Buy-to-let
The Ministry of Defence has launched a new tenancy deposit scheme aimed at helping personnel move home easier by taking care of part of the cost.
The scheme allows defence personnel to apply for an advance-salary loan to meet the cost of a deposit for a rental property.
The loan is limited only to the cost of the deposit and must be repaid within a year. Landlords are obliged to put the received deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit protection scheme. Then tenants have 45 days to provide their line manager with the necessary paperwork (usually a certificate) that proves the deposit has been transferred.
Repayments are recovered from salary on a monthly basis – in a very similar manner to the government’s season ticket advance scheme.
Commenting on the new scheme Chief of Defence People, Lieutenant General Andrew Gregory, said:
“I am delighted that all permanent Service and civilian personnel, including staff in DE&S, are able to apply for this scheme and I am particularly grateful to the Department of Communities and Local Government who originally developed this initiative and then encouraged us to take part.
“The scheme reinforces the Department’s Whole Force Approach to all those permanent employees of Defence – military and Civil Service, who collectively deliver our outputs. Moving home can be expensive and can lead to cash flow challenges for individuals and families; the Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme is designed to alleviate that problem. It will help allow individuals to exercise greater choice in where and how they live their lives, and it complements wider efforts for Service personnel, particularly under the New Employment Model, to modernise their terms and conditions of service.”
