What housing crisis? Military has 10,000 empty homes

THE Ministry of Defence has been accused of adding to Britain’s housing crisis by holding on to 10,000 empty military homes.

The Commons public accounts committee (PAC) says it is “scandalous” that the MOD has failed to reduce the number of empty properties it holds.

The parliamentary report also says that service personnel and their families have been given inadequate and poorly maintained accommodation for years.

The committee, which has given the Government until November 30 to provide a full account of what it is doing to raise satisfaction levels among personnel, said in its report: “We are not convinced that the department treats housing as a priority.”

The report reserves some of its strongest criticism for the 1996 sale and leaseback deal of more than 55,000 properties.

The MOD agreed to rent homes back from Annington Property Ltd for 200 years.

But the PAC says that the deal “cost the taxpayer billions of pounds, while enabling Annington to make excessive returns”.

Annington, which had expected a reasonable profit for the limited risks involved, has enjoyed a windfall 13.4 per cent annual return, fuelled by greater than forecast house price rises.

It is calculated that the MOD would have been between £2.2 billion and £4.2billion better off had it held on to the estate.

The committee found that the MOD had made almost no progress in the past 20 years in reducing the number of empty properties it holds. “The department now retains 39,000 units but has not made any meaningful attempt to surrender properties since the early 2000s,” the report states.

Meg Hillier MP, the chairman of the committee, said: “Taxpayers have lost billions as a result of this appalling deal and there could be worse to come if the MOD fares poorly in rent negotiations.

“The uncertainty over negotiations is a further slap in the face for those forces families who, for far too long, have endured poor standards of subsidised accommodation.

“The MOD needs to move quickly to shore up its negotiating position.”