Moving Out

Moving out of your service family home

When the time comes to move out of your home, we’re here to help. We know this can be a particularly busy time, so we do everything we can to make it as easy as possible for you.

Pre-move out appointment

Once you have your assignment order, or another reason for moving, such as leaving the service, you must let us know. To do this just book your pre-move out appointment.

We provide a pre-move out appointment, where your Housing Officer comes to your home to go through the moving out process and advises on anything you need to do to get your home to standard. This lets you know what is required to avoid any potential charges at move out. We also come on the day of your move out to checking through the home with you before you leave

If you are moving to another Service Family Accommodation you book your pre-move out and move out appointment via the e-1132 system. If you are moving out of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) entirely, get in touch with our Home Services team to arrange your pre-move out appointment.

You should book your pre-move out appointment preferably with at least 30 days notice before your move out date. This gives time for you to make any changes required to meet the move out standard.

The pre-move out appointment will take around 1 hour to complete and is there to help you understand exactly what you need to do to avoid any charges at move out. It also gives us an idea of what your home needs to get it ready for the next family.

Your Housing Officer will come to your home and do a full review of it with you. They will advise of any steps you need to take to bring your home up to the move out standard.

They will help you during this busy time for you and your family and will

  • Identify any furniture supplied by the MOD that needs to be removed
  • Talk to you about the cleanliness standard that is required when you move out
  • Confirm your official move out date and time
  • Thoroughly check your home with you and ask you to sign the Pre-Move Out Form to confirm you understand their recommendations to help bring your home to move out standards (link). Type of things checked include
    • The condition of
      • Baths, toilets and sinks
      • Fencing, paths and patios
      • Cooker and kitchen units
      • Electricity consumer unit
      • Floor coverings
      • Curtains and blinds
    • Whether all fans and focal point fires are working
    • Whether any double-glazing units need replacing
    • Any decorating requirements, confirming the date of the last internal decoration
    • Any work that will need to take place in the garden

At this appointment your Housing Officer will give you an indication of what it will cost you if your home does not meet the move out standard in the areas identified when you come to leave.

If for any reason you need to change your pre-move out appointment, please use the e-1132 system. If for any reason you can’t access this system please contact our Home Services Team (link to contacts page) as soon as possible.

Don’t worry, if you can’t be there as the licenced serving person (for example, you are deployed), please contact Home Services on [email protected]. We will then liaise with the Local Service Commander to make appropriate arrangements.

Move out appointment

The move out appointment will take around 1 hour to complete and is there for you to hand over responsibility for your home.

Your Housing Officer  will visit your home, check through everything with you and formally take over responsibility of the home. They will:

Check the condition of your home

Your Housing Officer will have copies of all the forms for your home with them, such as the Move In Form and the 14 Day Observation Form you completed together at move in. They will use this information and the pre-move out data to help when they check the condition of your home against the move out standards (link).

Anything that does not meet the required standard will lead to you being charged but this will have been discussed in detail with you at the pre-move out so should never come as a surprise.

Capture your utility meter readings

Your Housing Officer will record all utility meter numbers, suppliers and meter readings on the Move Out form. If your home is fitted with oil-fired central heating supplied from an individual oil tank they will take the oil fuel reading.

Don’t forget you are responsible for letting your utility suppliers know that you are moving out, and supplying them with them the final meter readings so you aren’t incorrectly charged. Unfortunately, we cannot do this for you.

Record your new address

To help us get in touch with you if necessary once you have moved on, we will record your new address details. This is regardless of whether you are moving into another Service Family Accommodation or not.

Furniture

During your move out appointment, your Housing Officer will check that all MOD-supplied furniture items have been removed from the house.

Keys

So that the home remains safe once you leave and we are able to get it ready for the next family, your Housing Officer (link) will take all of the keys from you. They will record how many you have for each lock and ensure these are kept safe until another family moves in.

At the end of the appointment, you will be asked to sign the Move Out Form and the Repairs Charge Sheet (if applicable). You will be given a printed copy of the Move Out Form and the Repairs Charge Sheet for your records.

If for any reason you need to change your move out appointment, please use the e-1132 system. If for any reason you can’t access this system please contact our Home Services Team as soon as possible.

Don’t worry, if you can’t be there as the licenced Serving person, you can officially nominate someone to attend on your behalf. Typically, this is either a spouse/civil partner/partner or another Serving person. To nominate a proxy to attend and act on your behalf please complete the relevant section on the e-1132 system.

If for any reason you need to change your move out date, please use the e-1132 system. If for any reason you can’t access this system please contact our Home Services Team as soon as possible.

Moving Standards

When you move out of your home, it is highly likely a new family will be moving in very soon after. You must leave your home in accordance with the move-out standard.

These standards have been developed by all stakeholders involved in providing your Service Family Accommodation and are in line with the Government Decent Homes Standard.

To help you understand what you need to do, your Housing Officer will go through everything with you at the pre-move out. It is really important you take action on any work required of you, or you may be charged.

To avoid being charged when you move out you must follow the advice set by your Housing Officer at the pre-move out appointment. You will have at least 28 days between your pre-move out and move out appointments to make changes.

Remember to always check your home against the full move out standards and complete the list of work agreed with your Housing Officer at your pre-move out appointment

Full move-out standards

Move out charges

Your Housing Officer will use a Repairs Charge Sheet to record any charges you may incur if your home does not meet move out standards, excepting fair wear and tear, and take photos to record any areas where charges have been identified.

Charges will be deducted from JPA and you will receive a letter notifying you of these in advance of any charges being raised.  The minimum drawing rate (MDR) will apply to any deductions made from your pay account.  The MDR is designed to protect Service Personnel by guaranteeing that deductions will not be made once the MDR threshold is reached and any outstanding balances will be carried forward to the next pay month until the debt has been cleared.  Further information on the MDR can be found in JSP 754.

If, after speaking with your Housing Officer to resolve any issues, you remain dissatisfied with the service or the outcome, you will need to log a formal complaint.

Walkaway Scheme

This operated under the previous contract and ended in March 2022. There will be no walkaway scheme, or equivalent, under this contract.