Blandford: Garrison Carpet cleaner hire

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update – 11 July 25

Planning for move-ins/outs and removals this summer

Summer is the busiest time of the year for housing allocations and removal activity. Our suppliers will always strive to meet your preferred dates, however because of the volume of requests, on occasions this is not always possible.

To help manage this busy time and ensure you have a smooth experience, we recommend families consider our advice and guidance when planning for move-ins/outs and removals:

Book your pre-move-out appointment with your Housing Officer as soon as you apply for your next SFA (at least 30 working days ahead of your scheduled move-out date). We have extended the time to complete a pre-move-out appointment from 14 to 30 working days, allowing more time for you to receive advice on moving-out and guidance to prepare your house in meeting the move-out standard. If circumstances allow, please only request services during the last week of July and first week of August if you are unable to move at any other time. These are particularly popular dates and tend to be fully booked in advance. We understand how important it is to receive your next allocation and status of your application as soon as possible. Pinnacle have 15 working days to process your request, we kindly ask you do not chase for an update before this timeframe. You can start planning your removal as soon as Assignment Orders are received via the Agility Portal. To start the process, you only need the location and not a confirmed delivery address. Once you have been allocated SFA, it is advised to confirm availability for removals before booking a move-in/out appointment.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Agility directly (remember to include your service number). For further guidance, please visit the Pinnacle website.

Identifying your local named Housing Officer

To help you easily find out who your local point of contact is and ensure you can speak to your Housing Officer over the phone when you most need advice or help about your SFA – a full list of Pinnacle’s Housing Officers (including a name and direct telephone number) has been made available on the Pinnacle website, or you can call the National Service Centre on 0800 031 8628 (option 4).

You can find FAQs on the Defence Homes website, if you would like to find out more about the role of a Housing Officer, when you might contact them and additional ways of getting in touch.

This is in support of the SFA Consumer Charter commitment to provide families with better and clearer communication, including a named Housing Officer for every service family who can be contacted about housing related queries. Progress is underway for the remaining commitments which are due to be in place by December 2025.

JLL stock condition surveys return

From 21 July – 1 September 2025, DIO have commissioned Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to continue the Stock Condition Survey on 1,000 UK SFA homes across 20 sites. The homes selected will be of different types, age and condition.

If your SFA is selected, you will receive a notification letter from JLL at least 2 weeks before the intended date of the inspection, requesting your availability to allow the surveyor access to your property. The surveys will take a maximum of 1 hour.

Where possible, we greatly appreciate your cooperation if you can provide access to your property, as this will allow the surveyor to successfully carry out the survey and inform a detailed assessment of the condition of SFA homes.

Please note your home will not be selected if you have already taken part in a previous survey (from January 2025).

Blandford: Garrison housing issues - drop in sessions

1st & 3rd Wednesday of every month, 0900-1200hrs. At the Pinnacle Office located in the Estates Building, Murdos Road, Blandford Camp.

If you have any issues regarding your Service Family Accommodation and would like to speak to someone face-to-face, pop along, no appointment necessary.

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

Grantham: Housing Surgery

Next Housing Surgery at the HIVE Community Centre, Building 162, Thursday 17th July, 1030 - 1230. All welcome!

Information provided by Grantham HIVE

Stafford: Housing Surgery Beacon Barracks welfare office Wednesday 6th August 2025 13:00- 14:00

Information provided by Stafford HIVE

Bovington: Garrison DIO housing surgery Wed 6th Aug

If you have any housing issues or concerns, please use this opportunity to come along and speak in person to a housing representative from Pinnacle/Vivo

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

Leuchars: Pinnacle Drop-in sessions, Wednesdays 13:00-15:00

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Your local Pinnacle office Drop-in is on Wednesdays 13:00-15:00.

Information provided by Leuchars HIVE

Scotland: Residential vacancies in Edinburgh and Dundee at Scottish Veterans Residences

Scottish Veterans Residences currently have SPACES available for Veterans who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or in need. 

There are a small number of vacancies at our residences in Edinburgh and Dundee, with a couple of possible openings in Glasgow soon. 

Please get in touch if you are a Veteran who is homeless, experiencing homelessness, or in need.

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update - 27 June 25

An update on communal areas

We have heard from many of you at our SFA roadshows and we know families wish to be able enjoy communal spaces and gardens to the front of their properties. In many cases, these areas provide a valuable space for garden furniture and play equipment.

We have a duty to ensure that communal areas are safe, but we also want to see a common-sense approach that balances safety and convenience for families.

The SFA Consumer Charter announced in April sets out our commitment to empower families and to enable you to take decisions about your home.

For the safety and enjoyment of all, please note the following advice regarding the use of outdoor communal spaces:

• Families are encouraged to use and to enjoy gardens and communal areas.
• Communal areas can be used for families to gather and socialise, provided this does not disturb other neighbours.
• Families have the choice to use items (such as garden furniture) in external communal areas. If families wish for our teams to carry out ground maintenance, we kindly request items are removed when not in use (as they will need access to a clear area to carry out the work). However, if families find enjoyment and pride in maintaining the area themselves, they are welcome to keep their items out.
• Please talk to your Housing Officer regarding larger items that are fixed and cannot be easily removed such as trampolines, swing sets, bike stores etc that you wish to place in communal areas.
• Items that pose an immediate health and safety risk to others such as rope swings, and tree houses may be removed without notice to ensure the safety of all.

