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Service families’ homes across the UK are being upgraded as part of improvement works to rapidly raise the standards of military accommodation. DIO is on track to deliver on our commitment to carry out targeted renovations to 1,000 homes before the end of 2025.
Refurbishment and upgrade works are already well underway at many locations across the UK including over 100 homes in Wales, over 50 in Scotland and over 150 in Northern Ireland, with immediate priority being given to the homes most in need.
Refurbishment works will vary from site-to-site but will focus on fixing unreliable boilers and heating systems, repairing leaky roofs, eliminating damp and mould, and upgrading electrics and plumbing.
These upgrades form part of the delivery of commitments made in the SFA Consumer Charter earlier this year. This is only the beginning of a decade- long improvement in military accommodation that has been set out in the recently published Defence Housing Strategy. With over £9bn worth of investment in the next ten years, more than 40,000 service family homes will be modernised, refurbished or rebuilt.
View the heatmap of some of the locations where upgrades are taking place across the UK and hear more about the impact of works already underway here.
Patch Hacks: Greater freedoms to personalise SFA homes
We understand that being able to personalise your home to suit modern family life is important. So, as part of our ongoing commitment to modernise outdated policies and give Service families more freedoms to personalise their homes, we’re making it easier for you to make self-funded permanent changes to enhance your homes should you wish to.
We’ve streamlined our processes and introduced two categories of permanent enhancements that you can now make to your military home:
Green category permanent enhancements:
These can be carried out immediately by either yourself or a tradesperson, if preferred. There is no longer a requirement to notify DIO or Pinnacle about making these enhancements. Any enhancements will instead be recorded by your Housing Officer during the Move-Out appointment.
These enhancements include installing shelves, curtain poles, blinds and shutters, coat hooks and battery powered doorbells.
Amber category permanent enhancements:
These must be carried out by a qualified tradesperson due to the intrusive element of the works. You will need to notify DIO/Pinnacle of any amber permanent enhancements you wish to make prior to work starting, so they can be given the appropriate installation and safety guidance. You can notify DIO/Pinnacle about this via their new simplified Permanent Enhancement Process.
These enhancements include fitting electric vehicle charging points, external power supplies, external taps, patios and garden decking.
For more information on this announcement, please visit Defence Homes.