Healey announces £9bn investment to modernise military housing

More than 40,000 homes for military families are to be modernised as part of a £9 billion overhaul of armed forces accommodation.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the Government would undertake “the biggest renewal of armed forces housing in more than 50 years” in a drive to “back Britain’s military families”.

The plan will see almost all of the 47,700 service family accommodation (SFA) homes refurbished over the next decade, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) promising new kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems.

Around 14,000 will receive either “substantial refurbishment” or be completely replaced.

Military accommodation has been heavily criticised in recent years, with a Commons committee last year finding problems with maintenance and historic underinvestment leaving two-thirds of SFA housing “essentially no longer fit for purpose”.

MPs also found around a third of the 133,000 single living accommodation spaces were not fit for purpose.

Around 56% of service personnel are housed in single living accommodation and 40% said poor accommodation standards had made them more likely to leave the armed forces.

The refurbishment is part of the Government’s wider defence housing strategy, set to be published on Monday.

The strategy, backed by £9 billion over the next 10 years, will also include plans to build 100,000 homes on surplus MoD land, both for civilians and service personnel.

Mr Healey announced a “forces first” policy at Labour’s party conference this year, giving service families and veterans “first dibs” on new homes built on MoD land.

The Defence Secretary 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.”

The strategy follows a review of military housing led by former MP Natalie Elphicke Ross, who defected from the Conservatives to Labour shortly before the 2024 general election.

Ms Elphicke Ross, whose review surveyed more than 6,000 service families, said: “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.”

Published: 02/11/2025 by Radio NewsHub