Amey’s leading Facilities Management team have been working closely with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to reduce the number of empty properties across the UK, through the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Sub-let Project. Some of our Service Family Accommodation, not currently required for use by Service personnel, is being made available to let by civilians on six-month tenancy agreements.
The scheme maximises occupancy levels, and reduces voids across the Defence estate, providing extra income for DIO to put towards other projects benefitting Service personnel. It also ensures regular property maintenance and fills up estates to give them more of a community feel, as well as contributing towards increasing the housing stock in the private market and getting the best use out of public assets. The six-month tenancy agreement ensures flexibility to use the properties for Service personnel, should they need it.
The defence team within the wider Amey business supports the DIO Service Delivery Accommodation Planning and Requirements team in identifying properties across the National Housing Prime contract that could be made available for the scheme. The DIO team also engage with local Chain of Command and then our local teams will ensure properties are at move in standard.
Orchard & Shipman, residential property management specialists, have been appointed by us to advertise and manage these properties, whilst we continue to deliver the same maintenance service we provide for Service families. They have over 30 years’ experience managing over 3000 properties and delivering a caring customer focused approach.
Richard Sewter, Assistant Head of Accommodation Plans and Requirements for
DIO Service Delivery Accommodation, said:
“We are pleased that partly through effective collaboration with Amey and others we have, to date, let some 850 properties across a number of sites across the UK. There are a number of significant benefits to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in doing this. Some are quite obvious in that it reduces the financial burden of retaining empty houses, reduces the security risk of keeping these houses empty and it enables the MoD to remain flexible especially at a time where there is still uncertainty over the future of some MoD establishments. Furthermore, the rental income generated can be reinvested in the MoD estate.”