Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 111519 on Armed Forces: Housing, whether a property is required to have an investigation carried out by a professional surveyor on behalf of (a) VIVO or (b) Amey for (i) damp or (ii) mould before it can be ruled out of allocation to Service families.

A property is not required to have an investigation carried out by a professional surveyor before it can be ruled out for allocation to Service families. Any evidence of damp and mould would be sufficient. That could come from reports from the previous residents or from visual inspection by staff involved in preparing or assuring the home for Move In, as well as from a professional survey. A professional survey would then be required to determine what work is required to resolve the problem and make the home suitable for allocation. The home should not then be allocated until the recommended works have been completed.