Gove’s rent reforms won’t defend Forces families

Thousands of military families have been left out Michael Gove’s plans to raise housing standards, despite living in damp houses which pose a health risk to their children.

The Ministry of Defence provides some 49,000 homes to soldiers and their families. But new laws designed to hold private and social housing landlords to account will not apply to these homes, which are managed by Pinnacle Group, a commercial company.

Experts say this could be in breach of the military covenant, which says those who serve, or have served, in the Armed Forces “should face no disadvantage compared with other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services”.

In February, an amendment was made to the Social Housing Bill that will require social landlords to fix damp and mould in their properties within strict time limits. Mr Gove, the Housing Secretary, added the amendment to the Bill after two-year- old Awaab Ishak died from chronic exposure to harmful mould in a Rochdale social housing property.

It forms part of the “Decent Homes Standard”, which Mr Gove also intends to apply to private landlords through the Renters Reform Bill — a separate bill introduced earlier this month.

But military families living in properties provided by the Ministry of Defence fall under neither Bill, the Government has confirmed.

Stephen Hodgson, chief executive of the Property Care Association, a trade association, said: “If you are a soldier living in social housing, the Bill applies. But if you live in a property managed by the Government, you fall outside. That seems really unfair.

“Lots of military families are living in properties with catalogues of problems. There’s currently no recourse if things go wrong.”

In 2021, the Ministry of Defence awarded a £144m housing contract for its 49,000 homes to Pinnacle Group. Two other companies, Amey and Vivo, are responsible for carrying out repairs and maintenance.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it has held housing contractors to account and has withheld profits where contracted performance levels are not met. “Our Armed Forces personnel and their families deserve high- quality accommodation, and around 97pc of military homes meet or exceed the Government’s Decent Homes Standard,” the spokesman said.