DIO Families First Newsletter – Issue 28

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The latest issue of the Families First newsletter is now available on the Defence Homes website and Defence Connect.

Chepstow: Pinnacle Housing Officer & Pinnacle Services for Beachley, Chepstow

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Pinnacle Housing Officer - Cardiff, Chepstow & St Athan.
Drop in's at Chepstow & St Athan (see poster for details)

Click here to view online.

Information provided by Wales HIVE Hub.

St Athan: Pinnacle Housing Officer & Pinnacle Services for St Athan

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Pinnacle Housing Officer - Cardiff, Chepstow & St Athan.
Drop in's at Chepstow & St Athan (see poster for details)

Click here to view online.


Information provided by Wales HIVE Hub.

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update - 20 June 25

Prolonged dry weather and water conservation

Those living overseas will be well-accustomed to warmer weather, but for those living in the UK please note several areas across England and Wales have experienced the driest spring for over 60 years, and in some cases since records began. This has led to the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales declaring a combination of drought status and prolonged dry weather status for many regions

To help conserve water follow the recommended actions:

• Consider taking a quick shower instead of a bath.
• Be mindful not to keep taps running for longer than needed to avoid water wastage.
• Try to run dishwashers and washing machines with a full load.
• Check and report any leaks in toilets, faucets or pipes to Pinnacle by calling 0800 031 8628.

Collectively, these small actions can make a big difference to available water resources. Thank you for your support and co-operation.


Summer safety tips

Summer is upon us, and we want to share some Summer Safety Tips to keep you and your family safe during warmer weather.

For advice on summer safety including window restrictors, BBQs, and what to do if you find a wasp or bees nest inside your property, visit: https://www.pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk/in-my-home/summer-tips/

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update - 16 June 25

Revised move-in and move-out specification.

We are pleased to update Service Personnel and families that the specification to which homes are prepared for move-in has now been revised. This follows changes to the specification that we had to make last year.  

One of the commitments of the Consumer Charter to improve SFA announced in April 2025, is to provide a more robust move-in standard so that families can have confidence that the home they are moving into will be ready on time and will be clean and functional. These commitments support the new Defence Housing Strategy, that will be published later this year. 

The revised move-in and move-out specification, effective immediately, returns to the previous standard with additional specifications including: 

• Hard flooring being used in downstairs areas instead of carpet when replacement is required. 
• The use of white paint to decorate inside homes. 
• Vinyl flooring being used in all bathrooms, WC, kitchens and utility rooms if floor tiles, or hard flooring are not already installed when replacement is required.   
• Allowing up to four picture hooks per room to be left at move out without charges being incurred. 

This revision to the specification has been made possible following funding secured for financial year 2025/2026 and £1.5 bn of additional funding announced earlier this month by the Defence Secretary, Rt Hon John Healey MP to deliver longer term and enduring improvements to UK SFA housing as part of the Government’s Strategic Defence Review.

The revised move-in and move-out standards can be read in full on the Pinnacle website.

Dreghorn: Pinnacle drop-in sessions, Tuesdays 1300-1500

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Information provided by Leuchars HIVE

DIO Families First Newsletter - 2 Jun 25 Edition now available

Click poster to enlarge.

To view online please click this link to the Defence Homes website.

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update - 2 Jun 25

 

Defence Secretary announces £1.5bn investment in SFA

As you may have seen in the news over the weekend, the Defence Secretary Rt Hon John Healey MP announced an additional £1.5 billion of funding, over the next five years, to improve military accommodation across the UK.

Following the landmark deal which brought 36,347 military homes back into public ownership, we have already begun the process of transformative change. This includes the delivery of the seven commitments set out in the Consumer Charter that we shared with you last month. These commitments reflect our plans to transform living conditions for you across the UK through improved service provision, communication and upgrades to homes.

DIO has advocated for sustained investment into the estate for many years and we believe this will be a turning point in allowing us to deliver significant change to your future lived experience.

Catterick: Garrison Contact/Welfare House

 Information provided by North HIVE Hub

Future Defence Housing questionnaire by the Families Federations, as part of the Defence Housing Strategy review

 

As part of the independent Defence Housing Strategy Review, the Families Federations are launching a questionnaire on Defence housing for the future.

They are looking for all Service Personnel of all ages, ranks, PstatCats and their families to complete this.

They are seeking views on current SFA, new builds and home ownership to help shape decisions on housing options for generations to come.

Click here to have your say online

You can also read the press release here

Chatham: Neighbourhood Watch - catching nuisance vehicles

With the warmer weather comes an increase in nuisance vehicles on our green spaces and off-road areas. 

Neighbourhood Watch did a lot of work on off road vehicles last summer in the Chatham area and we found that the most effective and efficient way of dealing with this nuisance is to gather evidence, identify offenders and surprise them at their homes.

Often people will call us and tell us there are off road bikes with a limited description. What would really help us would be:

Any clear picture or videos of offenders (but don’t put yourself at any risk getting them)

Licence plate numbers (if vehicles have them)

Accompanying vehicles – often nuisance bikes travel to off road areas in vans or on trailers. Tell us the registrations of the accompanying vehicles!

Is it your neighbour? Are your neighbours or the family across the road always going out on these bikes but you don’t say as you don’t want to fall out with them? 

Click HERE for more information.

Information provided by South East HIVE Hub