The Defence Housing Strategy will see repairs, retrofit, and modernisation to over 40,000 homes under the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Aside from military housing repair, the Defence Housing Strategy will also see land released to build more than 100,000 homes.
The strategy will take place over 10 years, investing money to bring military housing up to standard.
The worst homes will be given priority
The Defence Housing Strategy will see new kitchens, heating systems (including heat pumps), bathrooms, and more, either replaced or refurbished. 14,000 properties will receive extensive work.
The strategy will utilise a £9bn investment on top of the £1.5bn investment from the Strategic Defence Review.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Our Armed Forces families make extraordinary sacrifices for our country, and they deserve homes that truly feel like home.
“This record investment will deliver modern, safe and comfortable housing for tens of thousands of service families. This is a plan for generational renewal that puts forces first, giving those who serve, and those who support them, the security and respect they deserve.”
Defence secretary John Healey MP said: “Every day, our British forces personnel – and their families – help to keep us all safe. In this new era of threat, we rely on them more every day. The least they deserve is a decent home.”
“Our new Defence Housing Strategy will be the biggest renewal of Armed Forces housing in more than 50 years. This is a new chapter: a decisive break from decades of underinvestment, with a building programme to back Britain’s military families and drive economic growth across the country.
“We are a government that is on the side of our forces and their families. With this historic £9bn investment, we will deliver the modern, quality homes that our Forces and their loved ones deserve.”
Focusing on military housing
Last year, the Ministry of Defence made an agreement to buy back £6bn worth of military housing, accounting for 36,347 houses bought from Annington.
This will bring many service family homes back into public ownership, reducing rental bills and allowing more housebuilding projects to begin. The MoD will pay £5.9bn, and receive a value of £10.1bn in housing.
At the time, John Healey MP said: “This deal shows our government is determined to deliver homes fit for our heroes. This is a once in a generation opportunity, not only to fix the dire state of military housing but to help drive forward our economic growth mission, creating jobs and boosting British housebuilding.
“Our armed forces and their families make extraordinary sacrifices: theirs is the ultimate public service. It is shameful that in the lead up to Christmas, too many military families will be living with damp, mould and sub-standard homes – issues which have built up over the past decade.
“We are determined to turn this around and renew the nation’s contract with those who serve. These important savings to the defence budget will help fix the deep-set problems we inherited. I thank the teams who have helped us reach this landmark deal at pace – another example of this government delivering for defence.
“There is still a lot of work to do to deliver the homes our military families deserve, and these problems will not be fixed overnight. But this is a decisive break with the failed approach of the past and a major step forward on that journey.”
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