I am due posting to another area, I would like to keep my SFA flat in my current town. I have been informed by welfare that this is usually possible given a satisfactory reason.
I was wondering whether anyone has had a similar experience and if so what was the outcome.
To give some context I am not married, living with a long term GF. 16 Bde recently allowed non-married couples to use surplus accommodation.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Thats a bit of a curiousity that they have let the SFA be used like that. Taking into account long term relationships into accommodation eligibility is a consideration under FAM, so on the face of it they are forward thinking, but it will depend on the nature of the surplus SFA.
In theory surplus SFA eligibility’s are dropping away as the estate was sold off and rented back. This means the MoD are subsidising the housing due to the amount they pay to Annington and in comparison to the discounted rent paid by SLA/SFA tennants. The current NHP contract doesn’t pay the support contrator (CarillionAmey — now just Amey) for empty SFA so they have to allocate and move people in to get paid to run the estate
Anything surplus should be considered for giving up and handing back to Annington, (this doesn’t happen if they are earmarked such as rebasing from Germany), but they can be also put to the private housing on limited leases so they can be reverted later when required.
It may be that they have gone for an inbetween solution and made available to you.
Retention of SFA is subject to a case by case basis on application, and is also subject to the need to hold the SFA but it’s currently surplus. It all goes wrong when they have to go to SSFA and pay full private rental prices to house families because the formerly ‘surplus’ properties are in use by cuckoos.
What kind of rent charges are you paying?
If you’re paying normal SFA rates then by using the mess and commuting you would get two accommodation subsidies with one of those for a non entitled partner