LONDON, June 9 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
Anew DefenceHousingService which will have Armed Forces families at itshearthas moved forwardwith theappointmentof itsfirstChair, ahead of its formal establishment next year.
NatalieElphicke Ross OBE has been appointed as the Interim Chair of the Ministry ofDefence's (MOD) new Defence Housing Service.She will play a crucial role in leading the transition to the new organisation, ensuring it is ready to deliver for military personnel and their familiesfrom day one.
Natalie's appointment comes asnew data shows that the improvement drive led byMinisterstofixthe dire state ofForceshousingis starting to bear fruit-withthelatest survey data showing asignificant risein satisfaction levels among thoselivingin military homes.
Data collected by Opinion Research Services on behalf of the MOD shows overall satisfaction with military homes has increased by 12 percentage points over the past year, with 75% of familiesnowsaying they are satisfied. ThenewDefence Housing Service teamisnowbenchmarking their performance against social housing landlords, and the data showsthat for the first timesatisfactionishigher than the nationalaverage for civilianlandlords.
Satisfaction with the MOD's repair service has also improved over the same period, rising by 15 percentage points from an average of 45.5% in 2024/25 to 60.7% in 2025/26.
The creation of a standalone, professionalDefence housing organisation was a key recommendation of the £9billion Defence Housing Strategy, published in November.
The Defence Housing Service is beingestablishedin law through the Armed Forces Bill and willbe responsible formanaging almost 50,000 military homes across the UK. With a service ethos at its heart, it will deliver the recommendations of the housing strategy, including a generational renewal of nine in tenForces homes and theacceleration of thelong-termpotential for100,000 new homesof all typeson surplus defence land.
NatalieElphicke Ross, who was Chair of the Defence Housing Strategy Review Team, has a wealth of experience in the housing industry, including asChair of The Housing & Finance Institute. A former law firm partner specialising in housing finance, she hasadvisedcentral and local governments, lenders,developersand housing associations on financing,structuringand delivering homes across all tenures. Shepreviouslyestablisheda new consumer standards body and ombudsman for newly built homes.
Natalie Elphicke Ross, Interim Chair of the Defence Housing Service, said:
Our pride in our armed forces must include pride in our military homes. The Defence Housing Service must drive through a generational renewal to rebuild,refitand refurbish defence homes, meet military operational requirements and make service to military families central to the new organisation. That will be at the heart of my work as the first chair of the Defence Housing Service.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
The Defence Housing Service will deliver a generational renewal of military homes, turning the corner on years of sub-standard military homes and providing the step change in quality and service that our Armed Forces families deserve.
Natalie is an excellentappointmentand I look forward to continuing to work closely with her to drive that mission forward.
Army Families Federation Housing SpecialistCatCalder, said:
I worked closely with Natalie in the Defence Housing Review and know first-hand how determined she is to see improvements in Defence housing. I am pleased to see that she will continue this as the first chair of the Defence Housing Service. I look forward to continuing to work with Natalie and the whole DHS team to drive much better outcomes for service families.
The MOD is alreadydelivering onits mission to transform Armed Forces housing,completinga raft of commitments made to Service families. This includes upgrades to 1,250 homes in the last 12 months, with a further 2,000 more planned thisfinancial year, modernising outdated policies, improving move-in standards and setting up a dedicated committee that puts the voices of families at the heart of decision making.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
