June 8, 1977

Rental Fees for Spaces in Military Trailer Parks

77-35 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE

GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT

OF DEFENSE

This is in response to your letter requesting our opinion whether 5 

U.S.C. § 5911 authorizes the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

to determine that the rental fee for trailer spaces in military trailer 

parks are to be based upon the prevailing rates for comparable private 

facilities.

In our opinion, OMB has correctly concluded that 5 U.S.C. §5911, 

and OMB Circular A-45, require the Department of Defense (DOD) to 

base the rental fee for these trailer parking spaces on their “reasonable 

value,” determined by comparison with comparable private trailer 

courts.

The mobile home parks in question consist of hard-surface trailer 

spaces, streets, curbs, gutters, and utility hookups on military installations. Military personnel, primarily enlisted men in the lower grades, 

park their mobile homes there, and occupy them as personal residences. 

It has been DOD’s practice to charge the occupants a rate sufficient to 

amortize the space over a 15-year period.

Section 5911(c) provides that the rental rate for “quarters” occupied 

by a member of the uniformed services shall be based on the “reasonable value of the quarters and facilities to the . . . member concerned, 

in the circumstances under which the quarters and facilities are provided, occupied, or made available.” Section 5911(a)(5) defines “quarters” for the purpose of the section as “quarters owned or leased by the 

Government.”

Thus, the disputed issue is whether the term “quarters” includes 

trailer facilities consisting of a parking space, streets, curbs, gutters, and 

a utility hookup. We conclude that it does.

Although the legislative history of §5911 does not explicitly define 

the term “quarters” (beyond a repetition of the statutory definition), it 

does, as both DOD and OMB recognize, show that Congress used the 

term “quarters” as a synonym for “housing.” S. Rep. No. 829, 88th

137
Cong., 2d Sess.; H.R. Rep. No. 1459, 88th Cong., 2d Sess. Likewise, the 

comments from the then Bureau of the Budget that were set forth at 

length in each committee report use “housing” and “quarters” interchangeably. Accordingly, Congress’ construction of the word “housing” provides some guidance for determining the proper construction 

of the term “quarters.”

Although OMB has drawn our attention to the use of the term 

“housing” in several recent Acts, the uses of this term by the 88th 

Congress (which enacted §5911) are, we believe, the most pertinent. 

The Military Construction Authorization Act, Pub. L. No. 88-390, 78 

Stat. 341, is closely related to the subject matter of § 5911. In Title V, 

captioned “Military Family Housing,” Congress authorized the Secretary to construct “family housing units and trailer court facilities.” 

§501. Section 505 made the inclusion of trailer facilities in “housing” 

even more explicit; it provided that funds were authorized “(a) for 

construction and acquisition of fam ily housing, including . . . construction and acquisition of trailer court facilities. ...” [Emphasis added.] 

Moreover, as the more recent Military Construction Authorization Acts 

cited by OMB demonstrate, Congress consistently has continued to 

employ a broad construction of the term “housing”—explicitly including trailer facilities—in the context of military housing. Section 508 of 

Pub. L. No. 93-552, 88 Stat. 1745, Section 509 of Pub. L. No. 92-545, 

86 Stat. 1145.*

We believe that Congress intended the term “quarters” to be given a 

similarly broad construction in § 5911. One of the primary purposes of 

the legislation was to ensure the uniform application of what the House 

committee termed “the equitable principle that the Government should 

charge its employees the ‘reasonable value’ of quarters and related 

items furnished to them.” H.R. Rep. No. 1459, 88th Cong., 2d Sess. 3 

(hereinafter House report). The enactment of § 5911 clarified the applicability of this principle to military personnel and to persons who were 

not Government employees (such as employees of contractors). House 

report at 2, 3-4. Congress also sought to ensure “uniform and equitable 

application” and “uniform implementation” by authorizing the President to issue regulations to carry out the Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5911(0- House 

report at 6-7.* The only indication of any exception to the “general 

principle” of the Act was § 7, now § 5911(g), which provides—

1 D O D cites several statutory examples to support its contrary argument that Congress 

has consistently view ed “quarters” as limited to rooms, bedrooms, shelter, etc. In view of 

the recent expressions o f congressional intent just noted, w e question the pertinence o f 

the three statutes enacted in 1922 o r earlier, at least 40 years before the enactm ent of 

§ 5911. T he remaining provision, 10 U.S.C. § 2684, was enacted in 1973 as § 509(a) of the 

M ilitary C onstruction Authorization Act, Pub. L. No. 93-166, 87 Stat. 661. Section 511(1) 

o f the same A ct authorized funds for “family housing, including . . . construction and 

acquisition o f mobile hom e facilities . . .

