Board of Contract Appeals
                    General Services Administration
                         Washington, D.C. 20405
 
                            ________________
 
                             April 14, 1999
                           _________________
 
 
                            GSBCA 14923-RELO
 
 
                 In the Matter of RICHARD LOPEZ WILSON
 
 
        Richard Lopez Wilson, Bryan, TX,  Claimant.
 
        Jeanne DiGange, Authorized Certifying Officer, Office of the
   Chief  Financial Officer, Department of Agriculture, New Orleans,
   LA, appearing for Department of Agriculture.
 
   PARKER, Board Judge.
 
        Richard  Lopez  Wilson,  an employee  of  the  Department of
   Agriculture  (USDA), was  transferred from  Washington, D.C.,  to
   College Station,  Texas, in  February 1998.    His travel  orders
   authorized  payment of  temporary  quarters subsistence  expenses
   (TQSE) and reimbursement of real estate  expenses.  Shortly after
   his arrival in College Station, Mr. Wilson contracted to purchase
   a house,  with settlement to occur on March  18.  Mr. Wilson also
   agreed  to rent  the house  from February  12 until  the closing.
   USDA  denied Mr.  Wilson s claim  for TQSE  during the  period in
   which he  rented the house  because it determined that,  when Mr.
   Wilson moved  into the house  on February 12, he  began occupying
   permanent quarters.
 
        Mr. Wilson maintains that he is  entitled to payment because
   USDA  never told  him that the  period for  TQSE would end  if he
   rented  (and moved  into) a  home that  he intended  to purchase.
   USDA has  acknowledged that  it did not  provide Mr.  Wilson with
   this information,  and asks  us whether  there is  any regulation
   that  would allow Mr.  Wilson to be  paid  due to  lack of proper
   advisement by the agency. 
 
                                                                   2
 
                               Discussion
 
        The  Federal  Travel  Regulation  provides  that  TQSE   are
   subsistence expenses  incurred  by  an  employee  and/or  his/her
   immediate family  while occupying  temporary quarters.    41  CFR
   302-5.2 (1998).   Temporary quarters  refers to  lodging obtained
   for  the  purpose  of  temporary  occupancy  from  a  private  or
   commercial  source.    41  CFR 302-5.1    In determining  whether
   quarters are temporary, the agency is to consider factors such as
   the duration of the lease, movement of household effects into the
   quarters, the  type of  quarters, the  employee s expressions  of
   intent,  attempts to secure a  permanent dwelling, and the length
   of time  the employee occupies  the quarters.  41  CFR 302-5.305.
   If   an  employee s  temporary   quarters  become  his  permanent
   residence  quarters, the employee  may receive a  TQSE allowance,
    only if [he shows] in a manner satisfactory to [his] agency that
   [he] initially intended to occupy  the quarters temporarily.   41
   CFR 302-5.14.
 
        It is clear from the above that Mr. Wilson s claim for  TQSE
   must be denied.   When  Mr. Wilson  moved into the  house he  had
   contracted to purchase,  he occupied quarters that  were intended
   to be permanent,  not temporary.  The manner in  which Mr. Wilson
   paid  for  occupancy  of  his  permanent  residence,  by  renting
   temporarily,  is  irrelevant.   See    Masood  Badizadegan, GSBCA
   14393-RELO, 98-2 BCA   29,789.
 
        The  fact that  Mr. Wilson  was  not informed  by USDA  that
   renting a  house which he  intended to purchase would  affect his
   entitlement to TQSE does not entitle Mr. Wilson to reimbursement.
   It is well  settled that erroneous advice  provided by Government
   officials  cannot  provide  a basis  for  reimbursement  where no
   independent  authority  for  such  reimbursement   exists.    Id.
   Regardless of the state of Mr. Wilson s knowledge, USDA was bound
   to apply  applicable rules  and regulations,  which in  this case
   prohibited  USDA from  paying  TQSE  while  Mr.  Wilson  occupied
   permanent quarters. 
 
                                Decision
 
        For the reasons discussed above, the claim must be denied.
 
                                      _____________________
                                      ROBERT W. PARKER
                                      Board Judge