Defense Travel Management Office News Release

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Germany’s annual Overseas Housing Allowance Survey will be conducted online from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2022. This year’s survey will capture actual utility expense and recurring maintenance expense amounts provided by participants, referencing utility bills and receipts or estimates for maintenance expenses. Move-in expenses can be reported from the date of occupying private rental since 2019, referencing receipts or estimates of these costs.

 

Completing the survey is critical to ensure OHA rates for the Utility and Recurring Maintenance Allowance and Move-In Housing Allowance are properly set for service members assigned throughout Germany. The survey results directly impact the amount of OHA each service member receives.

 

If you meet the following qualifications, you should participate in the survey:

• Assigned to Germany for at least 3 months
• Reside in Privately leased quarters (not a homeowner or sharer)
  Sharers are service members sharing rent with another service member or with a civilian in receipt of Living Quarters Allowance.
• Receive an Overseas Housing Allowance

 

The OHA Survey web link will be available from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2022: https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/ohaSurvey.cfm

 

Your Input Matters

The OHA is a valuable entitlement for service members who are stationed overseas. You play a critical role as the data you provide will directly impact the Utility/Recurring Maintenance and MIHA paid to service members. Your time and effort spent answering the survey questions will enable the Department of Defense to set equitable OHA rates. We ask that you make every effort to take the survey and report your expenses accurately.

 

Participating in the Survey

The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and should be completed by you or your spouse, whoever has knowledge of your housing expenses. A Common Access Card is not required to access the survey. Participation in this survey is voluntary and failure to respond will not result in penalty to the respondent. It is important to provide accurate figures in the OHA survey. Before starting the survey:

• For the utility expenses portion, gather your bills, receipts, and/or records of utility and recurring maintenance expenses incurred within the last 12 months and compute a MONTHLY AVERAGE for each of these expenses.
• For the move-in portion, gather your receipts for all expenses incurred when initially moving into your residence.

You may save the survey, obtain additional information, and resume the survey at any time during the survey timeframe. Please note that incomplete surveys cannot be used as this might result in underreporting of utility/recurring maintenance and move-in expenses. Allowance adjustments based on incomplete data could disadvantage service members.

 

Responses are held in strictest confidence and are not shared with any other office or agency.

 

Special Survey Instructions

Currency: Report all your expenses in the currency in which you paid them. Do not convert costs.

Comments Section: Please enter any explanations that might help us better understand your expenses. You may add any additional expenses that were not included in the survey. See the chart below for a list of reportable and non-reportable expenses for this survey.

This year’s survey will capture actual utility expense and recurring maintenance expense amounts provided by participants, referencing utility bills and receipts or estimates for maintenance expenses. Move-in expenses can be reported from the date of occupying private rental since 2019, referencing receipts or estimates of these costs.

 

Reportable Utility/Recurring Maintenance expenses include the following:

 

Reportable Move-In expenses include the following:

“You have a say in your pay!”

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