Government buys back 431 military homes in North West Cambridgeshire in landmark deal to improve housing for forces families and save taxpayers billions

• Landmark deal struck to bring military housing estate back into public hands. 
• Major deal unlocks new-build housing projects for military families plus essential refurbishments. 
• End to huge annual rental bill to save around £230 million per year. 

This week, the Labour government announced decisive action to fix military housing in North West Cambridgeshire and across the country. A landmark deal to bring the Armed Forces housing estate back into public ownership has been agreed, saving billions of pounds over the next decade – delivering savings for taxpayers and enabling additional investment into homes for military families.

The landmark move reverses a sale undertaken by the then Conservative Government in 1996, which resulted in billions being spent renting back military homes that should never have been sold in the first place. And the agreed price marks an excellent deal for the taxpayer, with the homes being purchased at £4 billion less than their market value. 

Across the UK, thousands of forces’ families are living with damp, mould, and leaks after more than a decade of underinvestment in the maintenance and repair of these ageing homes. 

In North West Cambridgeshire, the Labour government will buy back 431 homes from the private landlord currently owning them. 

Taking back control of the military housing estate will save taxpayers £230 million a year in rent – equivalent to £600,000 per day. 

The Prime Minister has committed to delivering homes fit for our heroes, and this deal will unlock a major programme of rebuilding and refurbishing military housing. It will also help achieve milestones in economic growth and boost housebuilding nationwide.  

Sam Carling MP, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire said: 

“Speaking to military families across North West Cambridgeshire and across the country in recent weeks, I’ve heard clearly that too many are living in substandard housing and this cannot go on. I’m proud that the Labour Government has taken this step to tackle the problem and deliver better infrastructure for our servicemen and women, at the same as delivering much better value for taxpayers.” 

Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence said:

“This deal shows our government is determined to deliver homes fit for our heroes.  These important savings to the defence budget will help fix the deep-set problems we inherited. The money lost due to the Conservatives’ bad deals could have been spent on making forces’ housing fit for the future. Our Labour government has taken decisive action to reverse that deal, bringing military housing back into public hands and unlocking investment for the future. 

There is still a lot of work to do to deliver the homes our military families deserve, and these problems 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.”