[BLM Employee's Entitlement to Reimbursement for Temporary Quarters Subsistence Expenses]

The Bureau of Land Management requested a decision regarding its reimbursement for a transferred employee's temporary lodging expenses, contending that the claimant's occupancy of a detached single family house for 1.5 years constituted permanent occupancy. GAO held that the claimant occupied the dwelling on a temporary basis, since: (1) he provided documentation showing that he attempted to obtain a short-term lease and made intensive efforts to locate a permanent residence; (2) movement of his household effects into the dwelling did not prove his intent to make it permanent; (3) regulations did not preclude consideration of detached houses as temporary quarters; and (4) the possibility of another transfer created uncertainty regarding whether he should obtain a permanent residence. Accordingly, the claim was allowed.