Defense legislation leverages a model maintenance code to improve conditions in military housing

Congress recently passed and the President signed into law the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020, which authorizes funding and policies for U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) programs and requires that privatized military housing meet or exceed requirements set by a nationally recognized, consensus-based, model property maintenance code, such as the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). Separately, DOD recently updated its building code, the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC), to use the 2018 International Building Code, 2018 International Existing Building Code and 2018 International Plumbing Code. The UFC had previously required using the 2015 versions of these codes. The UFC establishes common requirements for DOD construction activities, and addresses safety, functionality and durability. Read more about these actions here.