It was previously called Basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) and is administered by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is calculated based on several factors, primarily the location of the military member's duty station, their pay grade, and whether they have dependents.
BAH rates are determined annually by the Department of Defense and are intended to cover a portion of the housing costs for military personnel.
[1] If the military member has dependents, they typically receive a higher BAH rate to account for their larger housing needs.
[9] Robert D. Niehaus, Inc. (RDN), a private firm based in California is contracted to provide the data used to calculate BAH allowances.