State Department: Standards for Overseas Housing Need Review [Reissued with revisions on Oct. 21, 2026]

The State Department's Bureau of Overseas Building Operations manages housing for over 9,000 Foreign Service employees living overseas. The department's goal is to provide housing comparable to what an employee would occupy in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

However, we found that State has not updated its maximum housing space standards for overseas personnel in 35 years. Consequently, it may be paying for larger residential units than necessary to provide adequate housing for these employees.

We recommended that State address these and other issues.

A House for a Foreign Service Employee Living in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

A house and palm trees with a blue sky in the background.

The Department of State last updated its standards for overseas housing space in 1991, according to State officials. Those standards may no longer align with State’s goal of providing Foreign Service personnel living abroad with housing comparable to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In the last 35 years, median housing costs in the Washington, D.C., area have increased at a faster rate than Foreign Service personnel salaries. In addition, State’s method for measuring overseas housing does not align with the domestic industry standards typically followed by housing appraisers in the U.S., which may prevent State from comparing its overseas housing to housing in the Washington D.C. area. Without reviewing and updating, as applicable, its overseas housing policy, State may be paying for larger residential units than necessary for its Foreign Service personnel.