Today, 22nd May 2026, is the fifteenth anniversary of the official end of Operation Telic, the formal name for UK operations in Iraq that began with the 2003 invasion and subsequent removal of the dictator.
A recent BAFF blog post mentioned that the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is due to come into force in May 2026.
There was nothing specifically about service accommodation in the Renters' Rights Bill as first introduced by the Labour Government - or in its predecessor Bill introduced under the Conservative Government but never completed its stages before the General Election in 2024.
Sarah Gibson MP (Lib Dem, Chippenham) found cross-party support for a clause to be added to the Bill to require an annual assessment of
(a) the extent to which service family accommodation in England meets the relevant standards during that year, and
(b)the work to maintain and improve the standard of service family accommodation in England that is undertaken during that year and planned for subsequent years.
The first report will cover the year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
This provision only covers England, but the Act also includes powers for Scottish and Welsh Ministers to make complementary provisions for their jurisdictions.
While elections are imminent in both Scotland and Wales, we trust that the necessary regulations will be adopted as soon as possible, so that assessment of service accommodation in both nations can proceed on a similar timetable to England's.
- Part 3 Renters' Rights Act 2025 - Decent Homes Standard
- The Renters' Rights Bill - Sarah Gibson MP
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is intended to implement Labour Party manifesto commitments to 'overhaul the regulation of our country’s insecure and unjust private rented sector'. The Act only applies to England, and will be brought into force in three phases, with the first phase expected to come into force on 1 May 2026.
While the Act is intended to 'provide tangible benefits for responsible landlords' by providing simpler regulation, as its title implies the primary intention is to protect tenants.
The excellent 'Landlords' Toolkit' page on the Army Families Federation website lists the major changes under the Act, and also explains that
The Government proposes, in the Armed Forces Bill currently before Parliament, to establish a new standalone corporate body to be called the Defence Housing Service.