Trialling a new approach to housing for service personnel

While armed-service accommodation is often synonymous with barracks and family bases, three new MOD Family Accommodation Model (FAM) pilots, launched in 2019 and 2020, offer service personnel a different option.

As part of its aim to modernise its accommodation offer while also making it more affordable, we’ve worked closely with the MOD to design and launch three pilots that are trialling a new approach to housing for service personnel.

The Family Accommodation Model pilots

The pilots offer a more flexible option in which service personnel can choose to take a financial subsidy instead of paying for traditional military housing options. They can use this to rent privately with whoever they choose, or even get onto the housing ladder.

The new approach is changing the lives of service personnel in the pilot areas by offering them more choice – with the potential to impact the lives of thousands more service personnel and their families in the future.

A detailed operational model

To help the MOD design and trial this new accommodation model, we brought together a team of specialists in real estate, financial modelling, data analytics, tax, audit and human capital.

“We needed a broad mix of skills to develop a clear understanding of the factors that would influence how the MOD could best go about trialling more flexible accommodation options for service personnel” said Deloitte director Katie Lowry.

This included building a picture of how many service personnel might choose to live in privately-rented accommodation and determining what mechanisms the MOD could best use to offer this choice and test its long-term viability.

“Bringing together an understanding of the private rental market, behavioural trends with our financial assurance expertise, we created a model that could test out a range of scenarios.”

Exploring the full range of options was essential to give the MOD a firm financial footing on which to proceed.

Making a difference

As well as offering greater choice, FAM also recognises the changing lifestyles of service personnel, broadening the entitlement for family accommodation beyond those who are married or in civil partnerships to include people in established long-term relationships, and divorced parents with shared custody of children.

“Now the pilots are underway” continues Katie “our role is to work with the MOD to keep developing its understanding of the issues that are important to its people and their families, and how the models are working in practice”.

Due to run until 2023, it’s hoped this work will help inform a significant, positive change to military life.