Defence accommodation policy

Defence accommodation policy governs the provision of subsidised accommodation and the substitute equivalents to Service personnel and their families on a worldwide basis. This does not include accommodation in operational theatres and temporary accommodation at training areas, where separate single Service arrangements will apply.

JSP 464 is the policy for the provision of service family accommodation, single living accommodation and the substitute equivalents.

Overview

We recognise the importance of homes and families to the wellbeing of Service Personnel, especially when making such extraordinary sacrifices in the UK and overseas.

Defence continues to consider how we best support our people and ensuring that they have access to high quality subsidised accommodation in line with modern living standards and the support that meets their varied needs, health, and wellbeing.

The concept of ‘family’ and ‘modern home’ has changed over time, and we need to reflect this in the accommodation we provide.

We are committed to improve the fairness with which accommodation is allocated, the quality of that accommodation, the way that we make best use of our accommodation to ensure best value for money, and its sustainability.

We continue to gather and use data to improve the information that we have about our Service personnel, how they use Defence accommodation and what their expectations are in order to support our future strategy, decision-making and policy development.

Defence must ensure that all Service personnel have access to accommodation which supports them, not only in the execution of their duties, but also in their private lives.

OneFrom element1 ofJanuary this2023, is the The Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) pilotScheme –became runningan untilenduring policy, ensuring its availability to all service personnel now and in the 31future. DecemberThe 2022,scheme allowingenables Serviceservice personnel to takeborrow greaterup ownershipto 50% of their housingsalary, needs.and up to a maximum of £25,000 interest-free towards the purchase of a property.

The Defence Estate Optimisation Programme (DEOP) will deliver a more modern and right-sized estate, enabling new investment and improvements in quality and maintenance as well as a reduction in the number of non-compliant facilities.

There has been significant investment in Single Living Accommodation (SLA) which has led to improvements on multiple sites. This is reflected in the Defence Accommodation Strategy.

The need for targeted improvements and consistency of approach is recognised across Defence and for SLA is guided by the recommendations of the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee. This has led to the introduction of the Defence Minimum Standards for SLA (DMS) and subsequent work on SLA aspirational standards.

It is more important than ever that Defence accommodation policy and spending focuses on what matters most to our people. We need to iterate and further develop accommodation policy with the operational work to rationalise our accommodation portfolio, improve its condition and standards, and target investment where it is most needed to modernise and take greater consideration of sustainability.

Continual development of our estate must give value for money, which, in a world of rising costs, means a period of significant challenge. As the homes we supply for service personnel are heavily subsidised in comparison to the private market, any improvements to the estate will need to be reflected in costs going forward.

The Defence Accommodation Strategy and outcome from the Future Accommodation Model pilot must reflect modern lifestyles, working patterns and support the wellbeing of our forces and their families in the execution of their duties and in their private lives. The accommodation offer also needs to be agile and flexible to ensure that Defence can respond to emerging priorities and take into account the Department’s Net Zero commitment.

It’s important to make sure that policy, programmes and projects work together well; and that the delivery of existing accommodation is also well managed. This will maximise efficiency while also allowing policy to develop and improve

New standards articulated in the Defence Accommodation Strategy set a baseline from which we can continue to improve the quality of our accommodation, alongside bespoke delivery plans to ensure we can achieve our commitments to meet the needs of our people.

Latest news on Defence accommodation

New Accommodation Offer

Starting from March 2024, the MOD will begin introducing a new accommodation offer for our armed forces. Some of the changes will happen immediately, while others may only affect you when you are assigned to a new role or at the end of the three-year transition period.

The planned changes are intended to modernise accommodation entitlements, improve the standard of Single Living Accommodation, update the overseas accommodation offer and, overall, give our people more of a say in how they live.

Widening accommodation entitlement

The widened entitlement accommodation policy will launch on 31 October and will run until the New Accommodation Offer goes live on 11 March 2024. This is a first step in delivering the commitment made in the Defence Accommodation Strategy (2022) to allocate accommodation to personnel in long-term relationships on the same basis as those who are married.

Defence Accommodation Strategy

On 20 October 2022, Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families Sarah Atherton launched the UK Armed Forces Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) from Combermere Barracks in Windsor, setting out the roadmap to improve the accommodation across Defence.

The DAS focuses on ensuring the quality of accommodation, that it is allocated fairly, and the way the accommodation is used to ensure best value for money whilst ensuring environmental sustainability.

The DAS sets out principles committing to:

• continuing support for Service personnel through subsidised accommodation and access to the housing market, including looking at making Forces Help to Buy an enduring scheme
• increasing fairness across the allocation of subsidised allocation
• improving the quality of our accommodation offer, with the introduction of a new SLA Minimum Standard
• improving the use of our accommodation estate, ensuring we use data to make best use of properties
• improving the sustainability of the accommodation estate and helping Service personnel to use their properties in a sustainable way

Future Accommodation Model Pilot

The Future Accommodation Model (FAM) will result in an improvement to the accommodation offered to our Service personnel such as a widening of entitlement for established long term relationships to cohabit in Service Family Accommodation (SFA).

The pilot will come to an end 31 March 2023. If you are assigned to or considering one of the pilot sites, find out more about the FAM.

Forces Help to Buy

Regular armed forces personnel can benefit from a £200-million scheme to help them get on the property ladder. The Forces Help to Buy scheme enables Service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their salary, interest free, to buy their first home or move to another property on assignment or as their family’s needs change.

The pilot scheme, which launched in April 2014 and has now been extendedmade topermanent, 31and December 2022, aims to address the low rate of home ownership in the armed forces.

Forces Help to Buy: help to get on the property ladder

Tri-service accommodation regulations

Tri-service accommodation regulations (TSARs) (JSP 464) is the definitive policy for the provision of service family accommodation, single living accommodation and the substitute equivalents.

Research and evidence

Learn more about our latest research on topics relevant to Defence accommodation.

Single Living Accommodation Lived Experience Survey 2022

Forces Help to Buy: Understanding service personnel experiences

Improving the effectiveness of the Future Accommodation Model to increase private renting behaviour amongst UK Service personnel

Communicating with Service personnel: understanding awareness of changes to accommodation policy

Understanding Service personnel satisfaction with their lived experience of the Future Accommodation Model pilot

Accommodation complaints

Stage 1 complaints should be submitted to either the IP or substitute contractor.

Stage 2 should be submitted to DIO accommodation.

Stage 3 complaints should be submitted to the accommodation complaint review Secretariat (ACRP) where it is believed that accommodation policy has been misinterpreted or misapplied at stages 1 or 2 of the complaints process.

The Special to Type complaints process must be completed before a service complaint on the matter is submitted, this may be after stage 2 or stage 3 of process, depending on the circumstances of the complaint.

JSP 464 Vol 1 Part 1 from para 0634 fully details the submission process for each stage of complaints. As each stage has a separate contact point and submission format.

Stage 3 complaints have a 28-day response deadline from the ACRP.

Related content

DIO service family accommodation

JSP 752, regulations for expenses and allowances

Armed Forces Pay Review Body Report 2022