‘Shock’ as MoD tries to buy back military homes

Owner warns Ministers of legal action

A COMPANY which owns more than 3,000 military homes in Yorkshire is attempting to head off Government attempts to forcibly buy back the properties.

Annington Homes has a portfolio of 57,400 military properties including 3,044 in Yorkshire. The homes which were sold off by the Government in 1996 for £1.7bn.

But the company said the Ministry of Defence and UK Government Investments, the state’s investing arm, are seeking to forcibly buy back the business, where it still has leasehold and maintenance agreements on around 38,000 properties.

Annington said it would be prepared to establish a £105m fund to improve and modernise the homes – despite the maintenance of the properties being the responsibility of the Government.

It told the MoD that the cash made available for the fund will instead need to be used for

legal costs if an agreement is not found in the next two weeks and a litigation process begins.

Annington said improvements would include upgraded heating and insulation, refreshed fixtures and fittings in kitchens and bathrooms, and improvements to the external and internal structure of buildings to reduce and eliminate chronic and widespread damp. It is intended that the money will be focussed on homes with the most acute need of repair.

Last week, Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin said the Government would explore whether leasehold enfranchisement deals, designed for individual tenants to buy properties off their landlords, could be used to buy back the homes – initially through a test case purchase of two properties.

In a letter to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Annington chair Baroness Helen Liddell said she was “shocked” by the Government’s approach.

She accused the MoD of serving the company enfranchise notices on two houses in Cranwell, Lincolnshire, and then forcing the sale of both properties to newly formed company Defence Infrastructure Holdings for £1.

Annington said the Government is “seeking without notice to tear up a long-standing agreement, which sends a dreadful signal to businesses”.