If you’re expecting an assignment order soon, a recent change to policy means that the timelines for applying for housing have changed. Housing Specialist Cat Calder explains more…
Currently, you need to let your housing provider (Pinnacle if you’re in the UK) know that you have had a new assignment order within 14 days of receiving it; you can apply for housing at any time but the request won’t be looked at until four months beforehand.
The recent change means that for any assignment order received after 1 October 2023, you must apply a minimum of two months before the date you need the property to allow enough time for allocations to be made (including the issue of a Non-Availability Certificate and sourcing of a hiring), your new home to be brought up to standard and move-in appointments made. If you apply with less notice than this, every effort will be made to allocate you suitable accommodation but it can’t be guaranteed that this will be in time for your preferred date.
If no accommodation can be arranged in time, as the request was made with less than two months’ notice, the MOD will not be responsible for funding temporary family accommodation and the serving person may be expected to move into Single Living Accommodation (SLA) for the short term at their own expense.
Of course, there will always be short-notice postings which mean you can’t submit a housing application two months beforehand and these will be taken into consideration.
If you do receive a short-notice posting you must apply for housing immediately using the e1132 and state the date of the short-notice assignment as the reason for the late application.
Once you have submitted your e1132, Pinnacle has 15 working days to process your application.
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For more information, look at our housing pages at aff.org.uk or contact our housing team housingsupport@aff.org.uk