The Ministry of Defence has purchased 36,347 military homes from Annington Homes which secured ownership of the properties in a 1996 deal with the government.

This deal has been struck to end the £230m annual rental bill currently being paid by the government, which will save taxpayers an estimated £600,000 a day.

With military housing now back under public ownership, the government has claimed this will help make way for essential refurbishments and create new housing stock.

Planning applications will be submitted in the coming days for 265 new houses and apartments at RAF Brize Norton, and further plans will be submitted in the Spring for around 300 new houses at Catterick Garrison.

Commenting on the deal, defence secretary John Healey highlighted that the quality of many military homes has been deteriorating.

“Our armed forces and their families make extraordinary sacrifices: theirs is the ultimate public service.

“It is shameful that in the lead up to Christmas, too many military families will be living with damp, mould and sub-standard homes — issues which have built up over the past decade,” said Healey.

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“We are determined to turn this around and renew the nation’s contract with those who serve. These important savings to the defence budget will help fix the deep-set problems we inherited. I thank the teams who have helped us reach this landmark deal at pace — another example of this government delivering for defence.” 

Despite this, the deal struck in 1996 saw the MOD still responsible for all maintenance since then.

The MOD has argued that any improvements made would have incurred greater rental costs for military families.

The government was also blocked from demolishing or building new properties under the agreement, with many of these homes built in the 50s and 60s.  From a fiscal perspective, the government claims this 27 year deal has cost taxpayers £8bn as a result.

In 1996, nearly 55,000 homes were sold at an average of £27,000 per property. Since then over 18,000 properties were handed over to Annington for free, despite being worth £5.2bn.

“This is a landmark deal that will start saving the taxpayer money immediately, all while driving forward our mission to create growth across the country,” added chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.

“Not only does it open the door to major development and improvements across the military housing estate, but most important of all, it will help us on our mission to build more houses and deliver our service personnel the homes they deserve.”