Military homes ‘too mouldy and damp’ to live in, say MPS

THE number of military homes that are too mouldy to live in has risen by twothirds, figures show, as hundreds of families complain every month.

Maintenance contractors were contacted about damp and mould thousands of times during the past eight months.

A total of 1,324 properties were not allocated to servicemen and their families because of damp or mould issues last year, according to Ministry of Defence figures. That is an increase of 65 per cent over the past two years, after 801 properties were not allocated for the same reason in 2020.

Some 2,684 service families called the national service centre run by Pinnacle Group, which serves families in 49,000 properties nationwide, to complain about damp and mould between April and December last year, an average of 336 per month.

Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chairman of the defence select committee, said: “The welfare of our troops must receive the same priority as training or soldiers will vote with their feet and quit the forces.”

Luke Pollard, Labour’s shadow Armed Forces minister, said “the Tories must tackle the failings of their contractors”. Richard Drax, a Tory member of the defence select committee, has also backed claims Britain is providing substandard accommodation.

Last month, ministers were in talks to axe Pinnacle’s housing contract after families were forced to spend Christmas in mould-infested homes. Pinnacle said it did not carry out property repairs, which are handled by maintenance contractors Amey Defence Services and Vivo Defence Services.

A spokesman for Vivo said it undertook phone-based assessments when a service family contacted Pinnacle to report damp or mould in a home. Mark Francois, of the defence select committee, added: “We call our service personnel heroes but we don’t always treat them and their loved ones accordingly, and then we wonder why they leave.”

An MOD spokesman said: “Some personnel and their families are not receiving the level of accommodation services that they deserve.”

A spokesman for Amey said: “Unfortunately some older military housing can experience damp, particularly in winter. We are very aware of the impact this can have on residents and their families and make it a priority to respond and provide remedial action quickly, once issues are flagged to us.”