all move-in and move-out inspections. Lincoln Military Housing has also increased their quality control staff and conducts inspections during and at the completion of their service calls.”
Noted improvements indicated by the survey include readiness to solve problems, responsiveness and follow-through.
Greszler directly attributes those trends to the increased emphasis of quality control and increased oversight by Army leaders and the ASA’s Residential Communities Initiative Office staff.
Fort Sam Houston was ranked 17th out of 43 privatized housing installations, earning an overall rating of “good.” However, as Greszler noted, “we still have work to do. The Army Housing Campaign is enduring and several issues such as our worn out historical housing and sustainment maintenance requirements need to be addressed.”
The next Fort Sam Houston Housing Town Hall is tentatively scheduled to take place in September.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston family housing residents can submit service requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling “Lincoln at your Service” at 210-225-5564 or by submitting routine requests online at http://www.lincolnmilitary.com.
If assistance with online access is needed, call the LMH office at 210-270-7638. Watkins Terrace residents should call 210-832-8104. In-person service requests are taken at the Fort Sam Houston Residence Center on Dickman Road and at the Watkins Terrace Community Center on Frazier Road between 8 a.m. and 5 p. m.
For all maintenance emergencies, call “Lincoln at Your Service” at 210-225-5564 or call the LMH office.
For additional information, visit https://www.army.mil/leaders/sa/questions/ or https://www.samhouston.army.mil/ASA/. Make routine maintenance requests online at http://www.lincolnmilitary.com.
The executive summary for all Army privatized housing survey results is available at https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/families/Army_Privatized_Housing_Survey_Results_EXSUM.pdf.