The MOD is announcing its new Defence Housing Strategy, with £9bn to improve over 40,000 military homes
Armed Forces personnel and their families will benefit from the most significant transformation of UK military housing in more than 50 years, with more than 40,000 service family homes to be modernised, refurbished or rebuilt.
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The Defence Housing Strategy is a major step forward in delivering the government’s pledge to provide high-quality housing for the Armed Forces community.
This initiative forms part of a wider programme to improve service family accommodation, prioritise veterans in housing need, and uphold the Armed Forces Covenant in full. By investing in modern, safe, and secure homes, the government is delivering on its promise to support those who have given so much for our nation.
The £9 billion programme, part of a new Defence Housing Strategy to be published by the Government on Monday, will also turbocharge the use of surplus defence land as part of the Government’s promise to get Britain building the housing we need to boost growth in every corner of the country.
Defence Secretary John Healey has identified the long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 new homes on surplus MoD land – homes for both civilian and military families – driving economic growth and supporting thousands of jobs.
The upcoming Strategy is based on feedback from thousands of service families and led by an expert, independent review team. With a clear and costed plan for the future, the Strategy will mark a decisive break from the past – following years of chronic underinvestment which drove down Armed Forces morale and retention of military personnel.
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A 10-year ‘generational renewal’ of service family homes will see tens of thousands of Armed Forces houses modernised or upgraded, with around 14,000 receiving substantial refurbishment or replacement, ensuring homes fit for our forces and their families.
Defence Secretary will announce total investment of £9 billion over the next decade to deliver the Strategy, funded by the Government’s record uplift in defence spending. This builds on the additional £1.5bn in this Parliament, set out at the Strategic Defence Review, to rapidly address the poor state of military housing.
The renewal is made possible following the government’s landmark Annington Homes deal earlier this year, which brought 36,000 properties back into public ownership, saving the taxpayer £600,000 per day – savings which are now being reinvested in fixing forces housing and getting Britain building on defence land.
The Strategy shows that the Government is on the side of our forces and their families and committed to making defence an engine for growth.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
Thousands of military homes will receive a complete makeover – new kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems – to ensure military families have the homes that they deserve.
As part of efforts to unlock the wider delivery of 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, the Strategy will put forward plans for a dedicated Defence Development Fund – driving a self-sustaining cycle of investment by releasing surplus land for development, with proceeds reinvested into future projects.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:
The Defence Housing Strategy has been developed by an independent review team chaired by former Member of Parliament and housing expert Natalie Elphicke Ross OBE. The team provided deep knowledge of the experience of Armed Forces families, housebuilding, property management and the housing industry. The work included a detailed survey of more than 6,000 service families.
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Natalie Elphicke Ross OBE Chair of the Defence Housing Strategy review team said: