£9bn plan unveiled to improve more than 40,000 military homes

The 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.

The £9 billion programme, part of a new Defence Housing Strategy published by the UK Government today, will also “turbocharge” the use of surplus defence land as part of the government’s housebuilding pledge.

Defence secretary John Healey has identified the long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 new homes for both civilian and military families on surplus Ministry of Defence (MoD) land.

The upcoming Strategy is based on feedback from thousands of service families and led by an expert, independent review team.

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.

The defence secretary will today announce a total investment of £9bn over the next decade to deliver the Strategy. 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 building on defence land.

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.