The government has unveiled a new Defence Housing Service as the flagship measure in its Defence Housing Strategy, promising a “Forces First” approach that places service families’ needs at
the centre of military accommodation reform.
Announced today by Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, the standalone agency will take charge of managing military homes, which will remain in public ownership. Ministers say the new body will amplify the voices of service families, raise housing standards and expand homeownership opportunities for serving personnel and veterans.
Healey and Carns will visit upgraded service family properties in West London today, meeting families who have recently moved into refurbished homes featuring new kitchens, bathrooms and modern heating systems.
The government has pledged £9 billion over the next decade to deliver the reforms, which include a major modernisation of existing accommodation and a 10-year housebuilding programme on surplus defence land. Under the strategy, service personnel and veterans will receive priority access to a portion of newly built homes.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “Our British forces personnel and our veterans fulfil the ultimate public service. Our nation is rightly proud of them. And the very least they deserve is a decent home.
This new Strategy will embed a ‘Forces First’ approach that tells our forces, our veterans and their families: we are on your side.
We can’t fix forces housing overnight, but this effort is already underway and will now accelerate. By creating a specialist Defence Housing Service, backed by record investment in military accommodation, we will deliver better value for the taxpayer and fulfil our promise to provide homes fit for heroes”.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns, said: “Everyone who has served in uniform has been let down by substandard military accommodation, or knows someone who has. Having served in the Royal Marines for 24 years, I saw first-hand the impact this had on the morale of our British personnel.
Since entering government, we’ve acted rapidly to begin fixing the shameful legacy of unfit forces homes. This Strategy is the next step. And we will move at pace to implement it.
This is the product of months of hard graft and frank conversations with forces families. Our new Defence Housing Service – announced today – will put the voices of those families first, with a service ethos at its heart. This is a government that puts our forces first».
Improvements already in motion include a Consumer Charter for Forces Families, introduced earlier this year, which commits the Ministry of Defence to upgrading the homes most in need. Around 1,000 refurbishments are set for completion by the end of 2025. Rules have also been relaxed to give families more freedom—such as keeping pets, decorating homes and running small businesses from their accommodation.
The strategy outlines further reforms to the way homes are allocated, including the creation of housing zones near operational hubs and broader eligibility for couples in long-term relationships and non-resident parents. A rental support scheme will bridge the gap while new homes are built.
Alongside family accommodation reforms, the MoD will launch an urgent review of Single Living Accommodation and draw up plans to improve overseas service family housing.
Under the new homebuilding programme, a proportion of homes developed on selected surplus defence sites will be offered first to Armed Forces personnel and veterans, with agreements made between the MoD, local councils and developers.
Cat Calder, Army Families Federation Housing Specialist and review team member, said:
“As a member of the review team, I have seen the depth and rigour of the work undertaken to identify the longstanding issues within military housing. This has not only highlighted the challenges that we have been raising on behalf of families for many years, but also delivered a clear and robust strategy to improve existing Service Family Accommodation and develop new housing that truly meets the needs of Service families.
I am pleased that the voices of families have been heard and acted upon, and I am optimistic about the potential for a transformative decade in military housing”. Photo: Harland Quarrington/MOD, Wikimedia commons.