US Code

Public Law 119-87 (04/30/2026)

14 U.S.C. § 2943

Leasing and hiring of quarters; rental of in­adequate housing

(a)
The Secretary is authorized to lease hous­ing facilities at or near Coast Guard installations, wherever located, for assignment as public quarters to military personnel and their dependents, if any, without rental charge upon a determination by the Secretary, or his designee, that there is a lack of adequate housing facilities at or near such Coast Guard installations. The Secretary is also authorized to lease housing facilities for assignment as public quarters, without rental charge, to military personnel who are on sea duty or duty at remote offshore Coast Guard stations and who do not have dependents. Such authority shall be effective in any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts. When any such lease involves housing facilities in a foreign country, the lease may be made on a multiyear basis for a period not to exceed five years, and, in accordance with local custom and practice, advance payment may be made for the lease. Such public housing facilities may be leased on an individual or multiple-unit basis. Expenditures for the rental of such housing facilities may not exceed the average authorized for the Department of Defense in any year except where the Secretary finds that the average is so low as to prevent rental of necessary housing facilities in some areas, in which event he is authorized to reallocate existing funds to high-cost areas so that rental expenditures in such areas exceed the average authorized for the Department of Defense.
(b)
The Secretary is authorized, subject to regulations approved by the President—
(1)
to designate as rental housing such housing as he may determine to be inadequate as public quarters; and
(2)
to lease inadequate housing to members of the Coast Guard for occupancy by them and their dependents.
(c)
Where sufficient quarters are not possessed by the United States, the Commandant may hire quarters for personnel, including personnel on sea duty at such times as they may be deprived of their quarters on board ship due to repairs or other conditions which may render them uninhabitable. Such accommodations shall not be available for occupancy by the dependents of such personnel.

Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393 63 Stat. 532 Pub. L. 91–278, § 1(11)84 Stat. 305 Pub. L. 92–343, § 486 Stat. 450 Pub. L. 93–65, § 587 Stat. 151 Pub. L. 94–406, § 490 Stat. 1236 Pub. L. 94–47890 Stat. 2077 Pub. L. 94–546, § 1(30)90 Stat. 2521 Pub. L. 96–376, § 494 Stat. 1509 Pub. L. 96–470, title I, § 112(d)94 Stat. 2240 Pub. L. 97–136, § 795 Stat. 1706 Pub. L. 97–295, § 2(11)96 Stat. 1302 Pub. L. 97–322, title I, § 10696 Stat. 1582 Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title VI, § 632(b)(2)101 Stat. 1105 Pub. L. 115–282, title I, § 117(b)132 Stat. 4230 (, , § 475; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; renumbered § 2943, , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes

June 19, 1942, ch. 419, § 2 56 Stat. 372

Provided“hire of quarters for Coast Guard personnel comparable to quarters assignable on a capital ship of the Navy, as authorized by the Secretary to meet emergency conditions, including officers and men on sea duty at such times as they may be deprived of their quarters on board ship due to repairs or other conditions which may render them uninhabitable: , That under this authorization no funds may be expended for the hire of quarters for occupancy by the dependents of officers or enlisted personnel”
June 19, 1948, ch. 558 62 Stat. 562 Based on title 14, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 133a (, ) and on the following language contained in the Coast Guard appropriation act for 1949, “Pay and Allowances” and preceding years: (, ).

Changes were made in phraseology. 81st Congress, House Report No. 557.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 115–282section 475 of this title2018— renumbered as this section.

Pub. L. 100–1801987—Subsecs. (b) to (d). redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, members of the Coast Guard, with dependents, may occupy on a rental basis, without loss of basic allowance for quarters, inadequate quarters under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard notwithstanding that such quarters may have been constructed or converted for assignment as public quarters. The net difference between the basic allowance for quarters and the fair rental value of such quarters shall be paid from otherwise available appropriations; however, no rental charge for such quarters shall be made against the basic allowance for quarters of a member of the Coast Guard in excess of 75 percent of such allowance except that in no event shall the net rental value charged to the member’s basic allowance for quarters be less than the cost of maintaining and operating the housing.”

Pub. L. 97–2951982—Subsec. (b). substituted “percent” for “per centum”.

Pub. L. 97–322Subsecs. (e), (f). repealed subsec. (e) which required that the Secretary, annually and not later than April 1, file with the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate a report of the utilization of subsecs. (a), (b), and (d) authority during the preceding calendar year, and subsec. (f) which prohibited utilization of subsecs. (a), (b), (c), or (d) authority after , unless all required subsec. (e) reports were filed with the Congress.

Pub. L. 97–1361981—Subsec. (a). inserted provisions authorizing the Secretary to lease housing facilities for assignment as public quarters, without rental charge, to military personnel who are on sea duty or duty at remote offshore Coast Guard stations and who do not have dependents, and further provided that such authority shall be effective in any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation acts.

Pub. L. 96–3761980—Subsec. (a). substituted “multi­year basis” for “multi-year basis,” and authorized advance payment for any housing facilities lease in accordance with local custom and practice.

Pub. L. 96–470Subsec. (e). struck out reference to subsec. (c).

Pub. L. 94–546, § 1(30)(a)1976—Subsec. (a). , substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” wherever appearing.

Pub. L. 94–478 inserted provision allowing leases for housing facilities in foreign countries to be made on a multi-year basis.

Pub. L. 94–546, § 1(30)(b)Subsec. (e). , which was executed to subsec. (e) as the probable intent of Congress, substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” and struck out “commencing ,” after “not later than April 1,”.

Pub. L. 94–406, § 4(1), redesignated subsec. (f) as (e). Former subsec. (e), which provided that the authority conferred by subsecs. (b) and (c) of this section expire on , was struck out.

Pub. L. 94–406, § 4(1)Subsecs. (f), (g). , (2), redesignated subsec. (g) as (f) and substituted “(e)” for “(f)”. Former subsec. (f) redesignated (e).

Pub. L. 93–651973—Subsec. (e). extended termination date of authority provided in subsecs. (b) and (c) from , to .

Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(1)1972—Subsec. (a). , substituted “The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating” for “The Secretary” in first sentence.

Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(2)Subsec. (e). , struck out reference to subsec. (a) and extended authority provided in subsecs. (b) and (c) to .

Pub. L. 92–343, § 4(3)Subsecs. (f), (g). , added subsecs. (f) and (g).

Pub. L. 91–2781970— substituted “Leasing and hiring of quarters; rental of inadequate housing” for “Hiring of quarters for personnel” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (d), and added subsecs. (a) to (c) and (e).

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 11645. Authority of Secretary of Homeland Security To Prescribe Certain Regulations Relating to Housing

Ex. Ord. No. 11645, , 37 F.R. 2923, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 13286, § 59, , 68 F.R. 10629, provided:

section 301 of title 3By virtue of the authority vested in me by of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. The Secretary of Homeland Security is designated and empowered to prescribe (or, under a delegation of the Secretary’s authority, the Commandant of the Coast Guard is authorized to prescribe) regulations pursuant to section 475(c) [now 2943(c)] of title 14 of the United States Code, relating to the designation and leasing of rental housing, without the approval, ratification, or other action by the President.

Sec. 2. Whenever the entire Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy, the reference to the Secretary of Homeland Security in section 1 of this order shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Navy.