Getty ImagesDamp and loose accommodation could see more officers decide to leave the force unless improvements are made, MPs are warning.
The Commons Defense Committee has concluded that two-thirds of homes for service families need “extensive renovation or rebuilding” to meet modern standards.
The cross-party group says it is “not confident” money will be made available to tackle the issue.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) told the BBC that the report “shows the dire state of service accommodation that this government has inherited and is committed to fixing.”
Two years ago, the BBC reported Military families living in wet and damp conditions. At the time, the MoD said it was working with its contractors to improve the service.
But the report released Wednesday said those problems “still exist.”
“It is shocking that until the policy change in 2022, it was considered acceptable for households known to have damp and mould”.
In July 2023, the Defense Infrastructure Organization (DIO) – which is responsible for maintaining and servicing military housing – was given £400m to tackle these issues over the next two years.
But, the report said, “outstanding issues” remain across the state that the DIO “must address”.
One man told the committee in written evidence that he had been “surveyed (multiple times)”.
He was given a “standards package” to address the issue, which he said was “widely reported to be unfit for purpose.”
“It’s a one-size-fits-all approach that wastes money and doesn’t get to the root of the problem,” he said.
The DIO told the committee that it had seen “positive results” in the packages of works provided to deal with damp and mold in “more than 80 per cent of cases”.
The committee said detailed statistics on the number of affected properties should be published by June next year and updated annually.
The report also highlighted the problems of single living.
The report said there were “months of hot water shortages in winter, heating failure, flooding, dampness, rat breeding and inadequate facilities for washing and cooking”.
It added, “Aging housing blocks often cannot meet the needs and standards of modern living”, and “this is having a negative impact on recruitment and retention”.
The report said that 40 percent of those living in single housing said their experience of living there had “increased their intention to leave the armed forces” – up from 34 percent in 2022.
In written evidence to the committee, one man said there were “broken ceiling panels, old bathroom and washing facilities, furniture and fittings that are more than 40 years old”.
He said it “does not represent a modern fighting force”.
But the committee said it was “not confident” that enough money would be available to address those issues.
“The MoD has recognized that current levels of funding are insufficient to bring all service accommodation up to decent, modern standards, and that ‘it is investment that will ultimately drive change’.”
However “in the current economic environment, and with many competing pressures on public funds, we do not believe that the sustained investment required will be forthcoming in the future defense budget.”
The report essentially reflects the situation in May – under the previous Conservative government – with little or no evidence taken under the current Labor government.
In response, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “We are presenting our plan for change by renewing the country’s contract with service members, and we will improve the quality of accommodation for our personnel and their families. are working hard to improve – including developing new standards for service accommodation,” he said.
“We are committed to listening to our people and establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner who will act as a strong, independent champion for personnel and their families to improve service life. “
Tan Dhesi, Labor chair of the Defense Committee, said, “It is not acceptable to expect people who fight for their country to live in sweltering damp and moldy homes – conditions that would And there is a threat to the health of their families.”
“It is clear that many of these problems cannot be solved without major investment,” he said.
“However tight public finances may be, the Ministry of Defense and Finance need to find a way to work together to ensure that all service housing on offer is of a genuinely good standard. “