Rep. Sara Jacobs, Sen. Elizabeth Warren Introduce Bill to Protect Military Families from Abusive Non-Disclosure Agreements
Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and introduced the Restore Military Families’ Voices Act, which would bar private military housing companies from imposing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) on tenants as a condition for housing services. The Restore Military Families’ Voices Act was included in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 on a bipartisan vote.
Many military families living in private housing, both on and off-base, are forced to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions with little-to-no recourse to hold companies accountable. These companies may require tenants to sign NDAs when asking for repairs or requesting reimbursement for financial burdens that the families face due to poor housing conditions. This practice allows companies to silence military families when they attempt to reveal poor housing conditions and avoid accountability for providing military families subpar housing.
“It’s unconscionable that landlords can hide behind Non-Disclosure Agreements to avoid responsibility for substandard privatized military housing and take advantage of their tenants,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “I’ve visited privatized military housing units in San Diego and across the country, and I’ve seen firsthand the impacts of living with black mold, leaky roofs, loose electrical wiring, and other unsanitary conditions. Our service members and their families sacrifice so much for us, and the least we can do is ensure they have safe, sanitary housing in return instead of protecting negligent landlords. That’s why we need to pass the Restore Military Families’ Voices Act to prevent landlords from abusing NDAs and providing unsafe conditions to our military families.”
“Our servicemembers and military families shouldn’t have to put up with mold, lead paint, and infestations,” said Senator Warren. “My bill will put an end to private military landlords’ abuse of non-disclosure agreements and empower our servicemembers and military families to hold bad landlords accountable.”
This bill protects military families by banning landlords from requesting NDAs from tenants or prospective tenants. Notably, this bill does not affect the rights of servicemembers or their families to request NDAs.
The Restore Military Families’ Voices Act makes three changes to existing law:
- Bars landlords from requesting that tenants sign NDAs. Requiring NDAs is already banned under current law, but this bill bans requesting NDAs as well given the power imbalance between landlords and tenants.
- Expands NDA protections to cover all housing services. Current protections only extend to the start of a lease, renewal of a lease, or end of a lease.
- Ends the loophole that allows landlords to require NDAs for legal settlements. A loophole under existing law means landlords are allowed to require NDAs in connection with legal settlements.
This bill is endorsed by the National Military Families Association and the Military Housing Coalition.