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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Over the past 16 months, we’ve ripped up regulations and slashed red tape to get Britain building the housing this country desperately needs because when Britain builds, Britain grows.
“Our plans to renew military housing and help deliver 100,000 new homes is supporting our security and armed forces, driving economic growth and building an economy that works for, and rewards, working people.”
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.
Natalie Elphicke Ross OBE Chair of the Defence Housing Strategy review team said: “Our pride in our armed forces must include pride in our military homes. For too long service personnel and their families have had to put up with substandard housing.
“This strategy is informed by a team of housing experts and shaped by the views of thousands of Service families, some of whose homes I have visited to see first-hand the issues that they face.
“Through this new strategy, we are setting out an ambitious programme of renewal. For too long, military housing has been in a terrible state, this strategy seeks to change that by fixing Defence family homes and delivering for the nation.”
