Making an application for Service Family Accommodation (SFA).
Applying for SFA can be a big change. The information on the page is here to help you through the application process and provide all the information you need to help you have a successful move.
Applying for Service Family Accommodation
You can apply for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) at the place you are posted if:
- You are still serving and have at least six months left in service
- You are 18 or over
- You are married, in a civil partnership, or have permanent custody of children
If you are single or in a long-term relationship (LTRE), you may be able to live in SFA homes if they are available. A long-term relationship must meet set rules and be recorded on Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) by your unit’s HR team.
The type of home you can get depends on your rank (for officers) or your family size (for other ranks).
For full rules about SFA in the UK, check JSP 464 Part 1.
For overseas accommodation, check JSP 464 Part 2.
To apply for Service Family Accommodation (SFA), you need to fill in an application on the e‑1132 system, which you can find on the Defence Intranet.
To open the e‑1132 system, copy and paste this link into your web browser while you are on the Defence Intranet: https://e1132.domis-r.r.mil.uk/e1132/
Please note that the system will not work on public Internet for security reasons.
When you send in your application, the e‑1132 system will show you the homes that match your entitlement and can be made ready for your move. You can then choose your top three homes.
If there is anything important we should know, or you need Additional Needs/Disability Adaptations (ANDA) in your home, make sure you tell us in your application.
The e‑1132 system also lets you:
– Check how your application is progressing
– Book your move‑in date after you accept a home
– Sign your Licence to Occupy online
– Book your move‑out appointment for your current home (if needed)
If you are deployed and can’t use the Defence Intranet, you can fill in a paper MOD Form 1132. For more information, please see the Joint Service Publication (JSP) 464 Part 2, Chapter 4.
Your Licence to Occupy is a legal document that gives you permission to live in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) while you are entitled to it.
You will need to sign a new Licence to Occupy each time you move into a new SFA home.
Find out more here.
All service families can choose their top three homes when they apply, as long as those homes are available. The e‑1132 system shows basic information to help you choose, such as floor plans and photos, if available.
We are working to improve the information you can see about each home, as we know this is important for our families.
After you choose and send your preferences, you will get a confirmation on the screen and by email. We always try our best to offer you one of your top three homes, but this is not always possible if many people want homes in the same area.
If you tell us on your application that you need Additional Needs or Disability Adaptations (ANDA), our Home Services team will look at this straight away.
To help us find a suitable home, we will ask you for some paperwork. This will be either an Occupational Therapist (OT) report that explains your housing needs, or other supporting documents from a medical professional.
We know this information is private, and we keep it very safe. We use a secure system to receive these reports. You must send them to:
HomeServicesConfidential@pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk. We will never ask you to send this information to any other email address.
If you don’t already have an OT report, or if your medical condition or family needs have changed, you will need to send us a new or updated report, or other medical evidence.
When we have all your paperwork, we have up to 15 working days to find the right home for you, and we will try to do this sooner if possible.
We will either offer you a home that already meets your needs or one that DIO can adapt before you move in. We will tell you your move‑in date once we know whether any extra work is needed.
Please send your OT report or medical documents as soon as you can, as we cannot start working on your housing allocation until we receive them. Any OT report or medical document must clearly explain your housing needs.
The rules for when you can ask to keep your SFA home follow Ministry of Defence policy in JSP 464, Volume 1, Chapter 3, Section 3.8. You can find this on www.gov.uk.
To ask to keep your home, please follow these steps:
– Read JSP 464, Volume 1, Chapter 3, Section 3.8 on www.gov.uk to check if you are allowed to apply.
– If you are eligible, fill in the RMAT Form, which is in the same section of JSP 464.
– When you have finished the form, email it to Retentions@pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk.
– Send any supporting documents to our secure email address: HomeServicesConfidential@pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk.
To avoid delays, please send all supporting documents at the same time as your RMAT Form.
Furniture
When you apply, you can choose to live in a furnished, part‑furnished, or unfurnished SFA home. All homes have curtains and a cooker provided.
If you want a furnished or part‑furnished home, you can request a set of clean, well‑kept furniture. This will be delivered to your home in time for your move‑in date. You must make this request on the e‑1132 system.
Your Offer
Our Home Services team will look at the preferences you have chosen and will make you a formal offer within 15 working days through your e 1132 application. If we cannot offer you any of your top choices, we will try our best to find the next most suitable home. We will explain why this has happened when we make the offer. You then have 10 working days to look at the offer with your family and tell us if you want to accept it. If you are not happy with the home offered, you must formally reject it within the same 10 working days.
When you accept the offer on the e‑1132 system, you can look at your Licence to Occupy and sign it on screen straight away. After this, you can book your move‑in appointment.
If you are moving from another SFA home, you can also book your pre‑move‑out appointment.
Our team will do everything they can to find you a suitable home, and we are sorry if the one offered does not meet your needs and you want to reject it.
If you reject the offer through the e‑1132 system, our Home Services team will check if there are any other homes that meet your requirements. If another home is available, we will make you a second offer within 15 working days. If there are no other options, we may have to offer you the same home again, but we will always explain why.
Please be aware that you are unlikely to be able to keep your home at your old duty station.
