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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.

From 1 January 2023, The Forces Help to Buy Scheme became an enduring policy, ensuring its availability to all service personnel now and in the future. The scheme enables service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their salary, 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 Departments Net Zero commitment.

Its 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

Update on the Modernised Accommodation Offer (Previously New Accommodation Offer) for Armed Forces personnelserving in the UK

Our Armed Forces personnel make extraordinary sacrifices to protect our nation. Defences Modernised Accommodation Offer (MAO) aims to puts fairness first. The MAO was announced in September 2023 and was due to go live in March 2024, but was paused in February 2024 on ministerial direction.It is currently under review.

The MAO was designed collaboratively with the single Services. Lessons have been implemented from a variety of sources, including the FAM pilot and research undertaken with Service personnel and families.

The standard of Single Living Accommodation (SLA) will be improved over time and in accordance with the Defence Minimum Standard at Annex A of the Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS).

Details of the MAO update can be found here: What is happening as part of the Modernised Accommodation Offer.

Defence is still committed to widening entitlement to family accommodation to those Service personnel in established long term relationships and/or who are parents with non-resident children. This remains under review.

Widened accommodation entitlement (limited locations) - UK including NI

The widened accommodation entitlement (limited locations) policy (WAE(LL)) launched on 31 October 2023 as 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.

The pilot closed to new applicants in March 2024 pending a review of both the pilot data, and the MAO.

WAE(LL) Preserved Rights

Following the end of the WAE(LL) pilot on 11 March 2024, Service personnel who gained entitlement to subsidised family accommodation and were successfully accommodated during the pilot period will retain this entitlement until 31 March 2025 as WAE(LL) Preserved Rights (PR) for continuity of accommodation support.

The entitlement will continue even if the Service person is assigned to a site that was not part of the WAE(LL) pilot.? Full details can be found in JSP 464 Vol 4: Part 2.

Accompanied Established Long-Term Relationship (LTR(E)) overseas pilot

Improving the overseas accommodation offer.

JSP 464: Vol 4provides more details for the overseas accommodation LTR(E) pilot. Additional policy for overseas accommodation can be found inJSP 464: Vol 5.

Defence Accommodation Strategy

On 20 October 2022, Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families Sarah Atherton launched the UK Armed Forces 