MoD strikes £6 billion deal to buy back more than 36,000 military homes
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Thousands of military homes will be brought back into public ownership at a cost of almost £6 billion. The Ministry of Defence will buy back 36,347 homes from property firm Annington, reversing the 1996 privatisation process. Ministers and officials said the deal would mean ending the £230 million annual rental cost of the homes.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the “dreadful deal” to privatise the service family estate was a “fire sale” by the Conservatives in the run-up to the 1997 general election. “Today ends one of the worst-ever government deals,” he said. Mr Healey said problems with military accommodation “will not be fixed overnight” but “this is a decisive break with the failed approach of the past and a major step forward on that journey”.
He said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity, not only to fix the dire state of military housing but to help drive forward our economic growth mission, creating jobs and boosting British housebuilding. “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. “We are determined to turn this around and renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.