You are encouraged to accept the second offer. However, if you have important personal reasons for turning it down, you can ask for your case to be reviewed.
To ask for a review, you must fill in the Second Offer Review Form (can this be a link?), which will be sent to you with your second offer.
You have 4 working days from the day you receive your second offer to send your request for a review to your Housing Colonel.
Circumstances
Please fill in all the details on the e‑1132 system when you apply if you:
– Are being assigned and have your assignment order or date
– Are about to get married or are expecting another child
– Have any other change in your circumstances
If you already live in Service Family Accommodation in the UK and have received your assignment order, please make sure you complete your application on the e‑1132 system within 14 days so our Home Services team can start working on it straight away.
If this happens, we will give you a Non‑Availability Certificate (NAC) through your e‑1132 application. Once you accept the NAC, the Substitute Service Family Accommodation team at the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) will take over your application and start looking for a home for you.
If you need to contact them, you can email the DIO SSFA Helpdesk at: DIORDAccn-SubAccn@mod.gov.uk
Please contact DIO at DIORDAccn-LOETeam@mod.gov.uk if you want to talk about losing your entitlement because of:
– A change in your circumstances
– Retirement
– Redundancy
– Estrangement
If you think you may lose your entitlement in the future, or this has already happened, there is advice available from many places. As well as Defence Transition Services, you can also get help from service charities, Families’ Federations, housing advice centres, and your local council.
Garages
- You can apply for a garage at any time by emailing garages@pinacleservicefamilies.co.uk.
- When you apply for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) on 1132, you will be asked if you want a garage.
- If your home does not already have a garage, you will be put on the garage waiting list automatically. You will get an email to let you know.
- Lots of people want garages, so you may need to join a waiting list.
- The waiting time can be different depending on where you live and how many garages become free.
- We will contact you as soon as a garage that suits your needs becomes available.
- If your phone number or email changes while you are on the list, please tell us so we can reach you without delays.
- Garages are offered to people in the order of the waiting list for each area.
- When a garage becomes available, you will usually have a limited number of days to say yes and sign the licence agreement.
- If you say no to an offer, you may stay on the waiting list for future garages, depending on local rules.
Garages are charged at a daily rate, with substandard garages charged at a lower rate.
- Garages should only be used to store motor vehicles.
- You must not use a garage as a living space, for running a business, or for keeping anything flammable or dangerous.
- You are responsible for keeping the garage clean, safe, and secure.
- We look after the main parts of the garage, including the structure, doors, roof, and anything on the outside.
- Please report any problems as soon as you notice them so we can arrange repairs.
- Any internal storage or shelving you add is your responsibility, and it must not damage or change the structure of the garage.
- You can end your garage licence at any time by giving the required notice, which is usually one week.
- You must empty the garage and return it in good condition by the end of the notice period.
- Please return the keys promptly to avoid extra charges.
Contact us
Applications FAQs
Everyone is eligible to apply for SFA. However entitlement is based on PSTAT category, anyone with a PSTAT category 1 or 2 are entitled to be housed within a 10-mile radius of their duty station. Anyone applying on an eligible basis would be applying under a request for temporary surplus.
To apply for SFA apply applicants must apply electronically using the e1132 available via the Defence Intranet at https://e1132.domis-r.r.mil.uk
The home services team are responsible for the allocation of SFA. There are varying time frames depending on the types of applications, with an entitled application an offer must be made within 15 working days of the application being corrected. Surplus and Transfer requests have no time frames due to availability of stock.
In the circumstance where there is no SFA to be offered within a 10-mile radius, we would also look at expanding the search within a 20-mile radius. we would look at offering substitute service family accommodation. As a lost option where there are no other alternatives substitute service family accommodation would be offered.
All entitled applications will be able to make three preferences if availability allows; they will be able to see every property available to offer within a 10-mile radius at their entitlement. Anyone who is eligible will not be able to select their property.
If a family require adaptations to their property due to having additional needs, they can apply using the e1132 and advising on the form they have additional needs. This will then go over to our ANDA team to review, they will require supporting medical documentation to look for a house that would meet the family’s requirements.
Anyone in a long-term relationship is eligible for SFA. When applying under an LTR they must be registered on JPA and the application will be under a request for temporary surplus.
If anyone allocated SFA is not happy with their first offer, they can refuse the offer and go through the process again to make a selection. Every applicant can refuse two properties. If two offers have been made and there is still no satisfaction with the SFA offered then this would be escalated to the housing colonel to make a third and final decision.
Entitlement may change along with family circumstances, for example with a promotion or the birth of a child it may change the housing entitlement and you would be able to submit new request to reflect your new entitlement. If you are going through a separation this would also affect entitlement and is usually handled by the LOE team.
Pets are permitted within SFA and anyone wishing to bring a pet into their current SFA can submit a pet request form – In-Home Requests – Pinnacle Service Families
When moving out of SFA you must complete two appointments. The first appointment that would need to be completed is the pre move out appointment, this is an inspection of the property completed by the housing officer. Once the inspection has been completed the housing officer will advise what must be done in the property to get it to a move out standard. The move out appointment is where the keys are handed back to the housing officer and you have officially handed the property back.