Military families and veterans prioritised in ‘forces first’ housing scheme

Military families and veterans will benefit from priority access to homes built on surplus Ministry of Defence land as part of a new 'Forces First' approach.

This approach will mean more service personnel have access to the high-quality homes and home-ownership opportunities they deserve and will form part of the upcoming Defence Housing Strategy, to be published later this year.

The Defence Secretary has identified the long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, improving opportunities for homeownership and creating jobs across the country.

The approach will apply to a proportion of new homes on selected surplus Defence sites, agreed between MOD, the local authority and the developer based on demand and site viability. This will include improving service family accommodation through MOD acquisition of high-quality new build properties developed on surplus defence sites, where these are needed. This ensures military families benefit directly from the construction taking place on former military land, creating investment and improvement.

The 'Forces First' scheme represents a fundamental shift in how surplus MOD land is developed, prioritising those who have served their country while contributing to wider national housebuilding targets.

The new approach will be tailored to each development on a site-by-site basis, including:

1. Agreements with developers to offer market housing on a priority basis to military personnel and/or veterans on a 'first dibs' marketing basis.
2. Affordable homes offered as a priority for forces personnel and veterans. This model has already been used by the GLA in London, with local authority agreement, and it can be enshrined as a condition of sale as part of a development partner approach.
3. MoD acquiring high-quality new build properties developed on Defence sites to improve the level of Service Family Accommodation or Single Living Accommodation where required.

A trailblazer for this approach is already underway at MOD Feltham in South-West London, where the MOD, the London Borough of Hounslow and the GLA have agreed to adopt a Forces First approach as part of a groundbreaking partnership to develop the site. Once vacated, this new development alone is expected to deliver hundreds of homes and jobs.

The initiative builds on progress made this year in transforming military housing conditions. In April, the Defence housing Consumer Charter committed to new basic consumer rights for forces families including higher move-in standards, more reliable repairs, and a named housing officer for every family.

The Strategic Defence Review announced a record additional £1.5bn multi-year investment in military family accommodation. This funding follows January's deal to bring 36,000 military family homes back into public ownership.