Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 _______________________________________________ February 29, 2000 _____________________________________________ GSBCA 15202-RELO In the Matter of JOHN McAVENEY John McAveney, Newport News, VA, Claimant. Lt. Col. James E. Macklin, Office of Staff Judge Advocate, Military Traffic Management Command, Department of the Army, Fort Eustis, VA, appearing for Department of the Army. GOODMAN, Board Judge. Claimant, John McAveney, is a civilian employee of the Department of the Army. In July, 1999, as the result of a permanent change of station (PCS), he sold his two-family house in North Arlington, New Jersey and transferred to his new duty station in Fort Eustis, Virginia. Claimant requested reimbursement of $3175, which represents five months of rental income that he would have received from the other family living in the home if he had retained ownership. The agency denied reimbursement, and claimant requests that this Board review the agency s decision. The basis of claimant s request is that had he not been transferred and sold his home, he would have received the amount requested as rental income from his tenants. He believes that this lost rental income should be reimbursed as a miscellaneous real estate expense pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 9 of the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), and also pursuant to Chapter 14 of the JTR, as the lost rental income was an expense actually incurred. Further, he states that [t]he overall intent of the Joint Travel Regulations is to ensure that personnel remain at a position they would have been at had they not transferred. . . . [H]ad I not been transferred I would not be out $3175. The agency correctly denied reimbursement. There is no authority in statute or regulation to compensate claimant for loss of rental income. Chapter 9 of the JTR reads in relevant part with regard to the Miscellaneous Expense Allowance (MEA): The purpose of MEA is to pay various costs associated with an authorized/approved PCS/TCS [permanent change of station/temporary change of station] residence relocation. MEA is for expenses incurred when moving household furnishings/appliances, and for other costs of residence relocation. . . . Examples of reimbursable costs include (but are not limited to) the costs of: 1. disconnecting/connecting appliances, equipment, and utilities involved in relocation, and converting appliances for operation on available utilities (this does not include purchasing appliances or equipment in lieu of conversion); 2. cutting and fitting rugs, draperies, and curtains moved from one residence to another; 3. non-refundable utility fees/deposits; 4. losses on non-transferable/non-refundable contracts for medical, dental, food lockers, and private institutional care (such as that provided for handicapped or invalid dependents only) 5. automobile registration, driver's license and taxes imposed when bringing automobiles into some jurisdictions, reinstalling a catalytic converter upon vehicle reentry into the U.S. for employees participating in the DoD [Department of Defense] POV [personally owned vehicle] Import Control Program, securing a bond allowing a POV to be admitted into the U.S. for non-participants in the DoD POV Import Control Program (B-210454, March 29, 1983); and 6. rental agent fees customarily charged for securing housing in foreign countries. JTR C9000. B. Limited Reimbursement Examples. Examples of costs . . . that are not reimbursable are: 1. losses/costs due to selling/buying homes and personal property . . . . JTR C9003-B. It is clear from the above that lost rental income is not a miscellaneous expense under Chapter 9 of the JTR. The reimbursable expenses enumerated are directly related to the costs incurred in the physical act of moving. The limitation in paragraph B makes it clear that losses/costs due to selling a home are not miscellaneous expenses. The loss of rental income would certainly come within this limitation. Likewise, Chapter 14 of the JTR does not provide for reimbursement of the loss of rental income. That portion of the JTR reads in relevant part: A. Conditions. An eligible employee is entitled to reimbursement for certain expenses incurred in connection with: 1. the sale of a residence at the old PDS . . . . F. Reimbursement of Expenses 1. Employee Must Actually Incur the Expenses. An employee shall be reimbursed only for expenses actually incurred and paid by the employee or dependent(s). JTR C14000. This portion of the JTR clearly indicates that an employee is only entitled to the reimbursement of certain costs as enumerated in the regulation. A review of the costs enumerated in this chapter show that there are no reimbursable costs similar to loss of an income stream from property which is sold. Also, loss of rental income is not an expense that the claimant incurs or actually pays. The agency correctly denied the claim for reimbursement. __________________________ ALLAN H. GOODMAN Board Judge