• T he President delegated this authority to OM B in § 9(1) o f Executive O rder No. 

11609, 3 C F R 586 (1971-1975 Compilation).

138
Section 3 of this Act shall not be held or considered to repeal or 

modify any provision of law authorizing the provision of quarters 

or facilities, either without charge or at charges or rates specifically fixed by law.3

DOD, however, suggests that Congress has authorized the present 

rental rates, which amortize the construction costs of the trailer facilities over a 15-year period. It relies upon the Senate report on the 1962 

Military Construction Appropriation Act, which states the committee’s 

conclusion that the “parking rate” should be based upon an amortization period of 15 years rather than 28 years. S. Rep. No. 732, 87th 

Cong., 1st Sess. 4-5.

In our view, this expression of intent is no longer controlling. One of 

the primary purposes of the enactment of § 5911, as described above, 

was to clarify the applicability of the reasonable value rental principle 

to members of the uniformed services. As the House committee observed, the legislation would “provide a basis for fixing rental rates and 

related charges for rental housing occupied by members of the uniformed services. ...” House report at 2. Prior statutory provisions 

authorizing occupancy of certain quarters by military personnel, in 

contrast, “did not specify how the rental rates were to be determined.” 

House report at 4. When Congress enacted § 5911 in 1964, it not only 

extended the “reasonable value” rental concept to the armed services, 

but also provided an exception from this rule only where another rate 

was set by statute (Le., “specifically fixed by law”). Thus, the 1962 

expression of the Senate committee’s view is no longer controlling.

Nor are we persuaded that the various dictionary definitions cited by 

DOD require a contrary conclusion, because Congress is in no way 

restricted to a particular dictionary definition; moreover, the cited definitions are sufficiently broad to encompass trailer park facilities. Although one common thread in the definitions is a shelter or a space 

within a shelter, Le., a building or rooms within a building, another 

thread common to these definitions is a “[p]lace of lodging” or “[p]lace 

of residence.” Webster’s New International Dictionary (2d ed. 1954), 

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1956), American College Dictionary (1970). A trailer park space may be such a place of residence or 

lodging.

In conclusion, we believe that construing the term “quarters” to 

include trailer facilities is consistent with Congress’ intent to broaden 

the application of the equitable principle that Government housing 

should be rented to employees for its reasonable value. Civilian employees, contractors’ employees, and members of the military all were to be 

covered. Quarters, whether owned by the Government or leased by it,

1 The language o f this section was altered slightly in the general nonsubstantive 

recodification of Title 5 in 1966; it now provides:

Subsection (c) o f this section does not repeal or modify any provision o f statute 

authorizing the provision of quarters or facilities, either without charge or at rates or 

charges specifically fixed ey statute.

139
were to be subject to this principle. 5 U.S.C. §5911(a)(5). “Facilities” 

made available in connection with the rental of quarters—such as 

household furniture and equipment, garage space, utilities, subsistence, 

and laundry service—were also covered by §5911. 5 U.S.C. 

§ 5911(a)(6).

The President was authorized to promulgate regulations to ensure 

uniform enforcement. 5 U.S.C. §5911(0- An arbitrary exemption from 

the application of the principle in favor of military employees living in 

trailer parks would be contrary to Congress’ intention. DOD has urged 

that the majority of those affected are junior enlisted members, who are 

the least able to afford adequate housing. It does not appear, however, 

that Congress was persuaded to make an exception in their favor.

J o h n M . H a r m o n

Acting Assistant Attorney General

Office o f Legal Counsel

140