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                              July 28, 1997
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GSBCA 13978-RELO


In the Matter of WILLIAM T. GEX


     William T. Gex, Charleston, SC, Claimant.

     Charles A. Hurst, Chief, Travel Policy Branch, Defense Finance
and Accounting Service, Columbus, OH, appearing for Department of
Defense.

BORWICK, Board Judge.

     In this matter the agency, the Department of Defense (DoD),
denied Mr. William T. Gex's (claimant's) voucher for reimbursement
of temporary quarters subsistence expense (TQSE).  The agency
concluded that, during the claim period, claimant had occupied
permanent quarters at his new duty station and that claimant was
not eligible under the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel 
Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) for reimbursement of those expenses. 
We sustain the agency's decision.       

     Claimant, an engineer with DoD, was transferred from San
Diego, California, to Charleston, South Carolina.  The agency
authorized sixty days of temporary quarters subsistence expenses
for him, his wife and two children.  The agency issued the transfer
orders on July 6, 1994; claimant's date to report to duty was
August 21, 1994.

     In July 1994, claimant and his family went on a house-hunting
trip to Charleston to seek temporary quarters.  Because of their
two large dogs, they had trouble finding a landlord that would rent
to them.  However, through a rental agent, they eventually located
a satisfactory single-family house with a landlord who was willing
to rent to a family with large dogs.  Claimant requested a month to
month lease on the property, but the landlord insisted on a one-
year lease.  The real-estate agent warned claimant that if claimant
moved earlier than the expiration of the one-year term, he would be
responsible for a full year's rent in the event the house could not
be re-rented.  

     Claimant's lease for the house commenced on August 14, 1994. 
Claimant moved all of his household goods (HHGs) to the house, with
many of those goods stored in boxes in the garage in back of the
house. 

     Claimant desired to purchase a house in Charleston, but could
not afford to do so until he sold his house in San Diego. 
Nevertheless, he tracked the real estate market in Charleston,
hoping to find a suitable house with either a lease with an option
to buy or with a low price due to foreclosure of a mortgage.  He
was unable to find such a house and "early on began to feel that we
were probably stuck in a rut that we could not get out of until we
sold our house in San Diego."  

     At the end of the first year of claimant's lease, the rental
agent was able to negotiate an extension of the lease until the end
of May 1996.  In March 1996, claimant sold his home in San Diego
and purchased a newly built house in Charleston.  His rental agent
then arranged for a two month extension of the lease--until July
21, 1996.  Claimant stayed in his rented house for a period of one
year, eleven months and seven days, i.e. August 14, 1994 to July
21, 1996.   

     On May 20, 1996, claimant submitted a voucher for
reimbursement of twenty-seven days TQSE for the period August 16 to
September 11, 1994, during which claimant and his family occupied
his rented house.  The agency disallowed the voucher because
claimant had signed a year lease for the residence, claimant had
delivered his HHGs to that residence, and claimant did not
establish that his rental house was intended to be only a temporary
and not a permanent residence.

     The JTR define temporary quarters:

     Generally the term "temporary quarters" refers to lodging
     obtained from privately [sic] or commercial sources for
     the purpose of temporary occupancy after vacating the
     residence occupied when the transfer was authorized. 
     However, occupancy of temporary quarters that eventually
     become the employee's permanent residence shall not
     prevent payment of temporary quarters allowance if the
     employee shows satisfactorily that the quarters occupied
     were intended initially to be only temporary.  In making
     this determination, the DoD component concerned should
     consider such factors as: the duration of the lease,
     movement of [HHGs] into the quarters, type of quarters,
     expressions of intent, attempts to secure a permanent
     dwelling, and the length of time the employee occupies
     the quarters.

JTR C13000.  The JTR further provide:

     The temporary quarters for which a TQSE allowance is
     authorized or approved must, in fact, be a temporary
     place of residence.  Quarters occupied upon initial
     arrival at a new duty station location which factually
     are permanent type residence quarters into which an
     employee moves his/her HHG and continues occupancy
     indefinitely will not be considered temporary quarters
     for which expense reimbursement is allowable.

JTR 13001-A.1.

     The agency reasonably concluded that claimant's rental house
became a permanent residence, and that claimant was not entitled to
reimbursement of TQSE for the period claimed.  Paul E. Dyer, GSBCA
13802-RELO, 97-1 BCA  28,936.   Here, claimant rented a single-
family house for one year.  Furthermore, claimant moved all his
HHGs into his rented house, and remained in the house for one year,
eleven months and seven days.  Under those circumstances, that
claimant intended to reside in the rented house only until he could
sell his house in San Diego does not affect the reasonableness of
the agency's conclusion, particularly given the explicit provisions
of JTR 13001-A.1 regarding indefinite stays in permanent type
residence quarters.  Further, claimant has not established that his
seeking either a house with an option to buy or a foreclosure house
were realistic or practical alternatives which outweighed the
indicators of a permanent residence.   

                         

                              __________________________
                              ANTHONY S. BORWICK
                              Board Judge